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Ryan, I know you are inside this picture of greed. If I owned a property insurance company and my first notice of a dispute was the plaintiffs original petition. If course I would ask outside attorneys to answer to suit. I would then set up a litigation file and assign the case to an adjuster. The original loss file would be located and all my adjusters would agree the amount was not unfair, but we have this problem. The original petition will let us settle before the answer has to be filed for $231,567.00 we let the answer be filed. We know we will get the court ordered mediation within 100 days as all the plaintiff lawers are doing 6-8 per day 5 days a week and running from Houston to Galveston to Beaumont to Orange and not seeing their family, kinda like storm troopers. When our attorney and their attorney meet at the court house and run from room to room, the price comes down to $199,000. to settle. Most are not settled and we start over again in another hundred days and we come up $75,000 and theycome down $50,000 and we get that one out of the way, or even 5 or 6 in one day. The first IKE case has not been to a jury verdict yet, has it? I have a 100 cases in suit and I will try all of them to conclusion as my Name is superman and I believe in a government of law, not of men. Opps I spent all my $ on lawyers on both sides and had to go under, hope I paid all the first wave of adjusters.... they tried but TX has a problem with trial to verdict blackmail.

The arbitration clause in property policys would help the carriers, but hurt the policy holders. The blackmail is the cost of defense. unfair claims practice and DPT are well intended laws, but have driven up the cost of insurance to ever policy holder in the US court system. When one attorney can find a client that will let suit be filed against a large Homeowner carrier in these four coounties who can ask for ever windstorm file in the last 5 years, thats Katrina, Rita, Gustov and Ike and would be many times more than a million files for the largest, just the copy cost and shipping would be well over 5 -10 million.

TX. will go under if another storm hits this year. over 200,000 were in the pool before IKE, it may be double by now and the red line lawsuits have not started as the Ike losses have all the lawyers on both side,s working overtime. TX losses may have to pay a month in advance if another hurricane hits TX. to get newbe afjusters, and an ungualified defend and indemnity. When the red line lawsuits crank up most of the settlement $ will be spent on Ike claims. You PA,s , roofers, lawyers on both sides need to drop the bar a lot and keep the goose alive.

Sir:

If you come from such "extrememly good breeding" you would know that your language is completely inappropriate and I request that your post be deleted

Rocke, while I would prefer the single bullet approach to your WMD approach, you are correct. Do people of their collective ilk not have their own website forums to slam us? Surely, they would then be amongst their own sympathetic kind who could then amplify the diatribe, all there in their own little stew pot. We have ours, they have theirs, it's such a simple concept.

Ol' Ghost

In the Houston area we have roofer running radio adds that Hurricane Ike claims files can be turned in until 9/13/2010. They offer free inspections and probably keep several hundred of us local adjusters busy.

The roofs that were not being paid before hurricane Ike are now being paid f. What has changed is the cost of litigation is always lurking. The big 5 insurance carriers are settling cases that have suits filed for 100 to 150K. We now roll over and pay wind lift shingles to keep the roofers from sending the insured to an attorney. We need good public adjusters in this area to work out these claims, as PA.s will not kill the golden goose.

The next hurricane that hits the mainland of the US will cause billions in legal cost alone. Ever state has unfair claims and DTP and ever storm file has all the proof the plaintiff needs. Out of the thousands of IKE lawsuits, the first has not been to a jury trial yet.

Posted By brighton on 17 Apr 2010 08:40 AM

Roy,

Thank you for removing the post.

Ray,

When there are more attorneys than Law Enforcement officials in the U.S. that is a very bad omen. Cops getting laid off and more attys graduating. Just like more people getting licenses to handle claims than demand.  Attorneys have to make money somehow. We have discussed it and the Blackmail option (cost of defense)  is the best way for very marginal to lousy attorneys to get in the the feeding frenzy.

I have heard that commercial.  I have also seen the latest billboard from you know who.  "Did your roof get patched instead of replaced?"  I guess they have resorted to suing over that now.  On that note, a mediation settled this week for an amount that makes me want to vomit.  Plantiff had no claim, carrier made 2 inspections, and found no damage.  Insured got an attorney who sent his "contractor" henchman out to write a 50k sheet on a 25k dwelling.  We all know how it goes from there. The plantiff attorneys know how much a trial defense costs, so they know what the carrier will settle.  Like someone else said...it's basically blackmail.

Posted By Ray Hall on 16 Apr 2010 10:38 PM

In the Houston area we have roofer running radio adds that Hurricane Ike claims files can be turned in until 9/13/2010. They offer free inspections and probably keep several hundred of us local adjusters busy.

The roofs that were not being paid before hurricane Ike are now being paid f. What has changed is the cost of litigation is always lurking. The big 5 insurance carriers are settling cases that have suits filed for 100 to 150K. We now roll over and pay wind lift shingles to keep the roofers from sending the insured to an attorney. We need good public adjusters in this area to work out these claims, as PA.s will not kill the golden goose.

The next hurricane that hits the mainland of the US will cause billions in legal cost alone. Ever state has unfair claims and DTP and ever storm file has all the proof the plaintiff needs. Out of the thousands of IKE lawsuits, the first has not been to a jury trial yet.

Jim, our friend bdwood is making more than a few excellent points. He also forgot to point out how the company demands the vendor grossly overstaff a storm. The tried & true practice of one hundred files waiting in the basket is now a thing of the past. Where is the economic balance to the tremendous costs incurred before ever leaving the driveway plus the travel and lodging expenses? That, too, is a thing of the past.

In reading the posts by Ray hall and the blackmail approach by the legal community, I can see the rationale for 'jumping the fence' and going for the gold by working for the P.A.'s and the legal sharks. In this brave new world, in effect the truth be damned, let's grab the cash while it lasts.

If the carriers don't want us to wear the white hats and be their heroes, a man has to work at something. Is my logic making any sense?

Ol' Ghost

May he rest in peace!