Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Insurance Lawyers Needed In Texas

May 10, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Cool, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Millsap, Brock, and other places in Parker County will often times find themselves needing an Insurance Lawyer, whether they want one or not.

KSAT posted an article in April, 2012, that gives an example how an insurance company takes advantage of their insureds.

The article, written by April Molina, tells us that a San Antonio woman is going out of pocket more than $5,000 after a leak ruined her floors.

Insurance Lawyer And Why You Need One

May 8, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Policy holders in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Millsap, Brock, and other places in Parker County need to understand important reasons for seeing an Insurance Law Attorney.

The El Paso Court of Appeals issued an opinion on April 11, 2012, that is a good illustration for the involvement of an Insurance Law Attorney. The style of the case is, Amy Warmbrod v. USAA County Mutual Insurance Company.

Here is some background:

Personal Injury Protection Benefits Rejection

May 6, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

People with auto coverage in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Millsap, Azle, Springtown, Brock, Willow Park, and other places in Parker County might think they have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, when they actually do not.

The Austin Court of Appeals issued an opinion in 2003, that can be a little confusing. The style of the case is, Kathryn Payne and Carnell Gulley v. Mid-Century Insurance Company of Texas. Here is some background.

Payne and Gulley filed a lawsuit against Mid-Century alleging they were entitled to PIP benefits under the terms of an auto liability policy issued by Mid-Century. Both sides filed motions for summary judgment and the trial court ruled in favor of Mid-Century. On appeal, the trial court ruling was sustained.

Personal Injury Protection And Fraud

May 5, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Millsap, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Brock, Cool, and other places in Parker County need to be aware of the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits in their auto policy.

Most people have have these benefits do not even know how they work. All they know is that when they talked with their insurance agent they told the agent they wanted “full coverage” and as a result of that directive they ended up with PIP. It is a good coverage to have and there are laws regulating this coverage in the Texas Insurance Code.

These PIP laws are found in Sections 1952.151 thru 1952.161.

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.

Insurance Playing Games

May 1, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Most people in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Springtown, Millsap, Brock and other places in Parker County probably already know this but here goes. Did you know an insurance company will play games with you that are designed to separate you from money to which you are entitled.

The answer to the above is illustrated by Reuters article that was on line recently. The title of the article is, “As Weather Gets Biblical, Insurers Go Missing.” The arthur is Matt Stroud. The article tells us how insurance companies are playing games with insurance policies when weather gets bad. For example, many homeowners get hit with the loss of their insurance policies after making claims resulting from weather disasters.

A person in Springfield, Massachusetts, a retired school teacher, found broken windows, missing siding, and a damaged roof after a recent tornado. Her insurance company offered to pay for one window and some of the siding. It ended up taking her nine months and working with an independent adjuster, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, and a mediation before getting compensated.

Credit Disability Insurance Policy

April 29, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Car buyers in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, Grapevine, Keller, Saginaw, and other Tarrant County cities should pay attention to this case. It shows how complicated some of the “Credit Disability Insurance” policies can be.

The opinion in the case was issued by the Houston Court of Appeals, First District, in December of 2011. The style of the case is, Bernice Hudspeth v. Enterprise Life Insurance Company. Here is some background.

On July 5, 2003, Hudspeth purchased a car from a dealership. In conjunction with that purchase, she also bought a disability insurance policy to cover her car payments in the event of her disability. It was a “reducing” policy, meaning that the value of the insurance declined when each car payment was made reducing the balance owed on the vehicle. The back of the credit insurance contract contained the following provision defining disability in a section entitled “DISABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE”:

Need Insurance Law Attorney For GAP Insurance

April 28, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Springtown, Millsap, Brock, Mineral Wells, and other places in Parker County need to know when it is time to get an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.

The Houston Court of Appeals, First District, issued an opinion in 2009, that is worth reading. The style of the case is, Russell W. Harrison v. Charlie Thomas Ford, Ltd. D/B/A Charlie Thomas Ford. This is an appeal from a summary judgment granted in favor of Charlie Thomas Ford.

The background facts of the case is not real relevant here because the case was essentially resolved based on statutes dealing with the sale of credit and GAP insurance.

Credit Insurance Policy

April 26, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Credit policies sold in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Fort Worth, Dallas, or any other place in Texas are regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Insurance Code. This means that when one of the policies are denied when an application for benefits is made, that an experienced Insurance Law Attorney should be consulted so that a beneficiary’s rights are not wrongfully denied.

Here is a case that was strange.

This is a 2001, case that was decided by the Beaumont Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, Paula Guillory v. Service Life and Casualty Insurance Company. Here is some of the background on the case.

Credit Life / Disability Policies

April 24, 2012 | Mark S. Humphreys

Car buyers in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Dallas, Mesquite, Garland, and other places in North Texas should be interested in this case.

The case is from 1996, and was decided by the Austin Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, American National Insurance Company and Heart of Texas Dodge v. Rosemary Paul and Don Paul. Here are some of the facts.

On February 16, 1993, the Pauls purchased a van from Dodge. Before this date, Mr. Paul negotiated the purchase terms of the van with one of Dodge’s agents. Mr. Paul asked the sales agent whether the purchase price included credit disability insurance. The agent responded that he did not know. Beyond this inquiry there was never any discussion of whether credit disability insurance was to be included in the transaction.