Texas policyholders can no longer cut deals with storm repair contractors to pocket their deductibles for storm repairs. The Texas Legislature has amended the Texas Insurance Code and Texas Business & Commerce Code, targeting construction companies that offer “free roofs” and “waived deductibles” as enticements to policyholders. Previously, for example, contractors would reach an agreement to perform work for a policyholder, but waive or absorb the portion of the repair cost equal to the deductible. This waiver or absorption could occur through numerous paperwork tricks. Now, the policyholder must pay its deductible, otherwise the insurer can refuse to pay certain claims and the contractor can be charged with a crime. About The Author
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New Texas Laws Take Aim at Common Practice in Storm-Related Repairs
Tagged with: Absorb, Deductible, Legislation, Roofer, Waive
Posted in Deductible, Flood, Hurricane, Waiver
Posted in Deductible, Flood, Hurricane, Waiver
Texas Federal Court Holds that Named Storm Deductible Applies Even in the Absence of Wind Damage
Judge Nancy Atlas of the Southern District of Texas cut through competing arguments to resolve a high-profile dispute involving a Hurricane Harvey claim through Contract Interpretation 101. Lexington Insurance Company issued a policy to Pan Am Equities, Inc. (Pan Am) covering a property development in downtown Houston, Texas. The development sustained more than $6.7 million in flood damage due to Hurricane Harvey, a disaster that flooded homes and buildings across the city, but often left the structures undamaged by wind. This was the case with Pan Am’s downtown property development. The policy contained several different deductibles. As an exception to the general deductible, the policy had a $100,000.00 per occurrence Windstorm Deductible. The Windstorm Deductible was itself subject to an…
Texas Supreme Court Rules on Discoverability of an Insurer’s Attorney’s Fee Bills
Are an insurer’s attorney’s fee bills discoverable in first party claims? In In re Nat’l Lloyds Ins. Co., 2017 Tex. LEXIS 522 (Tex. 2017), the Texas Supreme Court considered this question in a hail MDL dispute and answered “No” in a lengthy opinion. The opinion is the latest development in a long-running dispute over “storm chaser” claims that recently gave rise to another round of tort reform in the Texas legislature. National Lloyds challenged the reasonableness of the insureds’ attorney’s fee claims, but did not compare its own fees to the insureds’ or seek to recover its own fees. Shortly before trial, the insureds propounded sweeping discovery regarding the insurer’s hourly rates, expenses, billing invoices, and indicia of payment. The…
