HOUSTON - One year has passed since the enactment of House Bill 1774, a piece of legislation designed to curb storm lawsuit abuse – and one tort reform group recently released data showing it has done just that.
According to Texans for Lawsuit Reform, from 2014 to midway through 2018, more than 34,600 weather-related lawsuits were filed throughout Texas for an average of 640 new storm suits per month.
Six years prior to 2012, the average was 62 lawsuits per month.
“After the explosion of unnecessary lawsuits against insurance companies following hail and wind events, property insurers in parts of the state were raising premiums and deductibles, or had stopped offering coverage in some areas all together,” TLR states on its blog post.
“This explosion of lawsuits was driven by lawyer conduct—including the unlawful and unethical recruitment of clients through door-to-door solicitation by case generators.”
TLR’s data shows storm suits spiked in August 2017, the month before HB 1774 went into effect, filing 1,553 new weather-related lawsuits in a single month.
In more than 36 percent of those lawsuits, the plaintiff’s lawyer named an individual as a co-defendant with the insurance company in order manipulate venue, TLR says.
“But since then, the number of lawsuits filed each month dipped significantly, although we have begun to see a slight uptick in the number of lawsuits filed in the past few months,” TLR states.
“We hope these positive trends will continue. We will keep an eye on the courts to study the rate of weather-related lawsuit filings.”
However, not every group is praising the Texas Legislature’s efforts to curb storm lawsuit abuse.
A year has passed since Hurricane Harvey devastated the coast and Texas Watch, a self-proclaimed consumer protection group, says businesses are still suffering.
On Aug. 24, Texas Watch released a video entitled: “Insurance Denials Hurt Texas Business,” which features a business owner speaking about how disheartened and emotionally devastating it has been since he was denied coverage following Harvey.
“Texans are tough, but the recovery from Harvey is tougher than it needs to be because of insurance-favored laws pushed by insurance lobbyists in Austin,” Texas Watch states in an email release of the video. “Many Texans are still trying to find their way home after the storm, and many businesses remain shuttered.
“Insurance giveaways only hurt Texas families and our economy.”
HOUSTON - One year has passed since the enactment of House Bill 1774, a piece of legislation designed to curb storm lawsuit abuse – and one tort reform group recently released data showing it has done just that.
According to Texans for Lawsuit Reform, from 2014 to midway through 2018, more than 34,600 weather-related lawsuits were filed throughout Texas for an average of 640 new storm suits per month.
Six years prior to 2012, the average was 62 lawsuits per month.
“After the explosion of unnecessary lawsuits against insurance companies following hail and wind events, property insurers in parts of the state were raising premiums and deductibles, or had stopped offering coverage in some areas all together,” TLR states on its blog post.
“This explosion of lawsuits was driven by lawyer conduct—including the unlawful and unethical recruitment of clients through door-to-door solicitation by case generators.”
TLR’s data shows storm suits spiked in August 2017, the month before HB 1774 went into effect, filing 1,553 new weather-related lawsuits in a single month.
In more than 36 percent of those lawsuits, the plaintiff’s lawyer named an individual as a co-defendant with the insurance company in order manipulate venue, TLR says.
“But since then, the number of lawsuits filed each month dipped significantly, although we have begun to see a slight uptick in the number of lawsuits filed in the past few months,” TLR states.
“We hope these positive trends will continue. We will keep an eye on the courts to study the rate of weather-related lawsuit filings.”
However, not every group is praising the Texas Legislature’s efforts to curb storm lawsuit abuse.
A year has passed since Hurricane Harvey devastated the coast and Texas Watch, a self-proclaimed consumer protection group, says businesses are still suffering.
On Aug. 24, Texas Watch released a video entitled: “Insurance Denials Hurt Texas Business,” which features a business owner speaking about how disheartened and emotionally devastating it has been since he was denied coverage following Harvey.
“Texans are tough, but the recovery from Harvey is tougher than it needs to be because of insurance-favored laws pushed by insurance lobbyists in Austin,” Texas Watch states in an email release of the video. “Many Texans are still trying to find their way home after the storm, and many businesses remain shuttered.
“Insurance giveaways only hurt Texas families and our economy.”