Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Attorney Bad Faith Issues To Know

December 17, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Bad Faith attorneys in Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Colleyville, Keller, Saginaw, Newark, Southlake, Roanoke, and other places in the DFW metroplex might find this case worth knowing.

The United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, issued an opinion in November 2011, in the case styled “839 East 19th Street, LP v. Lexington Insurance Company, et al.” This is a case wherein a motion for summary judgment filed by one of the defendants, Unified Building Sciences, Inc. (UBS), was granted.

Here is some background:

Attorneys And Insurance Law

December 15, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Attorneys in Weatherford, Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Mineral Wells, or anywhere else in Texas have to have an understanding of insurance law to handle insurance disputes effectively for clients.

There are different ways of recovering when insurance disputes arise. Many of these theories of recovery have common elements.

Insurance transactions tend to resemble one another, so disputes arising from them tend to resemble one another. There are only so many ways that an insurance company and their customer can get crossways. Most situations present recurring problems that can be grouped into categories. Insurance law is even more precedent-driven than other areas of law, as courts try to construe similar policy language consistently. It is not surprising that many cases start to look alike.

Ways Insurance Companies Mess Up

December 13, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

No matter if you are in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Brock, Millsap, Cool, Peaster, Springtown, or any other place in Parker County, at many points in your life there will be times when you buy insurance and as a result there will be many chances for the insurance company to make a mistake.

The insurance industry is regulated in Texas by the Texas Department of Insurance and complaints can be filed with that department. The courts in Texas handle disputes that become lawsuits and these disputes can wind up in the Texas Supreme Court. Guidelines and laws/statutes for insurance companies to follow are found in the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas Administrative Code.

There are many ways an insurance company can mess up.

Appraisal And Insurance

December 11, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Appraisal – People in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Keller, Coppell, Farmers Branch, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, and other places in the DFW area are probably not familiar with the way appraisal works in an insurance policy.

The Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in 2009 that deals with appraisals. The style of the case is State Farm Lloyds v. Becky Ann Johnson. Here is some background.

A hailstorm moved through Plano, Texas in 2003, damaging the roof of Becky Ann Johnson’s home. She filed a claim under her homeowners insurance policy with State Farm. The inspector concluded that hail had damaged only the ridgeline of her roof, and estimated repair costs at $499.50, which was less than her deductible. Johnson’s roofing contractor concluded the entire roof needed to be repaired at a cost of more than $13,000.

Calculation Of Homeowners Claim

December 10, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

If someone in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, Cool, or some other place in Parker County suffers a loss that should be covered by their homeowners insurance, one of the first things they should do is to consult with an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) use to require that all homeowners policies written in Texas require a certain format and contain certain required coverages in that homeowners policy. In recent years TDI has allowed insurance companies to write their own policies without as much over sight. However, most policies are still following the rules as outlined by TDI.

These current homeowners policies follow two basic forms. One is called the Homeowners — Form A (HOA) and then other is referred to as Homeowners — Form B (HOB).

Duty To Cooperate With Insurance Company After A Loss

December 8, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

An insured in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Brock, Millsap, Peaster, Cool, Springtown, or anywhere else in Parker County may wonder how much they are suppose to do to help the insurance company when a claim is submitted for coverage. The answer is – quite a bit.

As for homeowners policies in Texas, the form and wording of the majority of policies follow what is called the Texas Homeowners Policy – Form B (“HOB”).

The HOB Policy requires that the insured cooperate with the insurer’s investigation of the claim by promptly submitting notice of the claim, completing an inventory of the damaged property, providing access to the damaged property and records, and signing a sworn proof of loss form. These requirements on the insured constitute a condition precedent to coverage under the policy. A United States, 5th Circuit case styled, Griggs v. State Farm Lloyds, decided in 1999, said absent the insured’s compliance with the conditions precedent to coverage, the insurer has no duty to provide benefits under the contract.

Rejection Of Uninsured Coverage

December 6, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

People with auto insurance policies in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, and other places through out the DFW metroplex usually do not have a very good understanding of how their auto insurance policies work. All they know is that if they get into a wreck the insurance is suppose to help them.

There are many things an auto insurance policy can provide. The vast majority of people get the bare minimum that is required by state law. But there are many things that can be purchased. The minimum is liability coverage. Beyond liability coverage, a person can purchase coverage for damages to their vehicle, towing, auto rental, life insurance, medical payments, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured coverage, and a few other types of coverage.

All of these coverages work a little different from each other. Personal Injury Protection (PIP), and Uninsured / Underinsured (UM) coverage is required coverage on any auto policy sold in the State of Texas, unless these coverages are rejected in writing.

Insurance Attorney And Insurance Claims And Offsets

December 4, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

There are times for someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, De Soto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Crowley, Mansfield, and other places in Texas to get with an Insurance Law Attorney to understand how certain aspects of insurance claims are to be handled.

In 1999, the Court of Appeals, Fourteenth District, Houston, had a case of “first impression,” meaning they were presented with an argument for the first time. The case dealt with an argument for offset and settlement credit against uninsured motorist coverage by a negligent third party. The dispute arose out of a multi-car accident.

The style of the case is, “Ann M. Bartley a/k/a Anne Marie Tadlock v. Martell Rae Guillot.” Here are some facts:

Value Of Claim In Insurance

December 3, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

A natural question for someone in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, or anywhere else in Parker County to ask is; What is the value of my claim?

When the claim is a personal injury claim, there is no easy answer. One general principle in this regard is that there are laws against making a “double recovery.” A double recovery would be where you collect money from more than one source for an injury. The most likely place for this to be seen is where a person is injured in an auto accident caused by another. The injured person goes to the hospital and pays for the hospital bills with their personal health insurance. Then later on, the injured person makes a claim against the person who caused the accident and injuries and the insurance company for that person pays the injured person again, for the same hospital bills. Technically, this is illegal.

Another example is where the injured person makes a claim against two other people who may be responsible for the injuries and both pay all the bills.

How Long Can An Insurance Company Take To Pay A Claim?

December 1, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Brock, Cool, Millsap, Peaster, and other places in Parker and Palo Pinto Counties may wonder how long an insurance company can take to pay a claim.

The answer is found in the Texas Insurance Code, Sections 542.051 thru 542.061. These sections are also known as the Prompt Payment of Claims law.

A careful reading of these sections will see that the time frame for paying an insurance claim depends on many factors. Some of those factors are (1) what type of insurance company is involved, (2) what type of claim is being made, (3) what is involved in the investigation, (4) how much has the claimant cooperated in the investigation of the claim, and variations of the preceding.