{"id":895263,"date":"2018-12-05T16:24:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T23:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=895263"},"modified":"2018-12-05T16:24:04","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T23:24:04","slug":"public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul LaSalle | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog<\/a> | December 2, 2018<\/p>\n

In a recent case,1<\/sup>\u00a0a federal court dismissed a flood claim following a nor\u2019easter storm because the insureds\u2019 proof of loss under the National Flood Insurance Act failed to satisfy the Standard Flood Insurance Policy\u2019s (\u201cSFIP\u201d) \u201csigned and sworn\u201d requirement.2<\/sup>\u00a0In that case, the insureds submitted two claims to recover damages from the storm to their insurance company. The first claim of approximately $2,000 was completed on a form provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (\u201cFEMA\u201d). Both insureds signed and dated the document, which stated, \u201cI declare under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.\u201d Shortly thereafter, the insurance company issued a check to the insureds for the covered building damages.<\/p>\n

Sometime after, the insureds submitted a second claim to their insurance company seeking an additional payment of approximately $250,000. The insureds\u2019 proof of loss for the second claim differed from the first claim in two \u201cimportant\u201d ways. First, the form was provided by the insureds\u2019 public adjuster. Second, while both insureds signed the document, it was not dated and lacked any declaration acknowledging a \u201cpenalty of perjury.\u201d<\/p>\n

The insureds sued for breach of the insurance contract after the insurance company denied their second claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated. The insurance company argued that the insureds\u2019 failure to comply with the SFIP\u2019s \u201csigned and sworn\u201d proof of loss requirement barred the insureds\u2019 recovery for their otherwise valid claim.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the court agreed with the insurance company, ruling that the proof of loss for the second claim fell short of an affirmative acknowledgment of perjury required for parties submitting sworn declarations under a federal regulation. Therefore, the insureds\u2019 failure to comply with the SFIP\u2019s \u201csigned and sworn\u201d proof of loss requirement precluded them from recovering damages for their second claim.<\/p>\n

This case highlights the importance and significance of complying with all terms and conditions of federal regulations.
\n_____________________________________
\n1<\/sup>\u00a0Hagstotz v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co.<\/em>, No.\u00a017-2491, 2018 WL 5005000 (D.N.J. Oct. 16, 2018).
\n2<\/sup>\u00a0In particular, Article VII(J)(4) of the SFIP provides, \u201cWithin 60 days after the loss, send us a proof of loss, which is your statement of the amount you are claiming under the policy\u00a0signed and sworn to by you<\/strong><\/em>\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul LaSalle | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog | December 2, 2018 In a recent case,1\u00a0a federal court dismissed a flood claim following a nor\u2019easter storm because the insureds\u2019 proof of loss under the National Flood Insurance Act failed to satisfy the Standard Flood Insurance Policy\u2019s (\u201cSFIP\u201d) \u201csigned and sworn\u201d requirement.2\u00a0In that case, the insureds… Continue reading Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-895263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance-estimates","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nPublic Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"insureds sued for breach of contract after the insurance company denied their claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"insureds sued for breach of contract after the insurance company denied their claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-05T23:24:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-05T23:24:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\"},\"wordCount\":414,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Insurance Estimates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\",\"name\":\"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages - Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-05T23:24:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"insureds sued for breach of contract after the insurance company denied their claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages - Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"insureds sued for breach of contract after the insurance company denied their claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages - Advise & Consult, Inc.","og_description":"insureds sued for breach of contract after the insurance company denied their claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/","og_site_name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2018-12-05T23:24:04+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages","datePublished":"2018-12-05T23:24:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/"},"wordCount":414,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Insurance Estimates"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/","name":"Public Adjusters Beware That Non-Compliance with Federal Regulation \u201cSigned and Sworn\u201d Proof of Loss Requirement Will Preclude Recovery of Damages - Advise & Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-12-05T23:24:04+00:00","description":"insureds sued for breach of contract after the insurance company denied their claim because the proof of loss for that claim was both unsworn and not dated","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/public-adjusters-beware-that-non-compliance-with-federal-regulation-signed-and-sworn-proof-of-loss-requirement-will-preclude-recovery-of-damages\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3KTJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":895265,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895263\/revisions\/895265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}