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Proving that an insurance company failed to act in the utmost of good faith is not as easy as it sounds. Many cry “bad faith” without fully understanding what it means or how to prove it. Winning a “bad faith” lawsuit is difficult anywhere, especially in Indiana. A recent hail damage Order1 ruling that no bad faith occurred should be read by those with hail damage cases, and especially those with property insurance claims in Indiana.
Continue Reading What the Hail Is All the Fuss About? Indiana Hail Damage Claims In the Context of Bad Faith

On April 28, 2021, policyholders in Norman, Oklahoma, and surrounding areas were rocked by a catastrophic hailstorm with baseball size hail and 70 mph winds resulting in more than $1 billion in damages. As many of our blog readers may know, I was one of those policyholders. While I am fortunate to report State Farm has paid my claim in full and all my restoration work has been completed, many policyholders cannot say the same. With supply chain issues and market pricing increases, many Norman policyholders are still waiting on roofs and windows, which keeps their claims open. Others are still fighting over their scope of damages or proper costs for repair/replacement. Regardless of what aspect of their claim remains unresolved, with the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic hailstorm coming up, they now face the possibility of having to timely file a lawsuit by April 28, 2022. Failure to do so may result in a waiver of policy benefits they are otherwise entitled to. How could this happen?
Continue Reading A Warning for Norman, Oklahoma Policyholders on the One-Year Anniversary of the April 28, 2021, Catastrophic Hailstorm

I posted a blog earlier this week, Kentucky Allows Property Insurers To Shorten The Statute of Limitations—Even If You Do Not Know That A Loss Occurred. I received an email from an outstanding lawyer and colleague, Brandon McWherter. He sent me a case decided last month by a separate federal court in Kentucky that ruled favorably on a statute of limitations issue in Kentucky.1…
Continue Reading A Follow Up to Kentucky Statute of Limitations Following Hailstorm Losses

Many insurance companies adjusting hail damage claims have a checklist of items that each adjuster must answer before payment of a claim. One of the items at the top of the list is whether there have been any prior hailstorms at the loss location. From a policyholder’s perspective, most do not go onto a roof nor call a roofer unless a leak occurs or there is obvious damage.
Continue Reading Hail Damage?—Not From This Hailstorm

Want to know what really happens to even a knowledgeable policyholder following his own hail loss? Join me today @2 EST as attorneys Drew Houghton and Micah Cartwright discuss hail damage claims and policyholder rights. The special part of this session will be Drew’s experiences with his own hail damage claim to his home.

Here…

Adjusters, contractors, and those with an avid interest in weather can provide a very important public and community service—hail spotting. HailTrace founder and CEO Derik Kline mentioned during our Tuesday @2 With Chip Merlin, which you can watch above, that he is a “hail spotter.” He suggested that others could provide a very important public service by taking the quick course and easy to pass test to become an official “hail spotter” with the National Weather Service.
Continue Reading Hail Spotters Provide an Important Public Service —HailTrace Founder Encourages Hail Spotting

Drew Houghton made his wife and dogs stay in the inner bathroom of his Oklahoma City home last week as a tornadic hailstorm was bearing down on them. He then did something stupid—he left this safer place and started taking a video of the hailstorm event with his cell phone. On the video, you can hear the rumble of the storm sounding like a freight train with bullets of hailstones smashing through his windows and pounding on his house’s roof and walls.
Continue Reading Hail Damage Attorney Suffers Hail Damage—Learn From a Hail Damage Expert on Tuesday @2 With Chip Merlin and Drew Houghton

Insurance companies owe their insureds a duty to fully and fairly investigate a property loss, which includes a comprehensive inspection to identify all damages associated to the claim. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters will sometimes utilize an “any port in the storm” style reason to deny a claim; the adjuster cannot point to a specific tangible basis for denial, instead relying on a hypothetical justification. In that situation, the adjuster’s denial stands in paradox to the insurer’s duty to investigate a claim.
Continue Reading Claim Denial Reason: Did the Insurance Company Show Their Work?