From a layman’s standpoint it’s just a lot of very cold weather. Normally, it would not give us much to think about other than keeping warm, however, I recently looked at my phone’s weather app and saw that it was 40 degrees in South Florida. Having been born and raised in Broward County, I found this shocking. More importantly from a property and casualty standpoint, I found this concerning for Carriers.
As a good, seasoned property and casualty adjuster knows, extremely cold temperatures can cause arctic weather property damage claims to occur and while 40-degree temperatures do not create ice or frozen conditions, not far off 32 degrees does. If these weather patterns continue, it is a reasonably possibility that Florida could experience temperatures severe enough to cause arctic weather property damage.
Property policies written in Florida may not traditionally have included language to either prevent or limit arctic weather damage claims. This is something that should prudently be addressed in all new issued policies and in all policy renewals. Even without ice-forming temperatures of 32 degrees, temperature variances from the 40’s to the 80’s can cause concrete slab foundation cracking, plumbing pipe failures and other property damage issues.
At the Horton Law Group, we have a proactive approach to, not only litigation, but more importantly forethought to prevent a Carrier from having to engage in unnecessary, lengthy, and expensive litigation. A properly worded policy, to include exclusions or limitation, that others may not have necessarily thought of, could lead to a much simpler, easier and cheaper declaratory (“deck”) action.
This article was written by Attorney, Sommer C. Horton. If you have questions about the content of this article or if you would like to discuss this matter in further detail, you can reach Attorney, Sommer C. Horton at 561-299-0018.
