Travelers Settles Class Action Suit

AAPIA Litigation Director Anthony “Tony” DiUlio settled a major class Action Suit against Travelers regarding Traveler’s denial of Rot claims, bringing not just monetary damages to the class members, but also a change in future claims handling. The terms of the settlement, and instructions from the Court, complete with deadlines, can be found here.

The suit involved a situation where the claimant noticed a stain on the ceiling and, upon examination by a plumber, found Rot above the ceiling. Rot Remediation Coverage was included in the policy, up to a limit of five thousand dollars. Travelers denied the claim anyway, arguing that the damage was as a result out of long-term seepage, even though such Rot was hidden and unknown to the insureds until the stain formed on the ceiling.

Tony DiUlio investigated further and found that Travelers was routinely denying these claims, even though such coverage was included and paid for with premium dollars. Such claims were mostly limited to $5,000.00, and Travelers had not been challenged legally. Tony saw an injustice and formed a class action lawsuit in order to compensate those whose claims had been wrongfully denied. Even better, Tony has effected real change, and helped future victims of damage by forcing Travelers to change its claims handling practices going forward—a tremendous result!

The settlement will award damages to class members, according to a chart, and those details, as well as the details of the future claims handling can be found here. Tony DiUlio was not available for comment on the settlement, but if you have questions about how this affects closed claims, or future claims, please contact him at adiulio@wdblegal.com. Notice will be sent by Travelers’, via email to affected parties.

By Holly K. Soffer, Esq. AAPIA General Counsel