Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Texas Homeowners Policy’s

March 17, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Homeowners in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Dallas, and the rest of the State of Texas, need to have a basis understanding of homeowners policies when it comes to buying homeowners insurance. There a several different types of homeowners policies available for the Texas consumer.

Because of “form deregulation”, insurance companies now may offer approved alternative policies. There are differences in coverage, which may be significant. These different forms have been the source of much confusion for consumers looking to purchase a homeowners policy. A tool for comparing coverage is provided by the Office of Public Insurance Counsel. This a good resource for consumers to look and compare the various policies being offered by insurance companies. It is a good way to make sure apples are being compared with apples and not with oranges.

The most common policy is the Texas Homeowners Policy — Form B (HOB). This article is briefly discussing only the HOB.

Title Policy Insurance In Texas

March 16, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Anybody who has bought a house in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, Weatherford, or anywhere else in Texas has probably had to buy a title insurance policy on the house. This is always a requirement when a house is financed and only cash purchasers sometimes do not buy this coverage.

Texas Lawyer magazine publishes a book called Texas Insurance Law Digest. A lot of attorneys who practice insurance law will have this book in their library for quick reference. The book is over 800 pages and the pages are 8 1/2 by 11. In other words a lot of information. The section dealing with Title Insurance is only two pages and cites a total of four cases.

For someone interested in what can be done when a title insurance company does something wrong the first case listed is probably a good example. This case is, Chicago Title Insurance Company v. McDaniel. The case was decided in 1994 by the Texas Supreme Court.

Underinsured And Liability On Same Policy – How Does It Work

March 15, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Whether you live in Weatherford, Texas, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Dallas, or Fort Worth, the answer to the above would be the same. Texas insurance law is going to apply to all residents of Texas, no matter where in the state they live.

Of course there is no one answer to the above title. The answer depends on the policy and the fact situation. A case decided in 1992, gives some insight into a scenario that is fairly common across the state.

The case, Margot Bergensen v. Hartford Insurance Company of the Midwest and Harry Bergensen, was decided by the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas. Here are the relevant facts.

How Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Works In Texas

March 14, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Substantially less than half the automobile drivers in Mansfield, Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Praire, Weatherford, or any other place in the State of Texas carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits on their automobile insurance policy. Dollar for dollar it is one of the more expense insurance benefits a person can purchase.

PIP covers losses for medical bills and lost wages that are incurred for incidents arising out of the use of a covered automobile. This requirement is set out in the Texas Insurance Code, Section 1952.151. It is required to be offered on all automobile insurance policies issued in the state of Texas. This requirement is found in Section, 1952.152.

This purpose of this article is to help the reader understand Texas Insurance Code, Section 1952.155 and to tell the reader that the law in this section is enforced by holdings in the Texas Supreme Court. It states some of the Texas law dealing with PIP. The title of this section is, “Benefits payable without regard to fault or collateral Source; Effect on Subrogation.”

Limitations Periods In Texas For Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Coverage

March 12, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield residents and residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Weatherford who have uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on their automobile insurance policy should fill good about a case decided by the Texas Supreme Court in 1974. The case is styled, Raul C. Franco et ux. v. Allstate Insurance Company.

The facts of this case are fairly short and simple. Raul C. Franco and his family (Franco) had uninsured motorist benefits in an insurance policy they carried with Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate). An accident occurred wherein Franco suffered injuries and his daughter was killed. The accident was caused by the negligence of an uninsured driver. Franco made a claim for benefits from Allstate and eventually three years later sued Allstate.

Allstate denied the claim and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. Allstate asserted that a claim for the wrongful death of his daughter and the claim for his injuries, were both governed by a two year statute of limitations. Allstate claimed that because the two years had passed, it was too late for Franco to be seeking recovery.

Texas Case With Lots Of Insurance Law

March 11, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie residents beware; Weatherford residents beware; Arlington, Mansfield, Dallas, Fort Worth residents beware. Here is a case that makes you angry at the insurance company when you get into the details of how this person was treated by her insurance company and those associated with them.

The case is kinda old, decided in 2001. The style of the case is long, Lois Jones v. Ray Insurance Agency a/k/a Azteca Insurance and / or Alamo Insurance, and Collision Clinic, Inc., State & County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and Harbor Insurance Managers. It was decided by the Court of Appeals of Texas, Corpus Christi.

The facts of the case are long, but not really complicated. Lois Jones purchased a new 1998 Pontiac and purchased a State & County Mutual Fire Insurance Company insurance policy (State & County). This policy was purchased from the agent, Ray Insurance Agency a/k/a Azteca Insurance and / or Alamo Insurance (Ray). The policy administrator was Harbor Insurance Managers (Harbor). When purchasing the policy, Jones informed the agent that her sister lived with her, and was advised by the agent, that would not be a problem, and that as long as she paid her premiums on time she would have insurance. The policy with State & County excludes coverage for anyone residing with Jones age fourteen or over unless listed. Ms. Jones paid the November and December premium payments. The policy was to be effective from November 7, 1997 (the date of purchase) thru May 7, 1998.

Succesful Claim Against Home Builder In Texas

March 10, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

The topic of this piece is a case that arose out of Mansfield, Texas. The case could have just as easily arisen in Arlington, Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, or out in Weatherford.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a story about a claim against a home builder for the builders faulty construction work.

Even when a claim is against a home builder for mistakes in the construction of the home, often times the same claim can be made against the insurance company that insures the home. The advantage of claiming against the home owners insurance is to, hopefully, get the matter resolved quickly rather than get involved in an extensive and long drawn-out court battle with the builder. Of course, sometimes it is just the opposite.

Do Texas Laws Govern All Texas Policies

March 9, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

An important issue for any resident of Grand Prairie, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, or even a resident of a smaller community such as Weatherford is: What happens if I get into an insurance dispute with my insurance company? What laws apply in fighting with the insurance company?

This question is atleast partially answered by a section of the Texas Insurance Code. Article 21.42 of the Texas Insurance Code is titled, Texas Laws Govern Policies. It says, “Any contract of insurance payable to any citizen or inhabitant of this State by any insurance company or corporation doing business within this State shall be held to be a contract made and entered into under and by virtue of the laws of this State relating to insurance, and governed therby, notwithstanding such policy or contract of insurance may provide that the contract was executed and the premiums and policy (in case it becomes a demand) should be payable without this State, or at the home office of the company or corporation issuing the same”.

Wow, no wonder attorneys are needed to decipher the law!

Rate Hikes Result In Lawsuit

March 8, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

It does not matter where in the State of Texas that you live. Whether you are in a small community like Weatherford or in the middle of the Dallas, Fort Worth, area, in cities like Arlington or Grand Prairie, you will see rate increases in your health insurance.

In the state of California, a consumer group filed a lawsuit on March 1, 2010. This was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. The article is found in the health care section of the paper and is titled “Anthem Blue Cross Sued Over Rate Increases”. The lawsuit alleges that Anthem Blue Cross, by raising rates, was forcing policy holders to move into other policies with higher deductibles and lower benefits.

The consumer group, called Consumer Watchdog, accuses Anthem of violating state law by failing to offer policy holders comparable coverage and minimized rate hikes after the company directs customers to alternative plans when closing existing plans. One lady in the lawsuit, said the company offered her the option of switching to a policy with a higher deductible and skimpier benefits by a specific deadline, but also told her she could stay in her current policy. The company then notified her of the enormous premium increases in her plan after the deadline for switching had passed.

Health Insurance Exclusions

March 7, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

All over the Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie areas and even out in Weatherford in Parker County, are immigrants. What many people fail to understand because of all the media coverage on illegal immigration in the United States, is that there is a large and growing number of legal immigrants in our country.

A newspaper in Massachusetts recently ran an article about health insurance and legal immigrants. The newspaper was The Boston Globe. The title of the article is “Immigrants Sue State Over Exclusion From Health Care”.

The State of Massachusetts, prior to 2006 provided health care to legal immigrants. According to the article, in an effort to save money, the legislature voted to eliminate coverage to about 26,000 immigrants. About a third of the money cuts were restored and the immigrants were given a stripped down health care plan with significantly higher copayments for medications and other treatments.