Florida’s Matching Rule for Homeowner’s Insurance Claims
Let’s assume your kitchen tile floor is damaged due to a water leak. A portion of the tiles are damaged, but not all of the tiles were damaged. If you file an insurance claim with your property insurer is the insurance company required to compensate you for replacement of all the tile flooring, including the undamaged portions?
It will depend on the language of your insurance policy.
Florida Statute 626.9744(2) addresses an insurer’s obligation to match damaged with undamaged property.
The statute states, “When a loss requires replacement of items and the replaced items do not match in quality, color, or size, the insurer shall make reasonable repairs or replacement of items in adjoining areas.” This law essentially places an obligation on the insurance carrier to ensure that any undamaged items will properly match with damaged items that will need to be replaced.
That being said, the above-referenced matching rule is not an absolute statutory mandate. That is, the insurer’s obligation to pay the owner for matching costs of any portions of undamaged property is limited by the express terms of the policy. Consider the case below.
The Vazquez Case
Vazquez v. Citizens Property Insurance Corp., 304 So.3d 1280 is a Florida case which illustrates the limitations of the matching rule under a homeowner’s insurance policy. In Vazquez, the owner sustained water damage to twelve ceramic tiles and one kitchen cabinet in her home. The owner filed an insurance claim with her carrier, Citizens. The policy required the carrier to pay the actual cash value (ACV) of the insured loss. So, Citizens paid the owner about $34,000 based on its ACV damage assessment of the owner’s property.
Before starting her repairs, the owner hired a loss consultant to provide an estimate of her total loss. The consultant’s estimate concluded that the owner’s loss was about $84,000. The estimate included costs for matching the continuous tile flooring throughout the owner’s house and all of her kitchen cabinets. Notably, Citizens’ assessment did not include compensation for matching costs. The owner then sued the carrier for the shortfall in payment.
At trial, Citizens argued that the owner’s matching costs should not be introduced into evidence. Citizens contended that the jury should only consider damages relating to the owner’s direct physical loss, which did not include matching costs. The trial court ruled in favor of Citizens, concluding that Citizens did not have an obligation to pay any remaining amounts to the owner beyond actual cash value, including matching costs, because the owner had not yet begun to make repairs to her property.
The appellate court ultimately agreed with Citizen’s argument. The appellate court noted that the policy in Vazquez required the carrier to initially pay the actual cash value of the insured loss. Because matching costs did not relate to damaged property, the carrier had no obligation to pay the owner for its matching costs until the owner began making repairs to the property. Since the owner did not make repairs to her property, the carrier’s obligation was limited to paying the owner for only the actual cash value of her loss, which did not include matching costs.
The main point of the Vazquez case, it seems, is that an insurance company’s obligation to pay matching costs will be limited by the terms of the policy. If the policy only requires the carrier to pay the actual cash value of the loss–until repairs are actually begun–the carrier may not have an obligation to pay for matching costs at all. Accordingly, a careful reading of your insurance policy is always a good idea.
We handle first-party and third-party claims in Delray Beach, Florida
If your home or condominium sustained physical damage our property damage attorney in Delray Beach will tenaciously seek to recover the compensation to which you are entitled.
Our firm handles both first-party and third-party claims.
A first party claim is when the plaintiff is the insured and sues his or her insurance carrier for damages. In a first party claim the plaintiff will normally sue the insurance company for “breach of contract”. To prove breach of contract the plaintiff will have to show there was a valid contract, a material breach of the contract, and damages.
A third-party claim arises when the plaintiff sues the defendant for causing some form of damage to the plaintiff’s property and the defendant has liability insurance. In a third party claim the plaintiff will normally sue the defendant for its negligent conduct. The defendant’s insurance carrier will typically step in and defend the claim on behalf of the defendant.
We handle motor vehicle and commercial truck damage claims in Delray Beach and Palm Beach County (excluding personal injury).
Our firm’s fee structure is reasonable and will be tailored to the client’s specific situation. Feel free to contact our Delray Beach attorney (Joe Rosen) for a free consultation in regard to your property damage claim.
