2010

The Tennessee Court of Appeals released Tuturea v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company on June 29, 2010.  Its certainly an interesting opinion, although a bit long for fun reading (29 pages). The basic facts are this.  Mr. Tuturea suffered from terminal cancer, and set fire to his house in an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide.

Delay, Deny, Defend – Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. No, that’s not the theme of a bad faith trial.  Its the title of Professor Jay M. Feinman’s new book that chronicles the bad faith practices of insurance companies.  Several months back, the book’s publisher, Penguin, provided me…

Today my law firm launched a new website, www.tnfloodclaims.com, which we will use to try to address many of the issues affecting people affected by the recent floods.  We’ve included some information about negligence claims against insurance agents, some basic tips for making a flood insurance claim, and other information we hope policyholders will…

With the flood waters receding, public adjusters are finding plenty of business.  Many people have a misconception that public adjusters work for the insurance company, but the opposite is true.  Public adjusters are licensed professionals who are employed exclusively by policyholders who have sustained a loss.  Very simply, their job is to work with the…

Over the past couple of days, that’s a phrase I’ve heard several times, and its an issue that raises an interesting question —  Are insurance agents potentially liable for the flood damage suffered by Tennessee residents across the state?  I think the answer is yes.  

This is really a more complicated question than one…

My home and garage were victim to the flood also, but we were much more fortunate than our neighbors, whose homes were totally destroyed. Those of us who work with insurance take much knowledge for granted. But, many people have had a tough time finding information, and have had to act without direction from anyone just to …

 FEMA has published several tips for filing a flood insurance claim that can be accessed here and here.  Be sure to note that a proof of loss must be submitted within sixty days.  It also has a brochure that addresses common myths about the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) that can be downloaded here.