Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

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

Life Insurance Requirements

February 24, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas life insurance lawyers know provisions that must be included in life insurance policies.

The Texas Insurance Code, Section 1101.003(a), states that an insurance policies must contain several prescribed provisions. Pursuant to Section 1101.002(b), a single premium life insurance policy is not required to contain a provision under this sub-chapter to the extent that the provision is not applicable to a single premium insurance policy. Otherwise, these required provisions generally include but are not limited to:

Pursuant to Section 1101.003, a life insurance policy must provide that the policy and the application for the policy constitute the entire contract between the parties.

Provisions Of Health Insurance Policies

February 22, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

Pursuant to the Texas Insurance Code, Section 1251.101, group accident, health, and accident and health insurance policies must contain several prescribed provisions that include the following:

premiums due must be remitted on or before the due date by the premium payors as designated in the policy and within any specified grace period;
the validity of the policy may not be contested except for nonpayment of premiums after it has been in force for two years from the date issued and that, in the absence of fraud, no statement made by any person covered by the policy relating to his or her insurability may be used in contesting the validity of the insurance with respect to which such statement was made after the insurance has been in force before the contest for two years during that person’s lifetime, nor unless it is contained in an instrument signed by him or her;

Insurance Policies

February 20, 2018 | Mark S. Humphreys

According to the Fort Worth Court of Appeals opinion from 1995, styled, Truck Insurance Exchange v. Musick, insurance policies are normally issued on standard forms containing terms drafted by the insurance company.

Keep in mind that Texas has standard automobile policy forms approved by the Texas Department of Insurance. For homeowners insurance there are three standard policies — the HO-A, HO-B, and HO-C. In addition insurers may offer alternative policies, if approved by the Texas Department of Insurance.

As stated by the 1999, Texarkana Court of Appeals opinion, Tri-State Pipe & Equipment, Inc. v. Southern County Mutual Insurance Co., because the insurance company prepares the standard forms of its insurance policies, it controls what clauses are contained in the policies, and the insured has little or no bargaining power over the nature and extent of those clauses. Therefore, the law places on the insurance company the burden to include in its policies the various provisions relating to the kind and extent of coverage that the law requires.