The Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (TPPCA) sets forth rules for payment of claims and penalties for violation of those rules. Here is a case that deals with the TPPCA when there is an appraisal involved. The case is from the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, and is…
Insurance lawyers need to know ways to hold an insurance company liable for the conduct of one of it’s agents. Here is why. Sometimes an insurance agent does not have assets or insurance coverage to pay for his mistakes. If the insured customer cannot be made whole by pursuing the…
Here is something an insurance company does not like. An insurance company cannot escape liability by showing that it did not authorize the specific wrongful act of an agent. This was the decision in the 1994, Texas Supreme Court opinion styled, Celtic Life Ins. Co. v. Coats. Something similar is…
There are various acts or in-actions that an insurance agent can take that will hold not only the agent responsible but also the insurance carrier. An insurance company may be liable for unauthorized acts by an agent, if the agent is acting within the scope of his “apparent authority.” Actual…
Uninsured/Undersinsured (UIM) coverage has its own rules. It is sometimes hard to understand the distinction between UIM coverage claims and other tort claims and how this works with the Texas Insurance Code. However, this discussed in a January 2020, opinion from the United States Northern District Dallas Division. The opinion…
What about those times that an insurance company pays a claim but the payment has been a lot later than it should have been paid? That is an issue that is partially addressed in a January 2020, opinion from the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. …
Lawyers handling insurance disputes know that often times the wrongs committed in an insurance dispute are committed by the agent who sold the policy. When it comes to the conduct of insurance agents and their relationship with the insurance company, there are two kinds of authority. There is “actual authority”…
As has been stated many times, insurance companies prefer to litigate lawsuits in Federal Court rather than State Court. Conversely, it is usually better for someone suing an insurance company to litigate the case in State Court rather than Federal Court. Here is a 2019, opinion from the Southern District…
Here is some information about ways of holding an insurance agent responsible for his actions or in-actions. Does an agent have a duty to explain policy terms and coverages to customers? Does an agent have a duty to offer higher limits or additional coverages? Generally, the courts have said the…
Insurance agent mistakes can be a big cause of litigation. Everyone makes mistakes, and insurance agents are not immune. The very complexity of the insurance business creates numerous opportunities for errors and omissions to creep into an agency’s operation. An insurance agent has / serves two masters – the insured,…