StormDamaged
New Member
On Sept 12, 2008, my home and property in Brazoria county, TX was significantly damaged by Hurricane Ike. On Sept 15, i reported my losses to my insurance agent. On Sept 16, my agent notified me there may be a "problem" with my claim, as evidently there was... "a delay in filing the windstorm renewal until the week before the storm hit, which may cause my claim to be denied." Come to find out, this statement by my agent was a lie.
The facts of the case: My windstorm coverage came up for renewal on Aug 30. The windstorm carrier notified my agent on July 15 that it was due. My agent did not forward the renewal to me, but claims he did send it to my mortgage company (who pays the premiums from my escrow account). The mortgage company indicates no renewal was ever received from the agent's office, and they had to call the agent on Aug 22 to ask how much they needed to send to avoid allowing the policy to lapse. The agent's office quoted an incorrect amount to the mortgage company, so the check they sent on Aug 22 was short by $100. Because of this, the windstorm policy lapsed on Aug 31.
The agent's office then called the mortgage company back on Sept 2, to request the additional $100, which the mortgage company sent via FedEx. It was received by the agent on Sept 5. The agent was then notified by the windstorm carrier that he had until 3pm on Sept 8 to file the renewal before the storm hit. Evidently, despite now having the necessary funds for renewal, the agent's office took no action to send it in on time.
Not once while all this was happening did my agent call me to notify me of the trouble with getting my windstorm renewal application filed. If he had, i could have called the windstorm carrier myself and made a payment via credit card over the phone.
On Sept 17, a day after informing me there might be a "problem" with my damages claim, my agent's office finally submitted the windstorm renewal to the windstorm carrier. I obtained a copy of the application signed by the agent, and of the envelop he sent it in, postmarked Sept 17, from the windstorm carrier. This proves his claim of "a delay in filing the windstorm renewal until the week before the storm hit" is false, as the renewal wasn't even submitted until after the storm.
The agent has since sent a formal written explanation, claiming his office faxed two copied of the renewal to the mortgage company beginning on Aug 10. I am not certain, but i suspect phone company records could confirm or disprove the validity of this claim.
Regardless, my position is that the agent new in late July my windstorm policy was up for renewal, and in the peak months of hurricane season, made only token effort to obtain the necessary premium for renewal from the mortgage company, and made absolutely no effort to notify me of any potential difficulty in making a seamless policy renewal, until after the storm had already hit, and after a claim for damages was already filed.
Do i have a case?
-- StormDamaged
Brazoria County, TX
The facts of the case: My windstorm coverage came up for renewal on Aug 30. The windstorm carrier notified my agent on July 15 that it was due. My agent did not forward the renewal to me, but claims he did send it to my mortgage company (who pays the premiums from my escrow account). The mortgage company indicates no renewal was ever received from the agent's office, and they had to call the agent on Aug 22 to ask how much they needed to send to avoid allowing the policy to lapse. The agent's office quoted an incorrect amount to the mortgage company, so the check they sent on Aug 22 was short by $100. Because of this, the windstorm policy lapsed on Aug 31.
The agent's office then called the mortgage company back on Sept 2, to request the additional $100, which the mortgage company sent via FedEx. It was received by the agent on Sept 5. The agent was then notified by the windstorm carrier that he had until 3pm on Sept 8 to file the renewal before the storm hit. Evidently, despite now having the necessary funds for renewal, the agent's office took no action to send it in on time.
Not once while all this was happening did my agent call me to notify me of the trouble with getting my windstorm renewal application filed. If he had, i could have called the windstorm carrier myself and made a payment via credit card over the phone.
On Sept 17, a day after informing me there might be a "problem" with my damages claim, my agent's office finally submitted the windstorm renewal to the windstorm carrier. I obtained a copy of the application signed by the agent, and of the envelop he sent it in, postmarked Sept 17, from the windstorm carrier. This proves his claim of "a delay in filing the windstorm renewal until the week before the storm hit" is false, as the renewal wasn't even submitted until after the storm.
The agent has since sent a formal written explanation, claiming his office faxed two copied of the renewal to the mortgage company beginning on Aug 10. I am not certain, but i suspect phone company records could confirm or disprove the validity of this claim.
Regardless, my position is that the agent new in late July my windstorm policy was up for renewal, and in the peak months of hurricane season, made only token effort to obtain the necessary premium for renewal from the mortgage company, and made absolutely no effort to notify me of any potential difficulty in making a seamless policy renewal, until after the storm had already hit, and after a claim for damages was already filed.
Do i have a case?
-- StormDamaged
Brazoria County, TX
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