Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Insurance Companies Doing It Again – Raising Rates

December 19, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insureds in Weatherford, Aledo, Arlington, Azle, Grand Prairie, Dallas, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Bedford, Hurst, Euless, Grapevine, and any other place in Texas will be upset to find out that their insurance rates are going up again. And it is going up in spite of record profits the insurance companies are making. It’s not like they are losing money.

The Austin American Statesman published an article on Wednesday, December 15, 2010. The title of the article is, “Allstate Raising Homeowner Insurance Rates.” This article appears to be reprinted from the Associated Press.

The article informs the reader that Allstate Insurance has notified the Texas Department of Insurance that it will increase homeowner rates. Some of the increases will be up to 10 percent.

Auto Liability Insurance

December 18, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

How much coverage does someone in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Cleburne, Mesquite, or anywhere else in Texas have on their automobile policy? The answer would depend on what type of coverage you are talking about. There are different coverage amounts based on what a person wants and what is available. Let’s look at just auto liability coverage.

The Austin American Statesman published an article that ran on December 13, 2010. The title of the article is, “Mandatory Auto Liability Coverage to Rise in New Year.” The article was written by Tim Eaton.

According to a 2007 law, authored by former State Senator Kip Averitt, the minimal liabilty coverage that can be sold in Texas raises to $30,000 for each injured person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage.

Credit Life And Disability Policy

December 16, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

When someone in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Benbrook, Crowley, Cedar Hill, Newark, Cedar Hill, Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Lake Worth, or anywhere else in Texas buys a car or truck on credit, the dealership will always offer the purchaser the option of getting a credit life and disability insurance policy. The purpose of this type of insurance policy is to pay off the loan if the purchaser dies before paying off the loan or makes the loan payments if the borrower becomes disabled while the debt is still owing.

A case from the Court of Appeals of Georgia issued an opinion on June 30, 2010, where this type of policy was the subject of a lawsuit. The style of the case is Resource Life Insurance Company v. Buckner et al. This was a class action lawsuit.

Here is some background. In early 2001, Dorothy Buckner purchased a car and financed it with a loan. As part of that transaction, Buckner bought both a credit life and a credit disability insurance policy from Resource Life Insurance Company (Resource). In November 2001, Buckner’s automobile was totaled and her debt on the car was extinguished, thereby triggering the automatic cancellation of the Resource policies. At that time, Resource owed Buckner a refund of her unearned premium in the amount of $1,213.60. Based upon an alleged mathematical error by the automobile dealer who issued the refund on Resource’s behalf, Buckner did not receive the entire amount she was owed.

Disability Insurance Claim

December 14, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Anyone in Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, De Soto, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Burleson, or anywhere else in Texas, who purchases a disability insurance policy may be interested in the reasoning and interpretation of the following case.

On November 29, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in the case styled, Bruce Leipzig, M.D. v Principle Life Insurance Company.

From a legal standpoint this case was won by Principle Life Insurance Company (Principle) at the trial court and then was appealed by Dr. Leipzig. He lost on appeal.

Suicide And Life Insurance Claim Denial

December 12, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Suicide by someone in Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Keller, Roanoke, Aledo, Burleson, Granbury, or anywhere else in Texas. Does that negate an insurance policy?

The first thing anybody should know about life insurance and suicide is that if life insurance benefits are denied because the cause of death was a suicide, the intended beneficiary should seek the advice of an experienced Insurance Law Attorney.

The Texas Insurance Code, Section 1101.055(b), says in part:

Beneficiary And Life Insurance

December 11, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here’s a question someone in Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Lake Worth, Azle, Grapevine, or anywhere else in Texas might ask. When is someone considered dead for purposes of collecting on a life insurance policy?

Let’s start with this. For an intended beneficiary under an insurance policy to collect death benefits the insured must be dead. But what if there is no body? Also doubt about the death may arise when there is uncertainty over the identity of a body. This was the case in a 1987 Texas Supreme Court case styled, Davidson v. Great National Life Insurance Company. This was also an issue in the 1892 United States Supreme Court case, Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York v. Hillmon.

Legal presumptions can aid in determining whether a death has occurred. In the Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code, Section 133.001, some help is found. This section says, “Any person absenting himself for seven consecutive years shall be presumed dead unless it is proved that the person was alive within the seven-year period.

Criminal Acts And Automobile First Party Insurance

December 9, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Victims of crime in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Bedford, Hurst, Euless, Burleson, Granbury, or other places in Texas might wonder, What happens if I get injured when I am the victim of a crime? The answer is a lawerly answer: It depends.

The Pittsburg Tribune-Review published an article on December 1, 2010, that gave some insight into a possible answer to the above question. The article was authored by Rich Cholodofsky and is titled, “Firm Denies Benefits To Mt. Pleasant Township Family of Slain Samaritan.”

According to the article, an Erie insurance company asked a Westmoreland County judge for permission to withhold benefits to the family of a Good Samaritan who was shot to death as she tried to assist the wife and daughter of her alleged killer.

Insurance For Injuries

December 7, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Young athletes in Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Irving, Cleburne, Mesquite, Garland, Weatherford, and other places in Texas, usually have some sort of insurance coverage in case they get injured when involved in school sporting events. But exactly what does this coverage provide?

A student athlete in Clark County School District in Nevada, is finding the answer to be “not enough.” This is in an article published by the Las Vegas Sun and written by Steve Green. The article, titled, “High School Football Injury Sparks Lawsuit Over Insurance Coverage” was published on December 1, 2010. The athlete is LaQuan Phillips, who was a Green Valley High School football player who got injured in a game on September 5, 2008. Phillips suffered a spinal injury and has incurred more than $195,000 in medical expenses, which does not include future medical expenses and rehabilitation recommended by his medical providers. This figure also does not include compensation for Phillips pain and suffering and/or lost quality of life.

The insurance policy at issue in this case was issued by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburg, Pa. The policy is issued to the school district and is suppose to cover student athletes, cheerleaders and students in non-sports extracurricular activities and provides up to $2.5 million in coverage.

Life Insurance – Insurable Interests

December 5, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Ask someone in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Duncanville, Azle, Crowley, Cedar Hill, Saginaw, Flower Mound, or any other place in Texas, what an insurable interest in a life insurance policy is, and the chances are that they will not be able to tell you. This has been discussed in a couple of earlier blogs.

As stated before, those who have an insurable interest in the life of another falls into three general classes:

1) one so related by blood or affinity that he or she wants the other to continue to live, irrespective of monetary considerations;

Interpreting A Commercial Policy

December 4, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Business people in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Keller, Coppell, Irving, Mesquite, Garland, Richardson, or anywhere else in the State of Texas might want to read the case below. It illustrates why it is important to know what your commercial insurance policy covers and how to interpret it.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision on November 24, 2010, in a case styled, Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company v. Horatio Gonzalez. This is appeal from a district court where the district court had ruled in favor of the insurance company. This appeals court upheld the ruling of the district court.

In this case Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company (Atlantic) insured PV Roofing Corp. (PV). PV was sued by Gonzalez when Gonzalez was injured at a site where PV was performing roofing work.