Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Late or Slow Payment of Claims in Texas

July 15, 2009 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance companies are notorious for delaying payment and dragging a claim out and the result being that many people get frustrated and give up or walk away. What the person who was wronged by the insurance company does to “get back” is change insurance companies.

Insurance companies are highly regulated and have lots of rules they have to operate under. What is important to remember is that the rules are designed to make sure they are not taking advantage of you.

It is hard to know the rules as can be seen by reading the ones above and noting that they refer you to more rules and if you go to those rules you are referred further. Beyond that, you still have to know how the rules apply to different situations and how the courts have interpreted the rules.

Texas Insurance: Credit Life and Disability Policies

June 30, 2009 | Mark S. Humphreys

Some people know what a Credit Life and Disability Policy is but not everybody. Essentially it is a policy of insurance that is purchased by a borrower of money and the policy is suppose to do two basic things. One, pay off the loan in the event the insured person dies and two, make the payments due on the borrowed money while a person is disabled for as long as the disability lasts.

Most of the time these are purchased in two situations. The first and most common is when someone mortgages their home. The second is when someone purchases an automobile. There are many other financial situations where a credit life and disability policy is offered to a borrower and sometimes the lender requires it to be purchased.

Another situation where these types of policies are seen is in credit card transactions. Lots of credit cards offer the coverage free of charge while others charge you a few dollars a month for the coverage. In the credit card situation it is usually a matter of knowing or remembering you have the coverage when the time comes for yourself or a surviving heir to apply for the benefit. We have not seen lots of situations where this benefit is denied or refused in a credit card situation and in the situations where it has occurred, we have been able to resolve the conflict with a few phone calls or certified letters. It has been rare to actually get involved in a lawsuit.

Insurance Company Denies Claim In Texas

June 5, 2009 | Mark S. Humphreys

If you listen or watch the news much, especially around election time you would think that the only thing insurance companies ever do is pay claims. And not only do they pay claims, but they pay nothing but frivolous claims. And of course that is why your insurance rates are so high and why the above title would be a headline.

Politicians scream loud about the need for tort reform and about how there are too many lawsuits and too many people looking for a free ride. This is especially true in a Texas where there is a very conservative political environment. This is an issue that helps get a lot of politicians elected. George Bush was always invoking the evils of “trial lawyers”.

So based on the above you would think it is unusual for an insurance company to actually deny a claim and that the companies only exist to pay people unwarranted claims. This thought is far from reality.

Texas Insurance Law: Intentional Acts

May 31, 2009 | Mark S. Humphreys

The Texas Supreme Court in the case Tanner vs Nationwide has ruled in a case concerning exclusions for “intentional acts” committed by an insured driver.

The case facts involved a high speed chase wherein the driver, Gibbons was fleeing the police going at speeds in excess of 80 miles an hour in urban and residential neighborhoods, topping 100 miles per hour in rural areas, swerving across the road, going into and across fields, and around police cars. The chase ultimately resulted in Gibbons entering an intersection where the Tanner family was also entering and had the right-of-way. Gibbons did slam on his brakes and skidded to try and avoid a collision with the Tanners. Injuries resulted to the Tanner family.

The Tanners sued Gibbons and took a judgment against Gibbons however Nationwide refused to defend Gibbons or pay for Tanners damages arguing the intentional-injury exclusion in the policy of insurance barred coverage for the Tanners’ claims. Nationwide contended that when Gibbons fled police, he voided coverage under the policy’s intentional-injury exclusion, which withholds coverage for: “Property damage or bodily injury caused intentionally by or at the direction of an insured, including willful acts the result of which the insured knows or ought to know will follow from the insured’s conduct”.