For those of you unfamiliar with insurance-related appraisals, appraisals are supposed to provide a quick and easy way to resolve insurance disputes. Most insurance policies provide that after an insurance company has had the opportunity to adjust a claim, if the two sides disagree on the amount of the loss, they each can select an appraiser to represent them. Those two appraisers then attempt to resolve the dispute on their own. If the two appraisers…

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I have written about how courts interpret ambiguous terms in an insurance policy. We know that in those instances, if the court deems there to be a true ambiguity, it will rule in favor of the policyholder. But what if there is no language regarding a certain issue? What happens then?…

Citing increased costs associated with weather-related risks in Texas, Farmers raised rates an average fifteen percent (15%) for all of its Texas Family Home or Next Generation Homeowners policies. State Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman has decided not to block the rate increase, which marks the second time Farmers has increased premiums on its Texas policyholders.…

I am often asked whether an insurer can depreciate overhead, profit, and sales tax when it makes an Actual Cash Value (“ACV”) payment under a Replacement Cost Coverage policy. The thinking goes that only the materials used to build a structure can be depreciated because overhead, profit, and sales tax do not lose value over time. I did a little research and found a case directly on point.…

In my line of work, whether or not an insurer acted in bad faith is an important topic. Policyholder attorneys must look at how an insurer conducted its investigation to ensure their client was treated fairly by the carrier. Whenever a client asks me whether something an insurer did constitutes bad faith, I rarely give a simple yes or no answer. These questions require an in-depth look into the facts and related case law to…

How many “occurrences” took place over the course of your insurance-related loss seems like an easy question. However, depending on the type of policy you have, the number of occurrences could impact your insurance claim recovery. The language in your policy will dictate whether it is in your best interest to claim one occurrence or multiple occurrences in certain situations.…

I recently took a trip to McAllen, Texas, to survey the damage left behind after this year’s record-setting hailstorms. Driving through town, I could still see many broken business signs and battered wooden roofs that are awaiting repair. Off in the distance, I saw contractors repairing many roofs, including businesses and schools. It was apparent that the insurance claims process is well underway, and some insurers are taking good care of their clients, while others…