Indiana Federal Judge Orders Insurer to Comply With Appraisal Clause in Superstorm Sandy Coverage Dispute

Causation

Indiana Federal Judge Orders Insurer to Comply With Appraisal Clause in Superstorm Sandy Coverage Dispute

INDIANAPOLIS — Compliance with an “appraisal clause” in a first-party property insurance policy is a condition precedent to filing a declaratory judgment action, an Indiana federal judge has ruled in a Superstorm Sandy property damage case.

In a Sept. 3 order, Judge Sarah E. Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana further ruled that a party may invoke its appraisal rights where the insurer and insured dispute the cause of the loss as well as the amount of damage. …