Home Owners Policies

Homeowners Policies

July 15, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie Insurance Lawyers and those in Dallas, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Benbrook, and other places over the DFW area should always be aware of the tactics and procedures insurance companies are using that relate to the policies sold to consumers. The Austin American Statesman published an article that provides some important information. Here is what it says.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is locked in a fight with the state’s largest insurer over the company’s decision not to renew 11,000 residential and commercial property insurance policies along the Gulf coast.

Abbott’s office requested documents last month from State Farm to make sure the insurer lawfully terminated the contracts, Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Abbott, said in an email.

Residents Of The Same Household Issue

July 3, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie lawyers and those in Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Grapevine, Richardson, Farmers Branch, Carrollton, Mesquite, and other places in the DFW area need to understand this part of an insurance policy.

It is the part dealing with defining “residents of a household.” This is usually a fact question for a judge or jury to decide.

A 1958, El Paso Court of Appeals case, Afredo Arellano v. Maryland Casualty Company issued an opinion that is still good guidance today.

Coverage Under An Insurance Policy

June 28, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie lawyers who handle insurance disputes and those in Dallas, Fort Worth, Mansfield, De Soto, Duncanville, Irving, Arlington, and other places in the Dallas Fort Worth area need to understand the coverages under an insurance policy. Specifically, they need to know what an ‘occurrence’ or ‘loss’ is under a policy.

The Fort Worth Court of Appeals issued an opinion in 1996, in the case styled, State Farm Lloyds and State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. Paul and Mary Kessler. The insurers here filed a declaratory judgement pleading they had no duty to defend a suit pending against the Kesslers by the Fannings’ who had purchased a home from the Kesslers. The trial court ruled in favor of the Kesslers and this appeal followed.

This court said the following: We hold that State Farm has no duty to defend the Kesslers because (1) the Fannings’ petition does not allege property damage as defined by the policy and (2) it does not allege damages from an occurrence or loss as defined by the policy.”

Lender-Placed Policies

June 23, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie insurance lawyers and those in Fort Worth, Dallas, Carrollton, Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, and other places in North Texas will get the occasional phone call wanting to discuss a situation involving a lender-placed insurance policy.

The Houston Court of Appeals, 14th District, issued an opinion on May 17, 2012, that discussed this issue. The case had other points that will not be discussed here. The style of the case is, Milton Garcia v. Bank of America Corporation, BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP, and Newport Insurance Company. Here is legal background.

This was a consolidated appeal by Milton Garcia from the trial court’s grant of summary judgments in favor of the defendants. Bank of America (BOA) owned the mortgage on Garcia’s home, BAC was the mortgage servicing company that serviced Garcia’s mortgage, and Newport issued the lender-placed insurance policy to BOA on Garcia’s property. Seeking compensation for damage to his property sustained in Hurricane Ike, Garcia alleged that he was a third-party beneficiary of the insurance policy Newport issued to BOA.

Dog Bite Claims / Cases

June 3, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Weatherford lawyers, and those in Mineral Wells, Springtown, Aledo, Azle, Peaster, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, and other parts of Parker County might be surprised to learn this about dog bite claims. How many there are and how much they cost insurance companies in claims.

An article posted on Yahoo News on May 17th might be a little surprising.

The article tells us that most stories about a dog biting someone does not get a lot of attention in the news, but it costs insurance companies hundreds of millions in claims every year.

Appraisals

June 2, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance attorneys in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, and other areas in Texas will have clients who need advice regarding the appraisal process when homeowners make insurance claims.

Generally speaking, an appraisal is appropriate in cases where the insurance company acknowledges that a loss has occurred, but there is a dispute as to the value or extent of the loss. The easiest example to understand is a situation where someone has a valuable antique stolen. The insured makes a claim and the insurance company investigates, the thief is caught, but he has destroyed the antique. So, there is no suspicion regarding the insured and the insured claims the antique is worth $10,000. But, the insurance company says it is only worth $4,000.

To settle the dispute, either side, the insurance company or the insured, can invoke the appraisal clause in the insurance contract.

Vacancy Clause In Homeowners Policy

May 3, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

A person in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, and other places in Parker County who has a homeowners policy would find the following case of interest.

At one time or another a house or residence is going to be vacant for a period of time. Maybe it is when remodeling is being done, or if the property is a rental, there may be a vacancy when a tenant moves out. There may be a temporary vacancy when a house is up for sale. There can be many situations where a structure is temporarily vacant. What most people do not realize is that almost all policies have vacancy exclusions written into the policy. The insured customer discovers this only when they are making a claim and the adjuster assigned the claim determines the vacancy exclusion is applicable and denies the claim for benefits.

The Fort Worth Court of Appeals issued an opinion recently that dealt with the vacancy clause exclusion in a homeowners policy. The style of the case is, Columbia Lloyds Insurance Company v. Robert Mao and Vachana Mao.

Notice To Insurance Company

April 5, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Crowley, Burleson, Benbrook, Joshua, and other places in Tarrant and Johnson County need to understand the importance of notifying the company quickly when a potential claim arises.

The Fort Worth Court of Appeals issued an opinion in 2007 dealing with “notice” to an insurance company about a claim. This one is a little unusual but still illustrates the importance of notifying the insurance company about potential claims as soon as possible. The style of the case is, Allstate Insurance Company and Allstate Texas Lloyd’s v. John Hunter and Wife, Carmen Hunter. Here are some facts.

In the summer of 2002, the Hunters noticed a strange smell in their home. The Hunter’s HO-B homeowner’s policy with the Allstate companies expired in October 2002, and the Hunters replace it with an HO-A homeowner’s policy. The strange smell persisted, and in December 2002, the Hunters hired a company to conduct air sampling testing in their home. The results revealed no elevated mold content in the air and offered no explanation for the smell. In February 2003, a general contractor inspected the Hunter’s home. When the contractor entered the crawlspace under the home, he saw water damage and mold. The Hunters testified that this was the first time they knew of the mold damage or that the source of the odor that they had been smelling was mold. They made a claim with Allstate two days later.

Flood Damage Claim

April 1, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, Mineral Wells, and other places in Parker County prone to flooding losses should be interested in a recent opinion issued by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The opinion was issued on March 6, 2012, and the style of the case is, Tom Worthen v. Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance Company. The case is an appeal by Fidelity National regarding a summary judgment in favor of their insured, Worthen. This appeals court reversed and rendered in favor of Fidelity National.

Here is some background information.

Homeowners Insurance Cancellation In Texas

March 17, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Customers in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Springtown, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Azle, Millsap, Brock, and other places in Parker County do not have the concerns many customers are facing along the Gulf Coast of Texas when it comes to homeowners insurance policies. Along the Gulf Coast of Texas, State Farm is refusing to renew homeowners coverage with many customers.

The Houston Chronicle ran a story of February 15, 2012, discussing this issue. The title of the story is, “11,000 State Farm Customers Left High and Dry.” The author of the story is Dan Wallach.

Here is what the story tells us: