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
You can learn a lot by observing what others do. If they have a better way of adjusting claims, then it probably pays to imitate their processes. You should also pay attention to things that don’t work. Intelligent people imitate success and steer clear of failure.
Claim adjusting practices boil down simply to customer service.
Hail damage hits the bottom line of an insurance company’s net profits in Oklahoma. Some years the number of hail claims is much greater, making less profits for the insurance industry. Other years the hail losses are greatly reduced. The decrease in hail claims allows insurance companies like State Farm to make greater profits. The
Being accused of insurance fraud is a serious offense. Regardless of the circumstances, your reputation is on the line. In this case, State Farm was alleged to have defrauded the United States government by avoiding the payment of storm claims under homeowners’ insurance policies. State Farm was said to have improperly shifted the burden for
Oklahoma insurance companies are expected to act in good faith. The law requires that claims be handled fairly. The Oklahoma Supreme court has said claims must be timely paid. The Oklahoma legislature passed the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act that sets out minimum standards. Adjusters are required to act fairly and comply with Oklahoma law.
An apartment complex sustained a fire loss to its business and hired a public adjuster to assist in preparing the property damage claims. Subsequently, the apartment complex assigned its interest in the bad faith claims against the insurance company and insurance agency to the public adjusting company and, in turn, the public adjuster filed suit
A husband and wife purchased a home in which the mortgage holder carried the property insurance policy in the name of the mortgage company. At some point, the couple’s home was damaged by a water leak resulting in significant flooding to their home. The homeowners submitted a claim to the insurance company requesting payment for
An insurance company was sued for breach of contract and bad faith and received summary judgment by the trial court. The insured appealed to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals who affirmed in part and reversed in part the trial court’s ruling holding that while a breach of contract did exist since the insurer denied
Litigation has a lot of conflicts that really slow down getting your day in court. Sometimes it has to do with the lawyer’s schedule in other courts. Bubba’s insurance case hit one of those snags. Judge Smith set the case on the trial docket that also happened to be the trial docket in a Federal
Bad faith can result in Oklahoma from failing to obtain a legal opinion before denying coverage. In Harrell v. Old American Ins. Co., 1991 OK CIV APP 91, 829 P.2d 75, a claims examiner failed to seek legal advice regarding a coverage question before denying payment. The Oklahoma Court of Appeals said it was
