{"id":899468,"date":"2022-01-06T12:07:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T19:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=899468"},"modified":"2022-01-06T12:07:10","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T19:07:10","slug":"ambiguous-insurance-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/ambiguous-insurance-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"An Insurance Policy Isn’t Ambiguous Just Because You Want It To Be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

David Adelstein | Florida Construction Legal Updates<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to insurance contracts, there is a rule of law that states, \u201cwhere interpretation is required by ambiguity in insurance contracts[,] the insured will be favored.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Pride Clean Restoration, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd\u2019s of London<\/em>, 46 Fla. L. Weekly D2584a (Fla. 3d DCA 2021) (citation and quotation omitted).\u00a0 Stated another way: ambiguities in insurance contracts<\/a> will be interpreted in favor of the insured and against the insurer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this rule of law in mind, insureds oftentimes try to argue ambiguity even when there is not one.  This was the situation in Pride Clean Construction<\/em>.  In this case, the property insurance policy contained a mold exclusion that stated the policy did NOT insure for \u201ca. loss caused by mold, mildew, fungus, spores or other microorganism of any type, nature, or description including but not limited to any substance whose presence poses an actual or potential threat to human health; or b. the cost or expense of monitoring, testing, removal, encapsulation, abatement, treatment or handling of mold, mildew, fungus, spores or other microorganism as referred to in a) above.\u201d  Not only did the policy not insure for loss caused by mold, it went further to state it was NOT insuring for any mold testing or abatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the insured sustained hurricane-related damage.  This damage included mold remediation services.  The insured (that assigned her benefits under the policy to the mold remediator) argued the policy was ambiguous because it does not identify whether it covers a covered loss that causes mold.  In making this argument, the insured relied on Florida\u2019s Supreme Court case, Sebo v. American Home Assurance Co., Inc<\/em>., 208 So.3d 694 (Fla. 2016), that adopted what is known as the \u201cconcurrent cause doctrine<\/strong>,\u201d holding:  \u201c[T]hat when independent perils converge and no single cause can be considered the sole or proximate cause [of the loss], it is appropriate to apply the concurring cause doctrine.\u201d \u2013 \u201c[T]he concurrent cause doctrine provides that coverage may exist where an insured risk constitutes a concurrent cause of the loss even when it is not the prime or efficient cause [of the loss].\u201d  Pride Clean Construction, supra<\/em> (internal quotations and citation omitted).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, however, there was no reason to apply the concurrent cause doctrine to determine the cause of the loss and whether the loss was caused by mold [excluded] or a hurricane [covered], because the policy contained a blanket exclusion<\/strong> that excluded \u201cthe cost or expense of monitoring, testing, removal, encapsulation, abatement, treatment or handling of mold.\u201d  Mold remediation was blanketly excluded; hence, the cause of the mold was irrelevant for purposes of the policy covering mold remediation-type costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brings up an important consideration.  Read your policy and understand what is covered and what is not covered<\/strong>.  If there is a concern regarding mold or mold remediation, you need to understand your rights as to whether there is a policy that can meet your insurance needs even if the policy includes a certain sub-limit to provide some coverage.  But you can extend this beyond mold because blanket exclusions will automatically exclude certain coverage and you want to make sure you have an understanding as to what is excluded \u2013 no matter what \u2013 to ensure your rights are sufficiently insured!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Adelstein | Florida Construction Legal Updates When it comes to insurance contracts, there is a rule of law that states, \u201cwhere interpretation is required by ambiguity in insurance contracts[,] the insured will be favored.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Pride Clean Restoration, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd\u2019s of London, 46 Fla. L. Weekly D2584a (Fla. 3d DCA 2021) (citation… Continue reading An Insurance Policy Isn’t Ambiguous Just Because You Want It To Be<\/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":[10721],"tags":[9895,10797,297],"class_list":["post-899468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance","tag-advise-consult","tag-ambiguity","tag-insurance-contracts","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn Insurance Policy Isn't Ambiguous Just Because You Want It To Be - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\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\/ambiguous-insurance-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Insurance Policy Isn't Ambiguous Just Because You Want It To Be - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Adelstein | Florida Construction Legal Updates When it comes to insurance contracts, there is a rule of law that states, \u201cwhere interpretation is required by ambiguity in insurance contracts[,] the insured will be favored.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Pride Clean Restoration, Inc. v. 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