Spicy! That was the first comment from an audience member after Rene Sigman and I badgered Steve Badger in a panel discussion of significant property insurance adjustment issues in Texas.
Continue Reading The Steve Badger Sandwich—A Panel Debate About Texas Property Insurance Issues
Appraisals are a common alternative method to litigation for resolving property insurance disputes. Still, the time to file suit varies from state to state, even when an appraisal is invoked. Policyholders should be wary that even though an appraisal is invoked, some states still allow the time to bring suit to run despite the ongoing appraisal. Statutes of limitation when an appraisal is involved can be a complex and often overlooked aspect of a claim with disastrous results if the issue is not legally analyzed.
Continue Reading When Does the Statute of Limitations Run After a Texas Appraisal?
Public adjusters perform valuable services for policyholders. In any complex property insurance loss, a policyholder should consider hiring a public adjuster. In my book, PayUp!, I noted how important it is to select a “good” public adjuster:
Continue Reading Policyholders Should Carefully Select Their Public Adjuster and How One Texas Public Adjuster Went Far Off the Reservation
The answer to this question would have been “no” until a Texas appellate court sustained first amendment challenges to Texas law last week.1 Now, the answer in Texas is “maybe.” The matter is not resolved because the case has now been sent back to the trial court where evidence and facts will put a lot “legal meat” to this legal controversy.
Continue Reading Can Texas Roofing and Restoration Companies Advertise That They Are Insurance Specialists and Can Negotiate on the Policyholder’s Behalf?
Introduction: The Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) has adopted rules amending the Consumer Bill of Rights for personal automobile and homeowners’ insurance.1 See 28 TAC §5.9971(b). Insurers must begin providing the new Bill of Rights to insureds by November 15, 2021. The Bill of Rights is a summary of a policyholder’s rights and is not a part of a policyholder’s policy. Additionally, Texas Senate Bill 1376 has been enacted to exempt 18 kinds of commercial insurance policies from rate and form filing requirements. This new legislation applies on or after September 1, 2021, to policies delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed. In addition, Texas Senate Bill 965 amends rate filing requirements for residential property and personal automobile insurers with low market shares and applies on or after to January 1, 2022, to delivered, issued or renewed policies.
Continue Reading Texas Amended Consumer/Homeowners Bill of Rights and Other Recent Legislation
The Policy: Plaintiffs, Frymire Home Services, Inc. and Whitfield Capital LLC (collectively “Plaintiffs”), purchased a commercial policy for their office building in Dallas, Texas from Defendant Ohio Security Insurance Company (“OSIC”). The policy explicitly covered “windstorm and hail” losses but excluded “cosmetic” damage to the roof as well as the standard insurer defense for non-payment—“wear and tear.”
Continue Reading “Wear and Tear” or “Wind and Hail” or Both: Fifth Circuit Certifies Questions to Texas Supreme Court Regarding the Doctrine of Concurrent Causation
INTRODUCTION: Appraisal provisions have been a feature of insurance policies in Texas for well over a century.1 Indeed, in the Texas Supreme Court’s 2009 opinion of State Farm Lloyds v. Johnson, the court noted that it has only addressed insurance appraisal provisions a total of five times between 1888 and 2002.2 Since Johnson, insurance appraisal law has grown substantially and now has claimed a front-row seat in Texas property insurance coverage litigation. The Randel case, discussed below, is the most recent appraisal opinion.
Continue Reading Texas Appraisal Law Update
As a Merlin Law Group Texas attorney, I have the distinct privilege of working directly with Rene Sigman, the Regional Litigation Manager running the firm’s Texas operation. As a mentor, Rene has gone above and beyond to show me the complex ropes for handling first-party property insurance cases in Texas. Rene’s unparalleled work ethic coupled with her passion for our clients’ best interest was more than apparent recently when we recovered multiple favorable settlements for commercial and residential policyholders. During this time, we noticed something interesting about one of the insured’s contracts with her public adjuster. The contract was incomplete and did not comply with the Texas Administrative Code, which governs public insurance adjuster contracts.
Continue Reading Texas Public Insurance Adjuster Contract Requirements
It’s been a few months since we endured Winter Storm Uri. The storm had people stranded in the cold with no electricity, heat, or running water. Families were huddling around each other for warmth in parked cars and boiling water in their homes to drink. At the time of the storm, much of the focus was on the electric grid of Texas and why the infrastructure failed us in a time of need. Now, as claims come in, we are seeing an abundance of damage that is left unrepaired, unresolved, and overall unappreciated.
Continue Reading The Cold Truth About the Texas Winter Storm
The case found closest to the fact pattern above is Ironwood Building II. Ltd. v. Axis Surplus Insurance Company.1 Read further to find out who prevails in the end—the insured or the insurer.
Continue Reading In Texas, Who Prevails When There Is: 1 Damaged Property Caused By 2 Weather Events, And 2 Damage Claims Filed Under 2 Different Policies From 2 Different Carriers?