Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

What Happens When The Insured Does Not Submit To An Examination Under Oath?

June 15, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Fort Worth insurance lawyers should know about insurance policy provisions that require an examination under oath (EUO). The Houston Court of Appeals [14th Dist.] issued an opinion in May 2013, that helps to understand the process. The style of the case is, Arman A. Shafighi v. Texas Farmers Insurance Company.

Here is some of the relevant information:

Shafighi sued Farmers when it denied his claim for fire damage to his house. The trial court granted summary judgment to Farmers, concluding that Shafighi could not recover because he failed to participate in a sworn examination as part of Farmers’ investigation. Because the insurance policy at issue permits Farmers to abate the case until Shafighi complies with the relevant policy provisions, but does not entitle it to summary judgment under these circumstances, this appeals Court reversed and remanded.

Life Insurance – Who Gets The Money?

June 13, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Fort Worth life insurance attorneys will understand why people need an attorney’s help in these disputes after reading this case. The case is styled, Cheryl M. Patterson and Aundrell Patterson v. American General Life Insurance Company. The opinion was issued in May 2013, by the Houston Court of Appeals, 1st Dist.

Here is the relevant information.

The operative facts of this case are largely undisputed. On May 3, 2007, American General issued a life insurance policy for Lonnie J. Patterson, Jr. The policy initially named Lonnie, Jr.’s father, Lonnie J. Patterson, Sr., the primary beneficiary and his mother, Cheryl M. Patterson, the contingent beneficiary. American General subsequently received a change of beneficiary for the policy, naming Lonnie, Jr.’s mother, Cheryl, and, his sister, Aundrell Patterson, as primary co-beneficiaries. American General acknowledged and confirmed this change in a November 2007 letter to Lonnie, Jr.

Endorsements On An Insurance Policy

June 11, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance law attorneys need to know the significance of endorsements on an insurance policy. A recent United States District Court case in the Northern District of Texas is worth knowing about. The case is styled, Bituminous Casualty Corporation v. Travelers Indemnity Company, et al.

Here is some relevant information on the case.

Bituminous Travelers and Frontier seeking a declaratory judgment that Travelers’ insurance policy with Big D Concrete, Inc. covers a tractor and trailer that Big D leased to Frontier, Bituminous’ insured. The tractor and trailer were involved in an accident that gave rise to an underlying state court lawsuit. The Policy provides liability coverage for “[a]ny ‘Auto.’ ” D. At the time of the accident, Big D owned the tractor and trailer at issue, but it had leased them to Frontier. The lease included four other tractors and trailers, and it required that Frontier keep the equipment “insured against all risks of loss or damage from every cause whatsoever,” and to bear the entire risk of loss or damage. After Big D executed the lease, it submitted to Travelers through an agent a policy change request asking that Travelers delete these five tractors and five trailers from the Policy. In response, Travelers issued a change endorsement that amended the Policy to delete the five tractors and five trailers from commercial automobile coverage. The Endorsement also specified that “LIABILITY COVERAGE IS DELETED” for all ten vehicles.

Delay In Paying Claim

June 9, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Mineral Wells attorneys who handle insurance claims need to be aware of the laws regarding the payment of insurance claims.

The Texas Insurance Code, Sections 542.051 – 542.061 is known as the Prompt Payment of Claims Act. These sections detail the time limits insurance companies have for responding to and paying a claim. The time limits will vary with the type of claim and the circumstances of the claim. The rules can be confusing. But what is important is that the Prompt Payment of Claims Act also sets the penalties for an insurance company failing to follow the rules. These penalties include not only having to pay the claim but to pay the court costs and attorney fees involved in getting the claim paid. As extra punishment for failing to follow the rules the insurance company is liable of an additional penalty of 18% owed on the claim. This 18% would be in addition to the 5% prejudgment interest that accrues on a judgment.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division issued a report and recommendation in April of 2013, dealing with the Prompt Payment of Claims Act. The style of the case is, Pointewest Center, LLC. v. National Surety Company and here is some of the relevant information.

Misrepresentations By Insurance Agents And Companies

June 8, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance lawyers will find that misrepresentations by insurance agents and companies are a big area of litigation in insurance cases.

One of the most common reasons for an insurance dispute is the complaint that someone misrepresented something. Sometimes it is the company saying the insured made misrepresentations in the insurance application and other times it the insured saying the insurance agent or the company made a misrepresentation. After a claim is made, the insured may feel that the coverage accepted by the insurance company is less that the coverage promised at the time of the sale. Depending on the facts of the case, a representation by the insurance company or its agent may lead to liability for breach of contract, unfair insurance practices, deceptive trade practices, negligence or fraud.

There is a Houston [14th] Court of Appeals case decided in 2003, which says an insurance company can sue one of its own agents for misrepresentation, if the agents conduct results in liability for the insurance company. This happens quite frequently.

Bad Faith Insurance

June 6, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Parker County lawyers need to have a basic understanding of how to see bad faith insurance when it happens.

To understand the different ways disputes can arise, it is helpful to consider the sequence of events that are likely to occur. To do this, try to divide the purchase of insurance into the initial sale of the policy by an agent and the the subsequent handling of a claim when one is made. Here is a further breakdown.

A) The sale of the policy. To begin with, the consumer and insurance company and insurance company agent must communicate to establish an insurance contract relationship. Disputes may arise over what was asked for by the person trying to purchase insurance, who was represented by the agent, or the timeliness of the insurance company or agent in providing coverage. Issues may also arise about the honesty of the applicant or the agent in discussing information requested by the insurance company.

Use Of An Automobile In An Insurance Policy

June 4, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Weatherford insurance attorneys need to know about this recent case out of the Houston (14th) Court of Appeals. The style of the case is Farmers Insurance Exchange and Allstate County Mutual Insurance Company v. Juan Rodriguez. The opinion was issued in 2012.

The following facts are undisputed. Using a trailer hitched to his pickup truck, Woodling transported a deer stand from his deer lease to his residence. He pulled into his driveway and attempted to remove the deer stand from the trailer. He pushed the deer stand out of the trailer until the legs on the stand touched the driveway. He left the stand resting at a 30-degree angle against the trailer. He then attached a come-along 2 to a fence post and to the stand and attempted to raise the stand upright. Realizing he could not accomplish the task alone, he requested assistance from his neighbor, Rodriguez. Rodriguez and Woodling decided to lift the stand manually by walking forward out of the trailer and onto the driveway. They began in the trailer, each using both hands to push the stand upward. Then they stepped onto the driveway and took “one or two” more steps. When the stand was no longer touching the trailer, Woodling realized it was too heavy and yelled, “Juan, I can’t hold it. Jump.” Woodling then jumped away, leaving Rodriguez alone to hold the stand, which weighed approximately 350 pounds. The stand fell, and Rodriguez was injured.

The liability provisions of the Farmers homeowners policy contain the following exclusion for bodily injury claims: “arising out of the ownership, maintenance, operation, use, loading or unloading of … trailers [or] semi-trailers” except for “trailers or semitrailers while not being towed by or carried on a motor vehicle.”

Insurance Company Breaking The Law

June 2, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas lawyers need to be aware of insurance companies that are breaking the laws so that they can scrutinize new cases with an awareness of the wrongs these companies have a history of performing.

The Virginia Times Dispatch ran an article on April 10, 2013, titled, Texas Insurance Firm Accused of Defrauding Tech Students. The article tells us a Texas company that provided health insurance to Virginia Tech students fraudulently overstated claims by more than $9 million to boost its profits, according to a 57-count federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The grand jury indictment in U.S. District Court in Abingdon charges GM-Southwest Inc. and its former owner, John Paul Gutschlag Sr., with racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering and fraud.

Title Insurance Information

June 1, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance attorneys need to know a few of the regulations regarding title insurance policies.

The title insurance business in Texas is almost completely regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance, and policies may not be issued except as provided by Title 11 of the Texas Insurance Code. This section of the Texas Insurance Code is also known as the “Texas Title Insurance Act.”

Any person, business, corporation, whether in Texas or outside of Texas, which engages in providing title insurance, and their agents, must operate under the control and supervision of the rules promulgated by the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance. This rule is found in Section 2703.001.

Title Insurance

May 30, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance lawyers also need to know about “title insurance.”

When purchasing land or anything that sits on land, the buyer will want to verify that the seller of the land is the true owner of the land and has good title to the land. If the buyer has a lender involved, the lender will usually require title insurance as a condition of the loan. There are many interests that land could be subject to. These interests include liens, mineral interests, easements, rights of way, etc. The purchaser of title insurance is seeking to avoid the necessity and responsibility of checking, examining and analyzing public records to determine the title to the land. Thus, a title company is sought to do this research and issue title insurance. A title insurance company is to:

1) check the status of the title to the property; and