Fulgham Hamptom Law Group Blog

Even If Your Insurer Pays, It Might Still Be Bad Faith in TX

By: Fulgham Hampton Law Group

Bad Faith Insurance

Texas Supreme Court opinions on two recent “bad faith” claims are likely to change the way insurers do business in the Lone Star State.

In both cases, the policyholder submitted a claim to State Farm – one of the five worst insurers profiled in our Bad Faith Rogues Gallery earlier this year.

Both claims were denied coverage on the basis that the observed damage didn’t exceed either policy deductible. Only when first-party bad faith lawsuits were filed did this insurer attempt to take corrective action.

What exactly happened?

Below, we’re going to take a closer look at these cases, what “bad faith” means in Texas, and the changes expected in the handling (or mishandling) of future insurance claims due to [...]

First Party Bad Faith vs. Third Party Bad Faith in Texas

By: Fulgham Hampton Law Group

Bad Faith Insurance

At its most basic, an insurance policy is a contract. You pay your premiums on time, make an honest effort to protect whatever or whomever the policy covers, and in exchange, your insurance company agrees to evaluate your claims fairly and pay them on time.

That’s the deal. The agreement. The very minimum that they should do.

When that doesn’t happen and it appears they’re acting in dishonest and deceptive ways, your insurer is considered to be acting in bad faith. This means that you have grounds to file claim against them in civil court in an attempt to recover compensation.

Before you do that, though, it’s important to understand which kind of bad faith claim you’re going to [...]

The Bad Faith Rogues Gallery: Texas Insurers Known for Behaving Badly

By: Fulgham Hampton Law Group

Bad Faith Insurance

This day and age, it seems nearly every company we each do business with attempts to fleece us in one way or another, and insurance companies are some of the worst.

We pay our premium with the belief that when we need help, our insurers will financially back us. However, time and time again, this isn’t the way it ends. Instead, far too many claimants end up caught in unnecessary and often illegal battles with the very organizations that are supposed to be protecting them.

If you feel you have not been treated fairly when attempting to have an insurance claim processed, don’t just assume you’re overreacting. Not only does this happen, there are actually a number of insurers who [...]