Both real and artificial trees can and do burn causing fire damage; unfortunately, ‘tis the season. As expected, Christmas tree claims arise through the seasonal months of November, December, and January. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates of reported home structure fires, derived from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)...

Changes to the Riot Act that will hit insurers look set to go ahead following Parliament’s recent second reading of the Riot Compensation Bill. The draft Bill, which will replace the Riot (Damages) Act 1886, was the subject of debate at the House of Commons on Friday, 4 December 2015, when it was welcomed as...

A recent federal court ruling offers a reminder that subrogating carriers need to be careful when disclosing expert opinions. The case, Columbia Grain v. Hinrichs Trading et al. (D. Idaho 2015), involved a fire in a garbanzo bean elevator. The plaintiff’s expert opined that a failed bearing ignited garbanzo bean dust, which smoldered for two...

All too often, claims that would otherwise have strong potential for recovery via subrogation cannot be pursued due to issues that arise shortly following a loss. Too many times, hope for recovery is lost because of evidentiary issues or expired limitation periods. As we near year’s end and begin to reflect on the year, here...