June 2022

Cast Iron Drainpipes Latest Target in Florida Claims. But They Can Be Defended.

Cast Iron Drainpipes Latest Target in Florida Claims. But They Can Be Defended.
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A decade ago, it was questionable sinkhole damages that proliferated in Florida property insurance claims. More recently, “free roof” solicitations, roof claims and thousands of lawsuits have rattled the industry.

Now comes cast iron drainpipes, common in homes built before 1975.

The pipe systems have become targets for some of Florida’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms, according to insurance attorneys, adjusters and engineers. It’s possible the pipes could lead to many more claims and suits in coming years, after Florida lawmakers took action designed to reduce roof claims and litigation.

“We’re seeing patterns. Patterns in property claims,” said Cassandra Hand-Gallegos, adjuster and CEO with CCMS & Associates in Dunedin, Florida, who spoke last week at the Florida Defense Lawyers Association claims conference in Orlando.

“The biggest issue is not what’s going on inside the pipes, but what’s going on with the insurance claims industry,” said David Grindley, a forensic structural engineer who also spoke at the conference.

One recent television advertisement from Orlando-based Morgan & Morgan, which calls itself America’s largest injury law firm, for example, flashes large amounts of cash that may be available to homeowners whose dwellings are more than

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June 27, 2022 by INSURANCE

Texas’ safe haven law allows parents to give up newborns, but few do

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Patsy Summey spent more than a decade with a nonprofit providing education about Texas’ safe haven law. She distributed signs, gave presentations, helped with public service announcements and cold emailed fire stations. The lifelong educator wanted to spread the word: If people were searching for a way to safely and legally relinquish their newborn babies, there is a law to help them.

“Some, because they don’t know about it, they don’t realize, ‘I can go in the hospital and have this baby, leave and not take the baby with me.’ They can do that,” Summey said.

The idea behind Texas’ safe haven law is simple. Any parent can bring their baby who is less than 60 days old to a fire station, hospital or EMS station and hand it over, no questions asked. If the baby is unharmed, parents face no criminal charges and the Department of Family and Protective Services takes custody.

Texas passed the law in 1999 under Gov. George W. Bush. Since then, every other state has followed suit. Lawmakers envisioned the law as a solution to

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June 27, 2022 by LAW

Carjackings on the rise; make sure your auto insurance has you covered

Carjackings on the rise; make sure your auto insurance has you covered

“Basic, standard auto policies might not have theft coverage — you have to specify it.”

Carjackings on the rise; make sure your auto insurance has you covered
Photo by Getty Images

“Latest Vaughan carjacking caught on doorbell camera.”

“Arrests made in alleged violent Oakville carjacking.”

“Pair faces 100 charges after 10 Toronto-area carjackings.”

“Gunpoint carjacking in Burlington neighbourhood.”

When Maple Leaf Mitch Marner had his SUV stolen at gunpoint one evening in May outside a local movie theatre, it put a very public face on a crime that seemed to have exploded overnight. It’s not just here. Like the GTA, places like New York City are also reporting a dramatic increase in the often-violent thefts. By the time Marner was relieved of his Range Rover, Toronto police said they’d already reached 2021’s yearly total, not even six months into 2022.

Could it happen to you? If you drive a vehicle that shows up on

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June 26, 2022 by INSURANCE

Mexico: Barriers for Trans People in Guanajuato State

(León) – Trans people in the Mexican state of Guanajuato experience discrimination in work and education and onerous legal impediments due to the state’s lack of legal gender recognition, Human Rights Watch and Amicus DH said today. Guanajuato should comply with Mexican and international law and create an administrative procedure to allow trans people to accurately reflect their self-declared gender identity on official documents.

Each of Mexico’s 32 states has the authority to determine its laws and policies in civil, family, and registration matters in accordance with the constitution. So it is up to the state legislature or administration to pass a law or enact an administrative decree that enables legal gender recognition through a simple administrative procedure at a state-level civil registry. Twenty Mexican states already have such a procedure. Guanajuato does not.

“Trans people in Guanajuato are disadvantaged in work and education and weighed down with legal proceedings due to state authorities’ undue delay in recognizing the right to gender identity,” said Cristian González Cabrera, LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Guanajuato should align its laws with national and regional jurisprudence and establish a legal gender recognition procedure, which would reduce discrimination against transgender people in work,

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June 26, 2022 by LEGAL

Do You Have Ransomware Insurance? Look at the Fine Print

Do You Have Ransomware Insurance? Look at the Fine Print
Do You Have Ransomware Insurance? Look at the Fine Print

Insurance exists to protect the insured party against catastrophe, but the insurer needs protection so that its policies are not abused – and that’s where the fine print comes in. However, in the case of ransomware insurance, the fine print is becoming contentious and arguably undermining the usefulness of ransomware insurance.

In this article, we’ll outline why, particularly given the current climate, war exclusion clauses are increasingly rendering ransomware insurance of reduced value – and why your organization should focus on protecting itself instead.

What is ransomware insurance

In recent years, ransomware insurance has grown as a product field because organizations are trying to buy protection against the catastrophic effects of a successful ransomware attack. Why try to buy insurance? Well, a single, successful attack can just about wipe out a large organization, or lead to crippling costs – NotPetya alone led to a total of $10bn in damages.

Ransomware attacks are notoriously difficult to protect against completely. Like any other potentially catastrophic event, insurers stepped in to offer an insurance product. In exchange for a premium, insurers promise to cover many of the damages resulting from a ransomware attack.

Depending on the policy, a ransomware policy

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June 25, 2022 by INSURANCE
June 2022
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