Texas State Insurance Law Will Screw Homeowners (attorney, house)

[USDefault]

Troubling article about how Texas legislators rammed through 2017 House Bill 1774, which makes it more difficult for Texas policyholders to sue insurance companies after claim underpayment or denial. From the article:

The Sheer Number Of Claims Are Extraordinary

The insurance industry rallied to get a 2017 House Bill 1774 through the state legislature making it more difficult for policyholders to sue their insurance company after an underpayment or denial, Wendell said.


The Texas insurance industry in 2017 rallied to get a House Bill 1774 through the state legislature. The bill is known pejoratively as the Blue Tarp Law, named because critics said residents will have to make do with blue tarp on their homes to cover up damage. When a policyholder sues an insurance carrier after a storm, the lawsuit’s initial money demand needs to be within 20% of the final jury award. If that doesn’t happen, plaintiffs’ legal fees are paid out of the award to them versus a separate award for legal fees, Wendell said.



"You and your attorney have to have a crystal ball at the beginning of the process. You have to hire your own experts and project what the jury will do,” he said. That could deter insurance lawsuits altogether, he added. The law also reduced penalties when insurers dragged out the claims process, Wendell noted.



At the time, the Insurance Council of Texas vigorously defended the House Bill 1774, and said it "protects consumers' right to sue for weather-related claims while making changes to prevent abusive litigation practices."

I guarantee every single underwriter in Texas will play serious hardball with all Texas citizens, relying on HB 1774 to absolutely hammer claimants. The insurers have every single legal and financial incentive to do so. What a craptastic law.


I feel for homeowners, this is an outrageous betrayal.

[jackalope48]

Originally Posted by USDefault

Troubling article about how Texas legislators rammed through 2017 House Bill 1774, which makes it more difficult for Texas policyholders to sue insurance companies after claim underpayment or denial. From the article:

I guarantee every single underwriter in Texas will play serious hardball with all Texas citizens, relying on HB 1774 to absolutely hammer claimants. The insurers have every single legal and financial incentive to do so. What a craptastic law.


I feel for homeowners, this is an outrageous betrayal.

Welcome to what coastal residents have dealt with after every hurricane. The whole financial underpinning of tort reform lobbying is getting bills like this passed using small business owners and one off weird jury verdicts to screw over every property owner in the state.