Essential Invoicing Practices for Small Business Owners
As a small business owner, managing numerous daily tasks often leaves invoicing as a secondary concern. While using online templates might seem like a quick fix, complications can arise when ...
RECENT ARTICLES
Colorado Policyholders: A Claim for Unreasonable Delay or Denial of Benefits is a Fight Worth Having
During the course of an insurance company’s adjustment of a claim, policyholders tend to deal only with the insurance adjuster ...
The Minnesota Supreme Court Guts Code Coverage for Policyholders
The Minnesota Supreme Court published its decision in St. Matthews v. State Farm. The case involved whether an insurance company ...
It’s Time to Check Your Beneficiary Designations
Many people hold a good portion of their net worth, including most of their liquid assets, in accounts that have ...
Holiday Decorations in Your Community Association
As we venture into the darker months of Winter, we approach a traditionally well-lit holiday season. Many homeowners have grand ...
Another Win at the Minnesota Supreme Court on Behalf of Policyholders
Smith Jadin Johnson recently won another case at the Minnesota Supreme Court advancing policyholder’s rights. In Else v. Auto-Owners Ins. ...
Wisconsin Residential Contractors: Protect Yourself from ATCP Claims
Wisconsin’s home improvement consumer protection laws were created under the purview of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer ...
Texas is top state for hail damage insurance claims
Texas leads the nation in hail damage insurance claims, according to an analysis released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The analysis looked at claims data from Jan. 1, 2016 through Dec. 31, 2018. According to the analysis, there were almost 2.9 million hail loss claims filed within the study period. Of those, 811,000 were filed by property owners…
Association Insurance Deductibles
Insurance claims can create financial burdens for homeowner association who have to pay often-substantial deductibles under their master insurance policies. While every insurance policy is different, many HOA insurance policies now have separate deductibles for wind and hail claims that can be as much as 1%, 2%, or even 5% of the total insured value of the property. For example,…
Colorado Matching Law
What happens when your property’s exterior is partially damaged by a covered event, but the original roofing or siding materials are no longer manufactured? Mismatched repairs can have a huge impact on the value of your home, but is your insurance company obligated to match the repair materials to the existing materials? While the law in Colorado is not fully…
Colorado hailstorms cause insurance costs to spike
Colorado homeowners may be concerned about their insurance premiums, especially as hailstorms are causing even more damage throughout the state. In 2018, Colorado suffered the greatest hail losses across the country. This devastation exceeded Texas, which is the state with the second-largest amount of hail damage according to a report from the State Farm insurance company. The Rocky Mountain Insurance…
Preparing for disaster
Natural disasters in the United States result in billions of dollars in property damage. However, not many people take the necessary precautions. Almost 90% of insurance agents think that less than half of their clients have a comprehensive hurricane preparedness plan in place. A majority believe that less than half of their clients comply with orders to evaluate when a…
Hail Storm Hits South Metro
A vicious storm tore through the south metro early this morning July 18, 2019, with high winds and large hail (1″-2+”) in some parts of Burnsville, Prior Lake and Savage. After a storm rolls through, cleanup and repairs begin, and many don’t know where to start. is a Minnesota based national first-party insurance law firm with a demonstrated track record…
Who is responsible for storm repairs in a townhouse?
As summer rapidly approaches, we tend to think about shorts, barbeques and warm weather finally coming after a dreadful winter. However, a significant part of summer is the massive storms that happen all season long. Summer storms often afflict significant damage on roofs, exteriors to houses and even the roads. But who pays to repair storm damage when it happens…
KonMari Your HOA – Decluttering your Documents with a Records Retention and Request Policy
Being a member of the Board of Directors at your Homeowners Association can be a thankless job. With all of the issues the Board has to deal with, responding to document requests from homeowners should be an easy one. Still, one of the major complaints we hear from Boards is the overwhelming amount of paper, documents, and other files that…
Ice Dams and HOAs
With the record setting snow fall of the last few months in Minnesota, many homeowner associations are starting to see ice dams. An ice dam is a chunk of ice on the edge of your roof line and is usually caused by inadequate insulation or ventilation which allows escaping heat to melt snow on the roof. When the melted snow…
Association Violation Letters Are Not Attempts to Collect A Debt
SJJ recently won an important case in the Federal District Court of Minnesota related to a homeowners’ association’s ability to send violation letters. The case involved a homeowner who sued their association for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The FDCPA is a federal law which protects consumers from unfair or abusive debt collection practices. Homeowner…
Reserve Studies are not Preventative Maintenance Plans
In 2017, the Minnesota legislature made several changes to the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. 515B (“MCIOA”), the law governing most homeowner associations in Minnesota. One of these changes requires that associations adopt and distribute a formal Preventative Maintenance Plan (“PMP”) by January 1, 2019. For more information on the specifics of these Plans, see our previous post…
Homeowner Association Voting Rights In Minnesota
Minnesota homeowners who are part of a homeowner association (“HOA”) have the right to full participation when it comes to deciding how community issues will be handled. Whether it is an in-person vote or by an absentee ballot, voting allows homeowners to make their choices count. You Have the Right to Vote Homeowners who are part of an HOA have the…