Catastrophic Loss Litigation

Fields Howell attorneys are skilled at developing and implementing litigation strategies in the aftermath of natural and man-made catastrophes. Our goal is to quickly assist clients in responding to large, complex claims, implementing a coordinated approach to address multiple claims in a consistent manner.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Fields Howell served as monitoring counsel for multiple London Market insurers. In this capacity, we have assisted in the formulation of legal guidelines for compliance with claims handling requirements in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas law.

After Superstorm Sandy, our team aided insurer clients in navigating the tolling of cancellation and non-renewal provisions, working with public adjusters, and developing legal guidelines for compliance with claims handling requirements under various state jurisdictions impacted by the storm. We successfully resolved, and we continue to defend, individual lawsuits involving complex losses on behalf of our insurer clients.

Our attorneys are also well-versed in the myriad of coverage issues arising from catastrophic losses. We advise our clients with respect to numerous issues including:

• Enforceability of flood exclusions
• Anti-concurrent causation exclusions including wind damage versus water damage
• Application of valued policy law
• Complex accounting issues with respect to time-element claims
• Cause and origin analysis and guidance in large-scale arson and industrial disaster claims
• Valuation issues regarding actual cash value and replacement costs

Catastrophic Loss Litigation Team

Catastrophic Loss Litigation Team