When disaster strikes, many policyholders care more about what is damaged and how it can be fixed, rather than what may have caused the damage.
That is completely understandable—and speaking from personal experience with damage to my own home—justifiable. Damage is damage, regardless of what caused it, and causes unexpected financial and mental stress to you when it occurs. Insurance, in the abstract, is designed to be there to alleviate those stressors that come from fortuitous events.
There are many things that can affect your home or business property, and many of them may be insured under your insurance policies. Windstorms, plumbing leaks, fires, and floods are a few that come to mind. However, under Texas law, the type of event that caused the damage impacts some of the procedural and substantive elements for insurance claims involving that damage.
Chapter 542A of the Texas Insurance Code was enacted in 2017 and is focused on addressing “damage to or loss of covered property caused, wholly or partly, by forces of nature.” Forces of nature is an undefined phrase, but the statute lists certain common examples, such as “an earthquake or earth tremor, a wildfire, a flood, a tornado, lightning, a hurricane, hail, wind, a snowstorm, or a rainstorm.” While not explicit, another potential example would be freezing pipes, like the vast number of frozen pipe claims that arose from the winter storm of 2021 which devastated Texas. The keyword is “nature,” so freezing pipes because of sudden temperature changes will likely qualify as a force of nature. In contrast, a boat or vehicle crashing into your home due to driver error would likely not qualify as a force of nature.
Assuming your insurance claim involves an event that qualifies under Chapter 542A, several stringent requirements are imposed prior to you being able to elevate your claim from merely a dispute against your insurer to a lawsuit against them. For instance, your insurance company must be provided with written notice 61 days prior to being able to file a lawsuit, and this notice must contain numerous specific items. Another requirement is that you must allow the insurance company to re-inspect the property if they make a reasonable request within 30 days of receiving the pre-suit notice. These are among other requirements imposed under statute for “force of nature” claims. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in dismissal of the lawsuit or the abatement of the lawsuit, which may delay or prevent the resolution of your claim. Because of this, knowing Texas insurance law is extremely important if you feel the need to elevate your insurance claim to a litigated dispute.
If you believe that you are owed insurance benefits for a homeowner’s or commercial property policy, do not hesitate to contact us at info@pkglegal.com or at (561) 726-8444 for a free evaluation of your claim.