Auto Insurance

Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage / Umbrella Policies

May 26, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

This could happen to someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Colleyville, Keller, or anywhere else in Tarrant County or the State of Texas. It is a case dealing with umbrella insurance policies and uninsured motorist automobile policies.

The case was decided in January, 1996, by the Austin Court of Appeals and is styled, Joel Sidelnik et al v. American States Insurance Company. Here is some background.

Sidelnik brought a declaratory judgment action seeking a determination that, as a matter of law, his umbrella insurance policy issued by American provides uninsured motorist coverage for the car accident in which his wife was killed. The trial court and this appeals court ruled in favor of American.

Underinsured Motorist Claim And Liability

March 13, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Drivers in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Irving, Duncanville, De Soto, Mansfield, Crowley, Burleson, Benbrook, and other places in Texas may wonder how the liability portion and underinsured portion of their automobile policy work. To begin with, there is not a short simple answer. Each situation has to be looked at and the policy read in conjunction with a particular fact scenario. Certainly one of the first things to do is to get with an experienced Insurance Law Attorney. That attorney would know the questions to ask and what to look at to give reliable guidance.

Here is a case for thought. The case is George Rosales and Ester Rivera v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. This case was decided by the Austin Court of Appeals in 1992.

George Rosales and Ester Rivera sued State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance to recover underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits under a Texas Standard Liability Policy issued to Sharon Barrett. The trial court concluded that Rosales and Rivera could not obtain liability and UIM benefits under a single insurance policy, and granted summary judgment in favor of State Farm. This appeals court affirmed the trial court ruling.

Definition Of Residence In Insurance Policy

February 19, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is a case for someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Mansfield, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, De Soto, Granbury, Burleson, Lake Worth, and other places through out the state of Texas to be aware of. The case is styled, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. Matthew Lange. The opinion in this case was issued on January 11, 2011, by Judge Keith Ellison, out of the United States District Court, Southern District Texas, Houston Division.

Before getting into the facts and final outcome of this case, it is noteworthy to point out that Mr. Lange did not have an attorney in this case. In other words, he was pro se, or representing himself.

This case arose out of a one-vehicle accident on February 5, 2009. Two of the passengers in Lange’s car were killed as a result of the accident. The sole determination in this case is whether Lange was insured under his parents’ Personal Liability Umbrella Policy (the “Policy”) at the time of the accident.

Insurance Policy Conditions

February 13, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

For someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Garland, Mesquite, Carrollton, Richardson, or anywhere else in Texas, it is sometimes difficult to understand the conditions that are written in a policy and how those conditions apply to a claim the insured person is making to the insurance company.

An insurance contract may impose conditions on the insured. For example, almost all policies are going to require that the insured give notice of the claim as soon as is practicable when a claim arises. The insured also has a duty to to co-operate with the insurance company in its investigation of the claim. Most policies require that the insured file a formal proof of loss, if the insurance company requests it. When the insured commits a material breach of the insurance contract, the insurance company is excused from its obligation under the insurance contract. In this regard, it then becomes important to understand what a “material” breach is.

In trying to understand what a “material” breach is, the case, Rueben and Anita Hernandez v. Gulf Group Lloyds, decided in 1994, by the Texas Supreme Court is a good case to look at for guidance.

Auto Insurance Policy Limits

February 8, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Drivers in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Parker County, Millsap, Godley, Hudson Oaks, Mineral Wells, Pool, Brock, and all other parts of Texas probably do not realize that the minimum policy limits for liability insurance on all automobiles went up on January 1, 2011.

Lawyers, and in particular, lawyers who do a lot of personal injury types of cases have wondered how this new law was going to work. The law originally changed regarding minimum limits on April 1, 2008. At that time the minimum, which had been $20,000 for personal injuries was raised to $25,000.

This law is found in the Texas Transportation Code, Section 601.072. When it was enacted, it was interpreted to mean that any new policy that went into effect after April 1, 2008, would have the new minimum limit of $25,000. What this means is that any policy that was written before April 1, 2008 still insured for the lower limit of $20,000. So, a policy issued in March of 2008, that was to provide coverage through September 2008, would still have a minimum of only $20,000 because the policy had been issued prior to the change going into effect on April 1, 2008. However, all policies written after the April 1, date would carry the $25,000 minimum.

Out Of State Auto Insurance

December 26, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

What if someone in Mesquite, Garland, Keller, Flower Mound, Haslet, Newark, Benbrook, Hutchins, Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, or Rockwall is involved in an accident with a driver from Arkansas or some other state? Does that other state insurance have to pay a claim here in Texas if the driver is a family member and the other state’s policy allows an exclusion for family members? Let’s see what Texas says.

The best guidance for the above situation is found in a 1992, Austin Court of Appeals case. The style of the case is, National County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and Consumers County Mutual Insurance Company v. Randall Johnson.

The question in the case for the court to decide was: Does a family-member exclusion in an automobile insurance policy contravene the public policy set forth in the Texas Safety Responsibility Act, which requires liability insurance coverage for all damages that arise out of the operation of a motor vehicle?

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.

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.

Medical Payments (Med Pay) In Insurance Policies

October 3, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Policy holders in Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Garland, Carrollton, Grapevine, Mansfield, Arlington, Weatherford, or any other place in this state usually do not have a very good understanding of the various benefits they have in their auto policy. In Texas, liability coverage is required to on automobiles traveling on Texas highways. The Texas Department of Insurance also requires that uninsured and underinsured coverage be offered on all auto policies. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is also a required coverage unless it is rejected in writing.

But what about other types of coverage on an auto policy? Collision, towing, rental, etc. Here is one most people are not aware of: Medical Payments coverage, otherwise known as “med pay.”

Med pay coverage is an optional coverage. Under this coverage, the carrier agrees to pay “reasonable expenses incurred for necessary medical and funeral services because of bodily injury caused by accident and sustained by a covered person.” This insuring agreement uses the term “caused by accident” as opposed to the more specific phrase “auto accident” used in the liability insuring agreement. This coverage defines “covered person” as the named insured or any family member while occupying or being struck by a motor vehicle. Also, any other person occupying the named insured’s covered auto is entitiled to med pay coverage. The coverage for those persons other than family members, however, is limited to occupancy in a covered auto.

Insurance Policy – Excluded Driver

October 1, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

“Excluded Driver”? Someone in Grand Prairie, Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, Garland, Mansfield, Crowley, Benbrook, Cleburne, or anywhere else in Texas may ask what does that means.

An “excluded driver” is someone who not covered on an automobile insurance policy while that person is driving or operating an insured vehicle. In an automobile insurance policy this is usually referred to as a “515A endorsement” or a “515A exclusion”. The Texas Department of Insurance allows insurance companies to exclude drivers from a policy but does require that anybody who is excluded to be named as an “excluded driver” and for there to be a signature by the person taking out the policy, to acknowledge the exclusion with their signature.

The most common situation where this occurs is when a child becomes sixteen and it is time to add them to the policy. The parents get a bill that is substantially higher than what they are use to paying and when they discover the reason for the increased rate is their teenage son or daughter they complain to the insurance agent. The agent then lets the parents know that they can keep their older / cheaper rates by not having the teenager on the policy. But because the teenager lives in the same house as the parents, there is a belief that the child will have access to the insured vehicles. Since the teenager usually exposes the insurance company to a greater risk and the child has access to the family vehicles the insurance agent will inform the parents that the only way they can not include the teenager in the rates being charged is to have the parents sign the “excluded driver” document. This document says there is not coverage for any damage the “excluded driver” does to the insured vehicle nor will there be coverage for any damage the “excluded driver” does to others.