Insurance advocates for policyholders ought to at all times share and assist others with comparable issues and customary points. Collegial cooperation is what I’ve preached as a sport changer for policyholders making an attempt to alter the establishment versus insurance coverage firms.
I acquired the next from a lawyer in a unique legislation agency yesterday:
Mr. Merlin,
I hope this electronic mail sheds extra mild on one thing you’re undoubtedly conscious of: Your workplace in Oklahoma City has among the finest policyholder advocates within the nation. I’m proud to be their friends and pricey buddies.
For the final thirty years, my agency has solely pursued insurance coverage firms for the unhealthy religion adjustment of insurance coverage claims in Oklahoma. My apply, and far of our agency, solely litigates property claims. In your phrases, there are lots of pretenders and only a few contenders on this enviornment. While you might know your Oklahoma group is exceptionally competent, you must know they’re true advocates for the higher good of policyholders. When I decide up the cellphone, these attorneys at all times reply and generously present their time and efforts to my trigger.
I wish to share significantly shining examples of the goodwill freely given by your attorneys. I briefly met you at Win-the-Storm this yr. While you fumbled together with your admission ticket, I approached you in line and instructed you I used to be working with Mr. Houghton on a coinsurance penalty difficulty.
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When the insurance coverage firm was confronted with unbeatable arguments it had miscalculated the coinsurance penalty, it shifted its place to say it was the policyholder’s burden to show the constructing was insured to worth….Unfortunately, we got here up flat on the legislation relating to the burden of proof relating to coinsurance penalties. This shortcoming was seemingly on account of our limiting our work to the state of Oklahoma.
I referred to as Mr. Houghton and requested if he had any expertise with the difficulty, and he stated he would see if there was precedent in your nationwide apply on the matter. Like many issues on this career, time handed, and my dialog with Mr. Houghton was forgotten. Then, with out immediate, out of the blue, and well timed for my pretrial submission filings, I acquired a full memorandum from Drew – that was drafted by Liberty, a promising younger lawyer at your Oklahoma City agency. The thorough memo outlined a nationwide evaluation of essentially the most related case legislation and rulings throughout the nation. I utilized this legislation in my pretrial submissions. Shortly after, Liberty printed her findings to your well-known Property Insurance Coverage Blog: https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2023/03/articles/insurance/coinsurance-in-court-who-has-the-burden-of-proof/
The weblog was connected to a Motion to Supplement Persuasive Authority (connected). The decide denied the unhealthy religion MSJ and confirmed the jury may take into account punitive damages. During the pretrial convention, the decide hinted she was closely persuaded by the notion the burden could be on the insurance coverage provider to show the coinsurance limitation. Just 4 (4) days earlier than the trial, my shopper acquired a suggestion…After three years of litigation, your workplace offered us the ace on the river card.
In one other occasion: Micah Cartwright obtained a scathing sanction order towards Amguard in Nebraska (connected). Over espresso, I instructed Mrs. Cartwright I had a case towards Amguard. Without hesitation, she shared her briefing. During my Amguard case, I filed a Motion to Compel in search of a whole bunch of hundreds of pages of documentation. Again, your attorneys offered excellent support for an insured they by no means met.
As you realize, you’re an icon within the insurance coverage trade. Writing weblog posts and books claiming to be a policyholder advocate is one factor. Anyone may open a number of legislation agency places and publish on the web claiming they contribute to the higher good of householders and constructing house owners. But strolling the stroll is completely totally different and requires far more. While you and I met briefly, I regularly see the teachings and views you publicly share in your Oklahoma group. I do know that could be a tradition instilled by you. You needs to be proud to have three excellent attorneys in Oklahoma beneath your banner.
I’m pleased with each workers member in our agency. They are our bedrock. The lawyer superstars carry that effort to higher heights and ranges of success. But all of it begins with a tradition of individuals working as a group making an attempt to assist in a selected discipline everywhere in the nation. We have a deep bench of people who find themselves 10,000-hour specialists representing policyholders.
The reality is that we want extra of those folks within the trade. We are at all times pleased to see very long time public adjusters giving their time to mentor others. We are pleased to see insurance coverage trade adjusters swap sides to assist policyholders as public adjusters.
If you discover that you simply love representing policyholders or have glorious ability units and wish to achieve this and play nicely within the sandbox with individuals who discover the legislation apply enjoyable when serving to folks, and match the kind of particular person I describe in Why Does Merlin Law Group Exist? Why Do We Give Our Time, Money and Effort to United Policyholders and The American Policyholders Association?, please take into consideration contacting me and our group about becoming a member of our legislation agency.
We are devoted to excellence and want world-class group members to beat the insurance coverage firms wrongfully denying claims.
Thought For The Day
Growth is rarely by mere probability; it’s the results of forces working collectively.
—James Cash Penney