Insurance lawyers keeping up with the relatively new Insurance Code Section, 542A.006 election need to read this well reasoned case from the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. The opinion is styled, Leonard D. Morgan, et al. v. Chubb Lloyds Insurance Company of Texas. In this a homeowner’s claim…
Fortunately, most insurance claims do not require expert testimony to prove a claim. However, in those situations where an expert is required, a 2021 opinion from the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, is a good case for guidance on experts. The opinion is styled, Roy P. Labourdette Jr. v.…
Insurance Companies are supposed to promptly make payment of claims made by an insured. A May 2021, case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals confirms this. The style of the opinion is Hyewon Shin v. Allstate Texas Lloyd’s. In this case, the insured, Hyewon Shin asserted a claim for…
Insurance Lawsuits, like many other claims, result in other persons or entity’s being added to the lawsuit. The relevance here is that often times an adjuster or the agent who sold the policy may need to be part of the lawsuit. A 2021, opinion from the Northern District of Texas,…
There are a few statutes in the Texas Insurance Code that are specific to life insurance policies. These statutes are found in Sections 705.001 through 705.105. For an insurance company to deny coverage on a life insurance policy based on a misrepresentation in an application, the insurance company has traditionally…
Life Insurance claims attorneys need to understand the important distinction between statements by the insured that are considered to be representations and those considered to be conditions precedent. If the insured’s statement is considered a representation, a false statement alone will not let the insurer avoid coverage. Each of the…
Life insurance lawyers deal with many situations and reasons that life insurance companies use for denying a claim for benefits. A twist to not paying is where the insurance company does not technically deny the claim, rather the company rescinds the policy. As a general legal principle, prior to a…
Insurance lawyers often see situations where the agent selling the insurance policy made false representations regarding the policy at issue. Here is how the Courts look at these situations. According to the 1990, Texas Supreme Court opinion styled, DeSantis v. Wackenhut Corp., a false representation must involve an existing or…
Claims denial attorneys know that many claims arise because an insurance agent committed a fraud when selling the policy. A fraud cause of action requires proof of the following elements: 1. a material representation was made; 2. the representation was false; 3. the speaker knew it was false or made…
The vast majority of insurance policies are sold by insurance agents. So, are the insurance companies responsible for the acts of these agents? The first step to determine whether an insurance company is vicariously liable is to determine whether the agent who engaged in the conduct was acting as the…