Areas of Practice
Areas of Practice | DarrasLaw
Property and Casualty, Homeowners, Fire Loss, Water Damage: Policy separated into six areas of Homeowners Insurance (referred to as HO-1 thru HO-6). The most popular being HO-3 which covers your home and its contents in the event of theft, damage due to weather (except flooding in flood areas), property damage due to pipe leaks or breaks, fire or smoke damage as well as injury or death as a result of injury sustained on your property.
Medical Insurance, Health, HMO bad faith: Medical or Health Insurance policies financially protect a person or group of people from high costs of maintaining or managing health. HMO bad faith refers to a Health Maintenance Organization denying coverage or reimbursement for necessary treatments related to a valid medical claim or malpractice resulting in death.
Life Insurance, Life Insurance Rescission, Group Life Insurance, Life Settlements:
Life insurance: is a benefit paid to a designated beneficiary in the event of the insured individuals death due to but not limited to serious, terminal or critical illness. This benefit is used to negate financial burden caused by death of insured.
Life Insurance Rescission: is when a Life Insurance company cancels or voids your policy prior to or after premiums have been paid. This is generally due to concealing or excluding relevant information regarding lifestyle or condition that would have affected the insured individuals premiums or eligibility (e.g. concealing the use of tobacco products)
Group Life Insurance: is a Life Insurance Policy that covers an organization or group of people such as a company, military personnel or union.
Life Settlement or Viatical settlement: is when an individual sells their Life Insurance Policy to a 3rd party investor and is able to receive Life Insurance benefits before death. This is often used for seniors or terminally ill and allows the insured to collect a large portion of benefits in order to help pay healthcare or personal debts.
Business Interruption Insurance, Business Insurance: Business Insurance is a policy that covers the place of business or premises as well as property owned by business such as machinery or other objects that affect the business’ revenue (e.g. computers, printers, fax machines) from natural ( such as flooding) or social (internal company theft) disaster. This type of insurance can also cover burglary or identity theft. Business Insurance is generally broken down into three types of insurance: Commercial Property insurance, Casualty insurance and Commercial Auto and Marine Insurance.
Business Interruption Insurance: is a policy that protects a company from expenses incurred, such as loss of income, from events that would create the inability to conduct business (e.g. fire or flooding). This does not include physical damage to property from said events (e.g. damage to equipment due to flooding).
“Key Man” Life and Disability Insurance: Insures a company against the potential loss or disability of a vital employee(s). A vital entity is any person who has the ability to directly affect the commencement of business or incur severe financial losses to a business. (e.g. a top sales person whose loss or inability to perform their job would dramatically effect company revenue)
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Bad Faith: Often referred to UM/UIM coverage protects you should an accident or collision occur where the at-fault party either does not have insurance or does not carry enough insurance to cover the expense of bodily or personal injury incurred. UM/UIM Insurance Bad Faith refers to an insurance company denying coverage or payment for the bodily or personal injury in an uninsured or underinsured motorist incident.
Long Term Care: covers the cost of extended health care in the event that the insured is unable to carry out their daily activities. Extended health care costs include bathing, dressing, rehabilitation, nursing or in home care.
Specific Areas of Disability Insurance:
- Group Long Term Disability Insurance: coverage provided by a company or organization to an employee in the event of work-related injury when short term disability benefits have been exhausted. Injuries covered are generally those that render the insured partially or totally disabled and prevent them from performing their job indefinitely or for extended periods. This insurance offers a percentage of the employee’s income to them while they are disabled.
- Individual Long Term Disability Insurance: is coverage that helps pay an individual’s living expenses should they become unable to work. Benefit paid is usually a percentage of the individuals’ income. This can supplement Group Long Term Disability Insurance and is paid tax free.
- Short Term Disability Insurance: is also referred to as paid sick leave. This insurance pays a portion of the insured’s income while they are unable to work (ranging from days up to a year) due to illness, pregnancy or injury.
- Long Term Disability Insurance: is insurance for individuals that become ill or injured off the job. Illness or injuries covered are generally those that render the insured unable to perform their normal work tasks or duties.
- Credit Disability Insurance: is insurance that pays all or part of a debt on a monthly basis should the insured become disabled or unable perform their normal work tasks or duties
- Mortgage Disability Insurance: Pays the insured’s mortgage should the insured become disabled or experience sudden loss of income.
- Auto Disability Insurance (Automatic Benefit Enhancement Rider or AIR): is a rider added to a Disability Insurance plan that provides increased disability benefits over a period of time on specified dates or anniversaries of policy.
- Life Insurance Disability Rider: is a rider added to a Life Insurance Policy that pays the insured in the event of bodily harm or injury that prevents them from working. (e.g. person(s) that rely on their body for physical work such as landscaping).
- Pension Disability Insurance: is disability income from a pension plan. Disability must be of a severe and extended mental or physical nature. For Government pension plans the insured must have been in the service of the government for either two of the last three years or five of the last ten years, the insured must not have reached the age of 65 and must not have received any other government retirement funds for greater than one year.
- Business Overhead Expense (“BOE”) Disability Insurance: Covers operating expenses of a business should the insured become disabled. Operating expenses can include property taxes, salaries of full time employees, utilities, mortgage payments or even office supplies.
