Hirsch et al. v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., S.I.

A court authorized the Class Notice because you have a right to know about the Proposed Settlement of this class action, including the right to claim money, and about your options regarding this Settlement, before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. If the Court approves the Parties’ Settlement Agreement, and if any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement, then payments will be made to those who qualify and timely submit a valid Claim Form. The Class Notice explains this Action, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who may be eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Twenty-First Judicial Circuit Court in St. Louis County, Missouri is overseeing this class action. The case is known as Kyle Hirsch, et al. v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co. S.I., No. 25SL-CC03010. The people who sued are called the “Plaintiffs,” and the company it sued is called the “Defendant.”

To view a copy of the Class Notice, click here.

The lawsuit claims that Defendant improperly deducted Nonmaterial Depreciation when adjusting some Missouri Structural Loss claims under Missouri property insurance policies.

Defendant has denied all allegations that it acted wrongfully or unlawfully.

In a class action, the people called the “Representative Plaintiffs” (here, Kyle Hirsch, Sarah Hirsch, and Dennis Fritter) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people are “Class Members.” One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiffs or Defendant and has not found that Defendant did anything wrong. The Parties agreed to settle, and by settling, the Parties avoid the cost of a trial and potentially an appeal, and the people who qualify will get compensation. The Representative Plaintiffs and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Class Members. The Settlement does not mean that American Family did anything wrong, no trial has occurred, and no merits determinations have been made.

If you received the Class Notice, then you have been identified as someone who is possibly a Class Member. The Settlement Class includes the following:

All Persons who from April 28, 2017, to November 4, 2022: (1) were issued property insurance policies in Missouri by American Family; (2) made a Structural Loss claim under Coverage A or Coverage B of the policy; (3) had an Xactimate estimate used in determination of the ACV Payment; and (4) were issued an ACV Payment from which Nonmaterial Depreciation was withheld, or would have been issued an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible.

“ACV Payment” is calculated by estimating the replacement cost value of the covered damage for a Structural Loss claim and subtracting the estimated Depreciation, including Nonmaterial Depreciation, and any applicable deductible.

“Nonmaterial Depreciation” means Depreciation of labor costs, overhead and profit, and/or other nonmaterial items (and specifically excluding sales tax) included within Xactimate® estimating software, and specifically includes Depreciation resulting from the application of either the “depreciate removal,” “depreciate nonmaterial” and/or “depreciate O&P” depreciation option settings within Xactimate® estimating software.

“Structural Loss” means physical damage to a home, building, manufactured home, condo, rental dwelling, or other structure located in the State of Missouri while covered by a commercial property, homeowners residential, manufactured home, condo, dwelling, or rental property insurance policy issued by American Family.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (a) policyholders whose claims arose under policy forms, endorsements, or riders expressly permitting Nonmaterial Depreciation within the text of the policy form, endorsement, or rider, i.e., by express use of the words “depreciation” and “labor;” (b) any portion of policyholders’ claims relating to roof damage under a residential American Family roof surface payment endorsement, which were paid based on a schedule and not by deducting depreciation; (c) policyholders who received one or more ACV Payments for a claim that exhausted the applicable limits of insurance; (d) policyholders whose claims were denied or abandoned without an ACV Payment for any reason other than that the ACV Payment was not made solely because the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation caused the loss to drop below the applicable deductible; (e) policyholders where no Xactimate estimate was generated by American Family; (f) American Family and its officers and directors; (g) members of the judiciary and their staff to whom this Action is assigned and their immediate families; and (h) Class Counsel and their immediate families (collectively, “Exclusions”).

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you may call the toll-free number 1-888-817-9936.

Under the Settlement, Defendant has agreed to pay Class Members as follows:

1. Subject to the terms, limits, conditions, coverage limits, and deductibles of the policies, Claim Settlement Payments for members of the Settlement Class who timely file valid and completed Claim Forms by the Claim Deadline shall be equal to 90% of the Nonmaterial Depreciation that was withheld from ACV Payments and not subsequently paid, or that would have resulted in an ACV Payment, but for the withholding of Nonmaterial Depreciation causing the loss to drop below the applicable deductible, determined as described herein, plus simple interest of 4.75% per year from the first day of January of the year when the loss was reported through January 1, 2025;
2. For Class Members identified under subsection (a) for whom all Nonmaterial Depreciation that was withheld from ACV Payments was subsequently paid, payment shall be according to the below schedule:

You must have submitted a timely and valid Claim Form online or via mail by October 10, 2025 to receive a cash payment.

If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement, and if any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement, then payment will be mailed to eligible Class Members after the claims administration process is complete. This process can take time, so please be patient.

Unless you excluded yourself by July 28, 2025, you are in the Settlement Class, and that means that you cannot sue American Family and the Released Persons over the claims settled in this Action. It also means that all the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.

If you submit a Claim Form, or simply stay in the Settlement Class, you will agree to release all “Released Persons” of all “Released Claims.” “Released Persons” and “Released Claims” are defined in the Agreement, which you can request a copy of by calling 1-888-817-9936, or you can view the Agreement here.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement passed on July 28, 2025.

No. Unless you excluded yourself by July 28, 2025, you give up any right to sue American Family for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You must have excluded yourself from the Settlement Class to sue American Family over the claims resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive a payment from this Settlement.

The Court appointed the following law firms to represent you and other Class Members as “Class Counsel”: Erik Peterson of Erik Peterson Law Offices, PSC; Brandon McWherter of McWherter Scott Bobbitt PLC; T. Joseph Snodgrass of Snodgrass Law LLC; Christoper Roberts and David Butsch of Butsch Roberts & Associates LLC; and Douglas Winters of The Winters Law Group LLC. You do not have to pay Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, and potentially have that lawyer appear in court for you in this case, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for up to $9,437,500 for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of their expenses and will ask the Court to award the Representative Plaintiffs up to $7,500 each ($22,500 collectively) for representing the Settlement Class. Defendant has agreed not to oppose the request for fees and expenses up to the above referenced amounts. The Court may award less than the above amounts. Defendant will separately pay the fees and expenses that the Court orders. These payments will not reduce the amount distributed to Class Members. Defendant will also separately pay the costs to administer the Settlement.

The deadline to object to the Settlement passed on July 28, 2025.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class or the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object, because the case no longer affects you. If you object, and the Court approves the Settlement anyway, you will be legally bound by the result.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing at 8:30 a.m. on August 26, 2025, at the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit Court, St. Louis County, Missouri. Check this website to make sure that the location of the Final Approval Hearing has not changed, that the Final Approval Hearing has not been rescheduled, and that the Court hasn't scheduled the Final Approval Hearing to proceed via video conference or teleconference, instead of in person.

At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court may listen to people who have asked to speak about an objection. The Court may also decide how much to award Class Counsel for fees and expenses for representing the Settlement Class and whether and how much to award the Representative Plaintiffs for representing the Settlement Class. At or after the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. It is not known how long this decision will take.

You are not required to attend. If you wish to attend the Final Approval Hearing, you may come at your own expense. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary unless you choose to have a lawyer appear on your behalf to object to the Settlement.

You or your lawyer acting on your behalf may speak at the hearing if, on or before July 28, 2025, you filed an objection to the Settlement and a Notice of Intent to Appear.

If you do nothing, you will not get any payment from this Settlement. However, unless you excluded yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to sue American Family for the claims resolved in this Action.

The Class Notice summarizes the Proposed Settlement. More details are provided in the Agreement here. If you have questions or want to request a copy of the Agreement, call 1-888-817-9936.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE JUDGE OR HIS STAFF, OR AMERICAN FAMILY OR DEFENDANT’S COUNSEL FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT.