Jury Trial Says Insurance Paid Enough

Attorneys handling insurance claims need to be aware of legal matters be decided in the state that relate to insurance. The Insurance Journal ran an article dated October 21, 2014, that is titled, Jury Finds Texas Windstorm Insurer Adequately Paid City For Ike Claims. Here is what the article tells us.
Texas’ wind and hail insurer of last resort in coastal areas announced that a judgment has been entered in its favor in a lawsuit brought by League City in Southeast Texas.
The judgment signed on Oct. 16, 2014, by Presiding Judge Kerry Neves of the 10th District Court in Galveston, Texas, found that League City was not entitled to further payment from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) over damage to city property during Hurricane Ike in 2008.
A lawsuit filed by League City in 2012 alleged that TWIA underpaid — by several million dollars — for damage to city property resulting from Hurricane Ike.
“The jury found that TWIA’s original payments of over $765,000 adequately compensated the city for the damages covered under its policy, except for an underpayment of less than 10 percent to one structure,” the association’s announcement stated.
TWIA reported that League City’s lawsuit sought “recovery for Ike damage that was not previously presented to TWIA. The jury found that TWIA did not receive prompt notice of all claimed damages and the city failed to keep and provide an accurate record of repair expenses as required by the policy. Ultimately, the jury found that these factors prevented TWIA from properly evaluating and paying the claim.”
League City is required to pay court costs associated with the suit, according to the Oct. 16 order.
The circumstances surrounding this claim cannot be deciphered from reading the article but one thing the article does mention is that the jury believed League City did not promptly notify TWIA so that TWIA could do a quick and proper investigation, and two, that League City did not keep proper records regarding repair expenses. Both of these are important to making a claim and getting paid.