Tornado8

Living in Oklahoma means having to deal with insurance claims for tornado damage. We have tornados almost every Spring.

The damage caused by tornadoes can be catastrophic. The aftermath can leave whole towns devastated. Comfort can be found in knowing that a homeowners insurance policy can help with repair of the damage.

Many of today’s

Confused

We have pointed out in the past that many people don’t speak the language of “insurance”.

No different than medicine, the insurance industry has terms and words that have a specific meaning. If you don’t speak the language, then you don’t understand what was said.

An apartment complex owner learned this lesson the hard way.

Fire2

Insurance claims can be expected from apartment building fires. When an apartment complex is faced with a fire, the consequences can be severe. The damages affect the tenants in the units, the complex owner, the property manager, and the insurance companies that provide coverage for the fire damage.

In a recent fire in Tulsa,

“Captain

Physicians Liability Insurance Company (“PLICO”), issued a “claims made medical malpractice insurance policy to Defendant Mark Valentine. As a result of Valentine’s negligence during a surgical procedure, David Wurtz died. The Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure reviewed the situation and revoked Valentine’s medical license.

Shortly thereafter, Valentine sent a letter to his insurance

Different insurance policies identify different events which trigger coverage. Two types of common insurance policies are "claims made" policies and "occurrence" policies.

Under a "claims made" policy, coverage is triggered when, during the policy period, an insured becomes aware of and notifies the insurer of either claims against the insured or situations that might give

A physician was sued for defamation and interference with business relations. The physician had liability insurance policies with two different insurers: Physicians Liability and American National. The doctor reported the lawsuit to both insurers.

Physicians Liability agreed to defend the lawsuit, but American National refused to provide a defense or participate in the cost of

A vehicle insured by Shelter Mutual Insurance Company was permissively being driven by an individual who was insured by American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company . The driver was involved in a collision that occurred when he turned left in front of another vehicle which resulted in injuries to the passengers of the second vehicle. The passengers of the other vehicle made claims for property damage and personal injury against the driver for his negligence and submitted claims to both insurance companies.

American Farmers’ policy contained an "other insurance" clause that stated: "provided, however, the insurance with respect to a . . . non-owned automobile shall be excess insurance over any other valid collectible insurance. . . ."

Shelter’s policy also contained an "other insurance" clause which stated: "if there is other insurance which covers the insured’s liability with respect to a claim also covered by this policy, coverages a and b (i.e., bodily injury and property damage liability) of this policy will apply only as excess to other insurance."

The two insurance companies jointly settled the claims and prorated the amount of the settlement based on the liability limits in the respective insurance policies. The Shelter insurance policy contained an "other insurance" exclusion which limited insurance coverage only to claims only in excess of other insurance which covered an insured’s liability. American Farmers reserved the right to recover from Shelter in the event Shelter’s "other insurance" clause was deemed invalid.

See more after the jump…Continue Reading Insurance – Automobiles

A lawsuit arose from a claim presented by the Plaintiff to the insurance company for uninsured motorist coverage. In the claim, Plaintiff stated that he was injured while riding his motorcycle. A red car passed him and cut-off a beige car traveling in the lane in front of him causing the beige car to brake