Hurricanes and Bad Faith Insurance Claims

The 2023 hurricane season kicked off on June 1st, and if we’re discussing major storms and not the popular New Orleans beverage, it’s not a cause for celebration. In Texas, we’re no strangers to storms. But if you’re insured, you assume that your insurance company will be there to help if the worst happens and you lose your home or suffer serious property damage during a hurricane. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, but the attorneys at Manfred Law can help. 

2023 Hurricanes

We have our first official named storm of the season, with tropical storm Arlene forming in the Gulf of Mexico on June 1st. Tropical storms are named alphabetically through a procedure devised by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. Hurricanes in the Atlantic are named using a list of names for each of six years, alternating between male and female names. The list repeats after six years, with exceptions for names of storms that were so deadly they’re permanently retired as a matter of respect for the loss of life and property damage. For example, we no longer use the names Ida, Matthew, or Katrina for hurricanes.

Bad Faith Insurance Claims

If you suffer damage to your home during a hurricane, you assume that your insurance company will help you pick up the pieces and repair or replace your home. But sometimes, an insurer denies a claim in bad faith, violating the terms of your insurance contract. If your insurer pulls this, you may have two legal options to recover: common law and statutory bad faith claims.

• Common Law Bad Faith: To prove a common law bad faith claim, you must show that your insurer’s failure to pay your claim was “egregious,” even though its duty to reimburse you was clear. This can sometimes be a hard standard to prove.
• Statutory Bad Faith: A statutory bad faith claim is a bit easier to prove in Texas. Under the Texas Insurance Act, insurance companies can’t perform “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” Tex. Ins. Code §§ 541-542. But your insurer’s conduct doesn’t have to be “egregious” to win your case. Examples of potentially unfair or deceptive practices include:

o   Denying your claim without making a reasonable investigation,

o   Misleading you about what your policy covers,

o   Not responding to your claims within a reasonable time, and

o   Using an investigation as a pretext to deny your claim.

Hire an Experienced Bad Faith Insurance Claims Attorney

If you’ve faced a bad faith insurance claim denial after damage to your home or property, you don’t have to put up with this bad behavior. The skilled attorneys at Manfred Law can help. Call us at (713) 547-5460 or contact us online to schedule your consultation.