Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Insurance Complaints

November 20, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Saginaw, Bedford, Hurst, Euless, Grapevine, Colleyville, Grapevine, Keller, Boyd, Newark, or anywhere else in and around Tarrant County should know a little bit about the insurance company they are buying their insurance from.

The Texas Department of Insurance is a good resource to use to learn about almost all insurance companies doing business in the State of Texas. Their web-site is easy to navigate and contains lots of useful information on insurance companies and insurance agents and insurance adjustors. It has information related to licensing and information related to complaints filed. There is also a lot of information about the financial viability of the companies.

The site has lots of general information. Surfing their web-site will usually result in finding out information you did not know and are glad you discovered.

Insurance Agents And Releases Against Insurance Companies

November 19, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

People in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Mineral Wells, Millsap, Brock, Cool, Springtown, Peaster, Poolville, Whitt, and other places in Parker County need to make sure they know what they are doing when they sign a release for a claim they have against an insurance company.

The Texas Court of Appeals, Amarillo, issued an opinion on October 25, 2011. The style of the case is Trisha Braziel, Spencer Braziel and Kathy Wright v. Becton Insurance Agency, Inc.

This case was an appeal from a Motion For Summary Judgement which was granted against the Braziels and Wright.

Lawyers And Home Owners Claims

November 17, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Home owners in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Grapevine, Colleyville, Irving, Crowley, De Soto, Dallas, Fort Worth, Mesquite, Lake Worth, and other places in the DFW metropolitan area do not have some of the fears and concerns that home owners along the Gulf Coast have. But there are always concerns about claims denials resulting in a homeowner taking a loss. So, being aware of other ways of recovering losses is important.

The Miami Herald ran a story on October 26, 2001, titled Homeowners File Lawsuit Against Chinese Drywall Manufacturer, Distributor.

The history of these Chinese drywall claims is pretty easy to follow. After storms hit the Gulf Coast area in the early part of this decade, a lot of the damaged homes were repaired using Chinese drywall. This drywall was defective causing problems with home owners and devaluing effected homes.

Insurance Lawyer Needed

November 15, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

People needing an attorney in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Irving, Fort Worth, Dallas, and other places in Texas will probably get confused on this case and realize the necessity of hiring an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.

The Amarillo, Court of Appeals, issued an opinion on October 17, 2011, styled, In Re Farmers Texas County Mutual Insurance Company. This is a case where Farmers was seeking the issuance of a writ of mandamus from this appeals court. Farmers was asking this court to issue an order to Judge Carter Schildknecht of the 106th Judicial District Court of Garza County, Texas, to abate trial on extra-contractual claims asserted by real-party-in-interest, Terry Henrie. This court denied Farmers request.

Here is some background.

Homeowners Insurance Claims

November 13, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Anybody in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Parks, Willow Park, Brock, Millsap, Cool, Springtown, or anywhere else in Parker County, who owns a home, will find this interesting.

The Houston Chronicle published a story on October 13, 2011, titled, Home Insurance Rates Rise As Coverage Falls. The author is Purva Patel who has written several article on insurance in Texas.

The article tells us that the insurance companies in Texas are dropping or decreasing certain coverages to allow them to control costs and, in turn, keep a handle on the rates they charge. Consumer groups say its a reflection of lax oversight by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) and regulations coming out of Austin.

Where Appraisal Does Not Apply

November 12, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

If someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Crowley, Mansfield, Benbrook, Burleson, Keene, or anywhere else the metroplex area reads their homeowners insurance policy, they will probably find an appraisal clause. This clause usually, is for the benefit of the insurance company. As a result, getting around that clause is a good thing.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, issued an opinion on October 13, 2011, that is insightful for understanding at least one way of beating the appraisal clause. The style of the case is, Sidney Sam, et al. v. National Lloyds Insurance Company.

Sam and others (Plaintiffs) were insured under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) issued by Lloyds pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Plaintiffs’ apartment building was damaged by flood waters following Hurricane Ike. Plaintiffs submitted their claim to Lloyds, which determined that the flood damage to the building and its contents would require repairs in the amount of $100,622.67. Plaintiffs submitted a request for supplemental payment in the total amount of $249,000, or an additional amount of $148,377.33 beyond the amount offered by Lloyds. The additional payment included $39,000 for the presence of a “Commercial Superintendent on the site for 3 months for commercial restoration.” On April 21, 2010, Plaintiffs demanded an appraisal. On May 3, 2010, Lloyds denied the request. Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Compel Appraisal on September 15, 2011.

Credit Scoring Insurance

November 10, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Few people in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Fort Worth, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, or other places across Tarrant County like the use of credit scoring to get insurance. It is allowed in Texas.

The Insurance Journal ran a story on October 6, 2011, titled “Mass. Agents Gathering Signatures for Insurance Credit Score Ban.”

The article tells us that a Massachusetts independent agents group is confident that banning auto insurers’ use of credit scores and other socioeconomic factors will become law in coming months.

Claims Handling Process / Getting Paid On A Homeowners Policy Claim

November 8, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Everyone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Irving, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton, Duncanville, De Soto, and other places through out Texas need to know how to make sure they get paid properly and fully when making a homeowners claim.

One way is to see an experienced Insurance Law Attorney early in the claim. Another way is to make sure you have good records of your possessions.

The Wall Street Journal published an article on October 13, 2011, authored by Lori Bennett. The title is “Accounting for Disaster: Itemizing Your Home.”

Crop Insurance

November 6, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Farmers and ranchers in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Springtown, and other places in Parker or Palo Pinto counties may have to deal with crop insurance issues on occasions. Here is a legal case that deals with crop insurance.

The case was decided by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, Paris Division, in 1997. The style of the case is John Earl Bullard v. Southwest Crop Insurance Agency, Inc., Blakely Crop Hail, Inc., Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance, Co.

There is a federal law called the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Due to the inherent risks of insuring crops, insurance companies in the early 1900’s refused to write multi-peril crop insurance policies. In an effort to remedy the problem, Congress passed the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA) in 1938. Is purpose was to “promote the national welfare by improving the economic stability of agriculture through a sound system of crop insurance ….” To carry out this purpose, Congress created an agency within the Department of Agriculture known as the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). The FCIC assists in carrying out the goals of the FCIA by providing crop insurance to farmers in the following ways: (1) selling insurance through private insurance agents, (2) reinsuring private insurance companies that provide crop insurance, and (3) providing crop insurance directly to the farmer.

Proof Of No Insurance

November 5, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, Cool, Peaster, or anywhere else in Parker County may wonder how to make a claim for uninsured motorist benefits. READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END TO GET THE ANSWER.

The Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in 1970, in the case styled, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. William A. Matlock et ux. In this case the court reversed its earlier opinion and the ruling of the trial court and the court of appeals. This reversal resulted in William Matlock and his wife taking nothing in their lawsuit against State Farm.

The Matlocks suffered injuries in an accident with a car driven by a man identified in the court record only as a man with one leg. They knew the name of this man, but did not testify about his name. Upon the theory that he was an uninsured motorist and without joining him as a defendant, the Matlocks filed a lawsuit against their own insurer, State Farm, and asserted its liability under its policy terms to cover the Matlocks for damages for bodily injury caused by an uninsured motorist.