Navigation First District Court of Appeal Analyzes an Insured’s Post Loss Duties
Homeowners Choice Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Clark, 50 Fla. L. Weekly D648 (Fla. 1st DCA March 19, 2025) is an instructive, fact-intensive case identifying and analyzing an insured’s duties after loss, including providing prompt notice, repairing property, maintaining records and receipts and submitting an Actual Cash Value (ACV) estimate in a first party property action. The insured plaintiffs, Thomas and Rebecca Clark, were awarded $541,257 after a jury trial. The jury awarded that sum based on a Replacement Cost Value (RCV) calculation of the damage to the Clark’s property. On appeal, the verdict was reversed.
This matter arose from a Hurricane Sally claim on September 16, 2020. The hurricane damaged the Clarks’ property which they used as a vacation and rental property. Damage included the property’s roof and siding which led to a water leakage in the dwelling. On September 16, 2020, the Clarks filed a claim with Homeowners Choice for “water coming in the house,” adding that “the roof was gone, [and] the siding had been blown off.” Homeowners Choice sent a letter acknowledging receipt of the claim two days later and specified that the Clarks had to “make any reasonable and necessary repairs” to “protect [the] property from further damage” and asked that they “[k]eep an accurate record of the repair expenses including any invoices or receipts.” The letter also attached a “Personal Property Loss Inventory Form” for the Clarks to fill out if any personal property was damaged due to the Hurricane.
Within a month, Homeowners Choice sent an independent adjuster (IA) to inspect the dwelling for damage and to prepare an estimate of the incurred loss. The IA estimated that the incurred loss was $76,634.09, based on an ACV calculation, which is (RCV) minus depreciation. Two days later, after the IA prepared his estimate, Homeowners Choice sent the Clarks another letter informing them of the estimated incurred loss and a check for $59,656.13 (the incurred loss minus the policy deductible and recoverable depreciation). That letter also provided that if the Clarks “during the course of the repairs” discovered “any hidden or additional damage that may impact the amount of loss” they had to contact Homeowners Choice immediately “so that they could determine whether an additional inspection of the loss was required.” The Clarks cashed the check and use the funds to pay for the roofing and siding repairs, but they never provided receipts or invoices for the repairs to Homeowners Choice.
