Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Car Insurers Helping Car Makers

May 15, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance lawyers in Texas might find this article interesting. It was published by the Insurance Journal in April 2016. The title of the story is “Carmakers Want Insurers To Help Boost Compliance With Recalls.” It might not be a bad idea.

Major carmakers want U.S. auto insurance companies to help persuade millions of American car owners to get recalled vehicles fixed.

The new push comes as a U.S. House panel will hold a hearing Thursday on efforts by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reduce the number of uncompleted vehicle recalls.

Insurance And Hunting

May 14, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Texas insurance lawyers, with the prevalence of hunting in the state, may see a situation where hunting needs to be defined. A 1989, Corpus Christi Court of Appeals case addressed this issue in an opinion. The opinion is styled, Warrilow v. Norrell.

In that case three hunting friends, Norrell, Kerr, and Wolfe, had been on a deer hunting trip in Colorado. Upon arriving, the three men rented a four-wheel drive vehicle from a local resident for easy transport to and from the hunting fields. On the last day of the hunt, Norrell shot a deer and secured it to the vehicle, while Kerr did not. To take advantage of the last few hours of the hunt, Norrell suggested that Kerr keep his holster and fully loaded pistol handy in case they spotted a deer on the way to return the vehicle.

On the way to return the vehicle, the left rear tire went flat, and the three hunters exited the vehicle to change the tire. To assist in the operation, Kerr removed his belt and moved to set his holster on the ground. Tragically, he dropped the pistol, which then discharged and hit Norrell in the left temple. Norrell died almost a week later. Norrell’s family first brought suit agains the pistol manufacturer, Ruger, on product defect theories. Ruger then made Kerr a third-party defendant and sought contribution. Kerr’s homeowners insurer, Foremost, provided a defense and also tendered its $50,000 limits in contribution to Ruger. The Norrell’s next brought suit directly against Kerr.

Life Insurance And Felony Activity

May 12, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

What if someone is killed while that someone is committing a felony. Life insurance lawyers in the Dallas – Fort Worth area may be presented with that scenario. Here is how a 1997, Dallas Court of Appeals court looked at the situation. The case is styled, Grant v. Group Life & Health Insurance Company.

Grant used a pry bar to break into the residence of Stokes. When Grant entered the residence Stokes shot him five times, killing him. Grant’s wife sued Group Life to recover benefits under an accident policy for the death of her husband. Group Life moved for summary judgment on the basis that Grant died while committing a burglary and, therefore, his death was not accidental. The trial court granted the summary judgment and Grant appealed.

Because Grant’s death was not accidental, the trial court correctly granted Group Life’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Grant argues that because Group Life did not furnish her with a certificate of insurance, it is estopped from relying on undisclosed exclusions. Because the policy in question does not provide coverage for Grant’s death the policy’s exclusions are irrelevant.

Mis-Representation In An Application For Insurance

May 10, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance lawyers can tell you that one of the quickest ways to get a claim denied is for there to be a mis-representation in an application for insurance. The Insurance Journal published a story discussing mis-represntations in April of 2016. The title of the story is, Half of Insurance Shoppers Giving Inaccurate Information.

It seems there’s no shortage of financial dishonesty. Two recent surveys seem to indicate that many of us are perfectly willing to lie to save a few bucks.

A survey of 2,115 American adults from NerdWallet released last month shows a surprising number of people will tell a financial lie, and that many would even consider lying if it could result in federal prosecution.

Insurance Agents Who Cheat

May 8, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Fort Worth insurance lawyers will usually have a story to tell about an insurance agent they caught cheating. The Insurance Journal published a story in April 2016, that should make all insurance consumers beware. The title of the story is, Former Oklahoma Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty To $500K Scam.

A former insurance agent in Oklahoma has pleaded guilty to scamming $505,126.43 from his clients, the Oklahoma Insurance Department announced.

A joint investigation including the OID’s Anti-Fraud Unit led to the charges against Gary Edward Hibbing, 52, formerly of Grove.

Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Apply?

May 7, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance lawyers in Dallas and Fort Worth areas will often deal with uninsured motorist situations. Some of the situations are strange and the question becomes whether or not the uninsured motorist statutes in the Texas Insurance Code and actual provisions of policies apply to the fact situation being confronted. A 1999, Texas Supreme Court case deals with one strange situation. The style of the case is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Whitehead.

In this case the Court considered whether an uninsured motorist policy provision covers damages sustained by the insured’s survivors when a passenger in another vehicle shot and killed the insured while he was driving his vehicle. After a bench trial, the trial court held that the policy provided uninsured motorist benefits. The court of appeals affirmed. This Court reversed and rendered judgment that the plaintiffs take nothing.

The underlying facts are largely undisputed. Kevin Hawkins was riding in a van driven by his brother, Howard Hawkins, Jr., when he saw a passenger in a pickup truck with whom he believed he had quarreled earlier in the evening. As the van pulled alongside the pickup, Kevin pointed a pistol at the pickup and fired several shots. Brent Taylor, the driver of the pickup, was shot and killed. The pickup then went out of control and struck a bridge stanchion. Starlette Whitehead, a passenger in the pickup, was injured in the crash.

Insurance Company Apology

May 5, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance attorneys rarely see an insurance company apologize. What might happen if they did?

In a society that highly values a genuine apology, it is shocking that most in-house counsel and most trial lawyers never even consider whether an apology might be appropriate to resolve a claim or lawsuit. We teach our children to apologize at a very young age. As adults, we are well-versed in giving and receiving apologies with our spouses, coworkers, friends, and families. It seems one week cannot pass without a high-profile celebrity, sports figure, or politician issuing a public apology for some transgression. It seems, however, that the concept of even considering an apology rarely enters the thought process of claim professionals and trial lawyers when evaluating strategic options for dealing with the claims and lawsuits that cross their desks. The absence of any academic discussions within the field of insurance is certainly not because of the lack of psychological and legal work regarding the science of apology. Apology research is as old as the study of rhetoric and it has gained widespread popularity in other disciplines in the last two decades.

Regardless of the relationship or magnitude of the transgression, the first step towards evaluating whether an apology is owed is always self-assessment. As for apologies within a personal relationship, for some people this seems to be very easy and for others very hard. In businesses, it seems to be exceptionally hard.Initially, the group-think of some organizations seems to create a presumption of righteous perfection. It’s exceptionally rare for group assessment to conclude that some kind of wrongdoing occurred and that an apology may be owed. While among some individuals this eemingly arrogant group-think is the result of pride, the greater driving force seems to be fear. Most business leaders fear the implications of an apology. Fundamentally, however, those who both lead companies and the trial bar must be challenged to have a more candid, transparent, and accurate assessment of the shortcomings of any organization, its claim handling, and its litigation decision making. An organization can’t accurately contemplate whether an apology is owed unless it can accurately assess whether something went wrong for which an apology might be owed. As simplistic as this sounds, it is mind boggling how hard it is for many business organizations to make an accurate self-assessment. Needless to say, far more work is needed in our industry to accurately assess when and how to apologize.

Hail Claim And Communicating With Insurance Company

May 3, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Lawyers who handle hail claims know that the quicker a claim is made, the better. Communication with the insurance company is also important. Both these points are made in Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division opinion styled, Juan Sanchez Fregoso, et al v. State Farm Lloyds, et al.

In this case, the court granted State Farm’s motion for summary judgment.

Plaintiffs’ claims arise from damage sustained to their property as a result of a hailstorm event occurring in March / April 2012. The property is insured under a State Farm policy providing replacement cost benefits. Shortly after the storm, Plaintiffs reported an insurance claim to State Farm for the damages sustained to their property. Thereafter, State Farm inspected the property on May 6, 2012, estimating the loss to the property to be $6,910.44. On that same day, State Farm issued to Plaintiffs an actual cash value payment of $3,160.27, the amount remaining after deducting the recoverable depreciation ($1,796.17), and the deductible ($1,954), from the replacement cost value ($6,910.44).

Insurance Companies Will Prosecute Fraud Cases

May 1, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance lawyers know that some cases they see involve fraud. The trick for them is to distinguish good cases from bad cases. The Insurance Journal published an article that some would find surprising. The title of the article is, Former Iowa Firefighter Again Pleads Guilty To Insurance Fraud.

A former Iowa firefighter pleaded guilty to insurance fraud related to a string of cases spanning Buchanan, Clayton and Delaware counties, the Iowa Department of Insurance reported.

Terry Russell Groth, a former Strawberry Point firefighter, entered the plea on Feb. 16, 2016. It’s third conviction for Groth related to these cases.

When Your Own Insurance Finds You At Fault

April 30, 2016 | Mark S. Humphreys

Farmers Branch insurance lawyers will have a client walk in and say that their own insurance company has found them at fault for an accident and paid the other party. What can be done? A Dallas Court of Appeals case gives some insight. The style of the case is, Van K. Martin v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.

This is an appeal from a declaratory judgment action and an appeal from an adverse finding in a summary judgment.

Martin’s son was involved in an auto accident with another State Farm insured, Jeffery Lonsdale. No one was injured in the accident, but Lonsdale filed a claim for property damage, which was submitted to State Farm under Part A of Martin’s liability policy. Martin filed a claim for property damage to his vehicle under Part D of the policy. State Farm settled Lonsdale’s claim and provided coverage for the property damage to Martin’s vehicle. Martin alleges that State Farm unreasonably concluded his son was primarily responsible for the accident without interviewing Martin’s son or other witnesses in the car. Martin alleges he paid the deductible to have his vehicle repaired and paid “incremental semi-annual premiums” related to the accident.