“Signed Under Pressure: A Comprehensive Overview of Assignment of Benefits and Other Predatory Schemes Being Utilized by 'Emergency Service' Tree Companies”
Swift Currie attorneys Brittney Sizemore and Tessola Duncan co-authored an article for the Daily Report examining how emergency service tree companies use Assignment of Benefits (AOB) agreements to pursue payment, and sometimes litigation, directly against insurers after severe weather events.
Sizemore and Duncan outlined the legal standards Georgia courts apply to determine whether an assignment is valid, and cautioned that certain claims-handling missteps, such as paying a third party directly or failing to formally reject an AOB, can waive an insurer's anti-assignment defense.
"During clam adjustment, the insurer should evaluate all contracts submitted by the insured to determine if they contain an AOB provision," said Sizemore and Duncan. "Adjusters should also be cautious in their conversations with vendors, so there is no potential for the third party or insured to point to the conversation as evidence of intended waiver of the anti-assignment provision in the policy."
To view the full article, subscribers may click here.
