Word: Howard Altschule is the Founder and CEO of Forensic Climate Consultants, one of many largest climate professional corporations within the nation. He’s the recipient of the coveted “Licensed Consulting Meteorologist” (C.C.M.) designation from the American Meteorological Society (AMS), which is the very best certification a consulting meteorologist can obtain. Howard and his group have been retained on greater than 8,300 insurance coverage claims and lawsuits across the nation, testified at the least 128 occasions, and have been deposed 124 occasions.
Proving the date of loss in weather-related claims and lawsuits through the use of cheap automated climate studies has not too long ago turn into way more problematic, and professionals concerned in these claims might want to modify to the modifications or danger having their claims and lawsuits crumble. Most professionals who need to present what the climate was at some location merely depend on a $39.00 automated vendor hail report or automated wind report to point out what occurred traditionally, however current court docket selections could change how these are used.
You by no means actually know the way dependable or correct automated hail or wind studies are. In case you order three completely different automated hail or wind studies, you’ll doubtless get three wind speeds or three completely different hail sizes for a similar property on the identical date of loss. The reasoning for that is easy: Totally different corporations use completely different algorithms to generate their automated studies in seconds, thus the completely different hail sizes or wind speeds. This calls into query how dependable these readings actually are. There have been many claims and lawsuits I’ve labored on, whether or not for the insured or insurer, the place the hail dimension and wind speeds on some automated studies have been grossly inaccurate.
What’s equally or much more regarding is the frequency by which Daubert motions are being filed to strike professionals from utilizing a few of these automated studies. And increasingly have been profitable.
In a 2021 Miami-Dade County Circuit Court docket choice, Hernandez v. Residents Property Insurance coverage Company,1 the court docket dominated that the engineer for the policyholder “is precluded from giving any professional testimony relating to the wind speeds on the topic property on the purported date of loss because the CoreLogic report he depends upon and the methodology by which they calculate the info therein can’t be verified, as is required by the court docket beneath Daubert, thus deeming the testimony unreliable.”
In a shocking September 2023 State of Florida District Court docket of Appeals choice, Common Property & Casualty Insurance coverage Firm v. Navlen,2 the appeals court docket granted Common’s movement remanding a brand new trial after the jury beforehand discovered for the insureds. Previous to the unique trial, Common objected to the admissibility of the insured’s professional, stating, amongst different issues, that the professional “stated the wind speeds had been 60–70 mph however indicated these measurements had been taken over 17 miles away from the property” and the professional primarily based his opinion “on ‘Benchmark’ information that was not included in his report and primarily based on an algorithm.” The Court docket of Appeals acknowledged, “the professional relied on ‘Benchmark’ information to help his conclusion. The one try to ascertain that information’s credibility was the professional’s assertion that he “makes use of it on a regular basis.” As well as, the court docket stated that “not like different circumstances with comparable information, right here the professional didn’t present any help or impartial corroboration for his information’s reliability.”
Up to now, the usage of automated Corelogic and Benchmark hail and wind studies have been relied upon solely to resolve claims and resolve lawsuits. Whereas these two court docket selections are for “wind-related” lawsuits, the identical methodology points exist for his or her automated hail studies. Think about what occurs if and when the Corelogic hail studies are precluded as a result of they’re primarily based on proprietary algorithms and methodology.
The occasions are altering, and public adjusters, insurance coverage carriers, engineers, and attorneys have to be ready that their claims might crumble if the underlying climate studies should not allowed. This doesn’t even tackle the problem of whether or not the automated studies are even dependable. What you don’t know CAN damage you.
There’s by no means been a extra necessary time to make use of certified and skilled Forensic Meteorologists for a lot of of your insurance coverage claims and lawsuits. In the event that they do their job proper, you’ll discover out what occurred proper on the property location, whether or not it’s for a particular date of loss or a multi-year hail or wind research. The findings will assist public adjusters and insurance coverage carriers make knowledgeable claims selections and assist attorneys resolve whether or not to settle or defend a case. Engineers have been embracing the usage of Forensic Meteorologists increasingly and are utilizing our data of their studies so that they’re not subjected to Daubert challenges or motions to strike.
Not each climate declare justifies retaining a Forensic Meteorologist. Nevertheless, when correct climate data is necessary, particularly in giant worth claims, disputes, or lawsuits, having correct and dependable climate information from a Forensic Meteorologist could be essential to the end result of your case.
Howard Altschule
CEO, Licensed Consulting Meteorologist
2 Common Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Navlen, No. 4D2022-1590, — So. 3d — (Fla. 4th DCA 2023).
