A Texas insurer is taking Ybor City’s venerable Cuban Club to court over the disposition of a nearly $2 million insurance claim dating back to 2014.
Built in 1917, the Cuban Club is the successor to the original clubhouse of “El Circulo Cubano,” a mutual-aid society originally created as a gathering place for Cuban immigrant cigar workers.
In Oct. 2014, Cuban Club Foundation Inc., doing business as Cuban Club, filed an insurance claim with United Specialty Insurance Company to cover water damage and a partial collapse of the ceiling. United Specialty is a subsidiary of State National Companies Inc., a publicly-traded insurer in Bedford, Texas.
Two years later, the Club alerted United that the incident had resulted in losses of nearly $1.9-million. United rejected the amount of the claim and the scope of the loss. At that point, both sides sought independent appraisers, but neither party could agree on an “impartial umpire.”
Now, United is asking the court to choose an umpire.
“This is an action seeking court appointment of a Neutral Umpire in connection with an ongoing appraisal pursuant to the terms and conditions of a commercial property insurance policy,” says the complaint, filed Jan. 17 in Hillsborough County’s 13th Judicial Circuit Court.
United’s complaint described the damage sustained by the Cuban Club as “a result of long-term moisture exposure.” The Cuban Club is at 2010 E Avenida Republica de Cuba in Tampa.
