Harris-County-Homeowners-Fight-Back-Against-Allstate

Our clients, homeowners whose home was damaged when a severe storm passed through Houston, Texas, were forced to file a lawsuit against Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company and its adjuster after they conducted a substandard and improper inspection of the couples property, grossly undervaluing the cost of repairs and deliberately yielding an unrealistic amount to underpay coverage.

January 9, 2016 Storm

On January 9, 2016, a severe wind- and hailstorm bombarded Harris County, Texas, tearing through neighborhoods and destroying homes as it went. Their home suffered severe damage to the roof and exterior, as well as some rooms of the interior. After the storm, the homeowners quickly submitted a claim to Allstate, hoping their insurance company would help them get their life back in order.

Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company Home Insurance Claim

Allstate assigned one of its adjusters to inspect the property and adjust the claim. The adjuster knowingly conducted a subpar investigation, refusing full coverage and estimating damages to total about $1,700, which, after the deductible, left our clients with no recovery to make repairs to their home.

The third-party expert hired after the insurance company’s fraudulent inspection found a litany of damages that were either conveniently absent or undervalued in Allstate’s estimate.

The damage to our client’s property is currently estimated at nearly $37,000.

Allstate’s adjuster intentionally undervalued our clients’ claims in order to maintain his job, misrepresenting the amount of damage in the hopes that our clients would simply rely on his expertise and fraudulent estimate as a true representation of the property’s damages.

Because of Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company’s fraud, our clients were unable to complete any meaningful repairs to their home, which resulted in even more damage. They were forced to retain an attorney to pursue their claim for insurance benefits. On November 17, 2016, the Chad T. Wilson Law Firm filed suit, on behalf of our client, against Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company for fraud, breach of contract, negligence, gross negligence, negligent hiring and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas DTPA.

Texas Property Insurance Lawyers

If your homeowner insurance carrier has denied your insurance claim, we can help. The experienced property insurance attorneys at Chad T. Wilson Law Firm have represented more than 1,000 clients in cases against insurance companies and aggressively protect the rights of insurance policyholders. Our consultations are free, and you owe us nothing until your case is won. Contact us today to see how we can help.

Chad T. Wilson Law Firm Outplays State Farm

For years, insurance companies like State Farm have taken advantage of policyholders through the misuse of Texas insurance law. The Chad T. Wilson Law Firm is fighting to stop this abuse.

Attorney Stephen Mengis leads the firm’s charge in protecting its clients against State Farm’s misguided practice. “State Farm uses appraisal as a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card,” Mengis explained. “They use appraisal to get away with paying policyholders as little as possible, sometimes years after the fact.”

What is appraisal?

When a homeowner makes a claim on their insurance policy, their insurance will send out an adjuster to inspect the home and claim. Too often, the adjuster will seriously low-ball estimates to assert that the insurer owes nothing under the policy.

Many savvy policyholders will hire a third-party, unbiased inspector to assess damages and see if the insurance company left anything out. Based on the inspector’s estimate, the homeowner can sue the insurance company.

During the lawsuit, either side can invoke appraisal. Each side will hire an adjuster who will give them the best damages amount — the insurance company will want another low estimate, and the policyholder’s attorneys will want a high estimate.

After each side inspects the property and determines the amount of damage, the two adjusters will meet to find a compromise. If they can’t agree, they’ll bring in another adjuster (umpire, if you will) who will pick a side. Whatever amount the third adjuster chooses is what the insurance company pays.

Texas Insurance Law

If an insurance company doesn’t pay a claim within 60 days, Texas law mandates they pay any attorney’s fees accrued during a lawsuit, along with an 18 percent interest rate on the amount of the damages. “In one case,” Mengis shared, “we got an appraisal award exactly one year after the damages occurred. That’s well outside of the 60 days.”

State Farm invokes appraisal on every case, then uses a 2004 case to justify only paying the appraisal amount. “With State Farm’s logic, they can deny any claim they want for any reason,” Mengis said. “For the small percentage of denied claims that file lawsuits, they can invoke appraisal, pay the appraisal award (sometimes more than two years after the damages occur) and say they don’t owe anything else under Texas law.”

What’s worse, according to Mengis, is that appraisal only sets the amount of the loss. It doesn’t account for the expenses and fees that go along with appraisal and the lawsuit, including attorney’s fees. “That’s the advantage of appraisal and why they use it.”

Mengis provided the example of a $10,000 appraisal award to replace a roof. After accounting for a $2,500 deductible, the policyholder is left with $7,500. The insurance company will then deduct a fee for the depreciation of the roof. If the roof is seven years old and was supposed to last 25 years, they’ll deduct 33 percent of the value of the roof. Now, the award is at $4,500. After fees for lawyers, appraisers, inspection and filing the lawsuit, the policyholder may actually owe money.

And State Farm still claims they awarded enough money to fix the roof. (And, if the homeowner doesn’t make the repairs, State Farm can cancel the policy.)

Houston Law Firm Combats Misuse of Appraisal

Mengis has taken to using State Farm’s logic against them. “Since the insurance company claims appraisal makes the lawsuit go away, we do, too,” he said.

The firm files a motion for Summary Judgement, asking the court to rule that the insurance company broke the law. “The appraisal award is evidence that they didn’t pay what they owed the policyholder within the 60-day time limit the law sets,” Mengis explained.

In this new set of circumstances, both sides have a valid argument for why they should win, making it harder for either to win. “That’s enough to keep the case alive after appraisal, so we can keep fighting for our clients.”

IF your claim has been denied, call us for a FREE consultation!

Houston Man Sues Geovera Insurance for Fraud

Our client recently filed a lawsuit against Geovera Specialty Insurance Company and its adjuster. The man’s home was seriously damaged in a thunderstorm that bombarded Harris County, Texas in August 2015. According to Plaintiff’s original petition, Geovera and its adjuster conducted a substandard and improper inspection of our client’s property, grossly undervaluing the cost of repairs and deliberately yielding an unrealistic amount to underpay coverage.

August 11, 2015 Storm

On August 11, 2015, a severe wind- and hailstorm tore through Houston, leaving a trail of damaged homes and lives. Our client’s house suffered severe damage to the roof and exterior, as well as several windows. After the storm, he quickly submitted a claim to Geovera, hoping his insurance company would help him get his life back in order.

Geovera Specialty Insurance Company Home Insurance Claim

Geovera assigned one of its adjusters to inspect the property and adjust the claim. Allegedly, the adjuster knowingly conducted a subpar investigation, refusing full coverage and estimating damages to total about $1,500. After the deductible, this left our client with no recovery to make repairs to his home.

The third-party expert hired after the insurance company’s inspection found a litany of damages that were either conveniently absent or undervalued in Geovera’s estimate.

The damage to our client’s property is currently estimated at $26,600.

As stated in the petition, Geovera’s adjuster intentionally undervalued our client’s claims in order to maintain his job. He misrepresented the amount of damage hoping our client would simply rely on his expertise and fraudulent estimate as a true representation of the property’s damages.

Our client could not complete any repairs to his home, resulting in even more damage. Grover’s claims handling process forced him to retain an attorney to pursue his claim for insurance benefits. On November 2, 2016, the Chad T. Wilson Law Firm filed suit, on behalf of our client, against Geovera Specialty Insurance Company for fraud, breach of contract, and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas DTPA.

Texas Property Insurance Lawyers

If your homeowner insurance carrier has denied your insurance claim, then we can help. The experienced attorneys at Chad T. Wilson Law Firm have represented more than 1,000 clients in cases against insurance companies. Our property insurance lawyers aggressively protect the rights of insurance policyholders. Our consultations are free, and you owe us nothing until your case is won. Contact us today to see how we can help.