Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Insurable Interest Discussion

March 13, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance lawyers will tell you that a person must have an insurable interest in the insured property to recover under an insurance policy. This is also stated in the 1993, Dallas Court of Appeals opinion, Jones v. Texas Pacific Indemnity Co.

The purpose of the requirement of an insurable interest is to discourage the use of insurance for illegitimate purposes as discussed in the 1999, Austin Court of Appeals opinion, Valdez v. Colonial County Mutual Insurance Co.

The 1998, Fort Worth Court of Appeals opinion, Foust v. Old American County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., tells us an insurable interest exists when the insured derives a pecuniary benefit or advantage by the preservation and continued existence of the property or would sustain pecuniary loss from its destruction.

Commercial Property Insurance

March 11, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Commercial property insurance includes all forms of insurance covering property loss exposures of both business and non-profit organizations. The most common commercial property coverages are provided under standard forms developed by Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) or the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS). In many instances, an organization’s property is provided through “package policy.” A package policy ordinarily provides different types of coverage (e.g., property insurance and liability insurance). A monoline policy, in contrast, provides only one distinct type of coverage. The most common form of commercial property insurance is the Commercial Package Policy printed by ISO since 1986. Commercial property insurance can consist of:

Building and contents insurance which provides coverage on insured building and the property contained in the buildings.
Machinery insurance covers steam boilers, pressure vessels, and various types of machinery such as air conditioning equipment, air compressors, turbines and all types of production machines.

Duties Of Insured Under A Policy

March 10, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

One of the primary duties of an insured under his insurance policy is to cooperate with the insurer’s investigation of a claim. As an example –

The Texas Auto Policy provides:

A person seeking coverage must (1) cooperate with us in the investigation, settlement, or defense of any claim or suit; and (2) properly send us copies of any notices or legal papers received in connection with the accident or loss.

Personal Property Insurance

March 8, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is some general property insurance information and personal property insurance information.

Property insurance involves the indemnification of the insured by the insurer for the oss of, or damage to, identifiable property described either specifically or by general language in the policy. That is what was stated in the 1973, Dallas Court of Appeals opinion, Cumis Insurance Society v. Republic National Bank of Dallas.

As stated in the 1989, Corpus Christi Court of Appeals opinion, Warrilow v. Norrell, coverage evaluations in the context of property insurance examine the relationship between perils covered under the policy and perils excluded under the policy.

Insurance Company Wrongs

March 6, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

The wrongs committed by insurance companies would surprise most people. A person pays his premiums and maybe has friendly conversation with their agent and they figure that when they make a claim, the claim will be properly paid. While most insurance claims are handled without the need for lawyers to be involved, there are too many instances of the insurance company trying to work against they insured/customer.

This is illustrated in an article from Argus Leader. The article is titled “Lawsuit Accuses Doctor Of Bias In Denying Injury Claim.”

The article tells us a woman who suffered a debilitating neck injury while at work has accused an insurance company who denied her benefits of hiring a doctor that it knew would dispute her injury claim.

Insurance Policy Contents

March 4, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

All parts of an insurance policy are important. An insured needs to understand what is contained in any policy he has. Texas laws assumes a person has read and understands the contents of his insurance policy.

The insuring clause of a policy in the insurance company’s agreement to provide coverage to the insured. A policy may include several insuring clauses.

The 1997, Houston Court of Appeals [1st Dist.] stated in State Farm Lloyds v. Marchetti, that the insuring clause is the foundation of the agreement and forms the basis for all obligations owed to the insured. Unless this clause provides coverage for a claim, it is unlikely that any other term of the policy will do so.

Insurance Declarations Page

March 3, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance policies are normally going to have a declarations page. This page will identify the insured, the policy limits, and times of coverage. The declarations page is to show the insured what the insurance policy covers.

In determining the coverage provided by an insurance policy, always review the declarations page. The declarations page will list the various forms and endorsements that make up the policy. There are situations where the insurance company attaches the wrong forms to the policy. That is why it is important to compare what is on the declarations page to what is actually attached to the policy.

The declarations page should include the following information:

Consent To Settle

March 1, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

The Claims Journal published an article January 18, 2018. It is titled, Insured Must Obtain Settlement Consent Where Policies Require It. The article discusses a case from the 9th Circuit Court and looks at California law. However, Texas law has the same laws as it relates to coverage.

The article tells us that where insurance policies require written consent from the insurer to enter into any settlement agreement, it is important to ask, for permission from the insurer before entering into a settlement agreement. Failure to do so may void coverage.

That is what occurred recently in One West Bank, FSB v. Houston Casualty Co. In the case, Houston Casualty issued a professional liability policy which had a restrictive condition requiring the insured to seek prior written consent prior to entering into any type of settlement agreement regarding a covered claim.

Prohibited Provisions In Life Insurance Policies

February 27, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Life insurance lawyers know there are provisions that are illegal for an insurance company to put into a life insurance policy. These provisions are found in the Texas Insurance Code, Sections 1101.051 to 1101.055.

Pursuant to these sections of the Texas Insurance Code, no life insurance policy may be issued or delivered to a person in Texas, or be issued by a life insurance company incorporated under the laws of Texas, if it contains any of the following provisions:

a provision limiting the time within which any action at law or in equity may be commenced to less than two years after the cause of action accrues;

Credit Life Insurance

February 25, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Fort Worth life insurance lawyers see lots of situations where a person had a credit life policy. It is most often associated with the purchase of an automobile.

There are specific laws in the Texas Insurance Code dealing with these types of policies. Section 1153.052, says that each individual policy or group certificate of credit life insurance and credit accident and health insurance must set forth in the policy the following:

the insurer’s name and home office address