Attorney Alexander Gets Reversal in Palm Beach Appeal Over Home Insurance

After a tropical storm battered the insured’s home in Palm Beach County, they hired a public adjuster to help them handle their claim against their insurance company. But when the adjuster attempted to record the insurance company’s inspection of the home, the insurance company simply left.

In the end, the insurance company refused to do an inspection that was recorded, and the insureds felt they had the right to record any inspection. The insured sued, seeking a ruling from the courts that they had the right to audio and video record an inspection of their own home.

The trial court disagreed, implicitly ruling that the insureds had no right to audio or video record and insurance company’s inspection of their home.

Alexander Appellate Law appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, arguing that nothing in the policy actively prohibited audio and video recording by the insureds. The insurance company argued the opposite: that nothing in the policy allowed it. In response, we argued that the presumption is that all homeowners, including insureds, have the right to audio and video record people—with their knowledge—when those people enter their home.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed and reversed the case, ruling: “[N]othing on this record precludes an insured from recording an insurance adjuster's inspection while in the insured's own home.” Gesten v. Am. Strategic Ins. Corp., 339 So. 3d 1008, 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022).