Insurance Defense

Insurance companies were formed in an effort to help people guard against catastrophic financial results from unplanned losses. In order for insurance companies to do this and still make a profit, coverage has to be limited. It is common knowledge that losses will be paid only if they are for damages that result from a loss event that is covered in the policy. How a company reaches that conclusion is what matters.Our firm has handled many cases for insurance companies for losses involving

• automobile and other motor vehicle accidents
• product liability actions
• property-based claims such as slip and falls.

Insurance companies and their insureds need to be protected before they make payments on losses on behalf of their insureds. They need to be sure that the payment is made for a loss for which liability has been clearly established. That means the law firm an insurance company retains must be able to vigorously defend the accusations of liability.

In a case where liability has been clearly established, the legal representation must also be able to address the second phase of the case, viewing the evidence concerning the damages sustained to ensure that the insurer pays out only the amount necessary to compensate the claimant for the loss.

More and more, we represent clients in similar cases where, as in the case of environmental or toxic torts, the individual business has chosen to retain more of the risk of loss themselves through a lack of insurance or higher self-retention amounts.

Duty to Defend

At our firm, we are proud of the work we have performed when assisting our insurance clients with fulfilling their duty to defend.

While the term "insurance defense" work generally gets people to think of casualty losses, our firm has also handled other types of cases where insurance coverage is in dispute. Our attorneys have had experience representing insurance companies in cases involving damages resulting from civil rights violations under insurance policies with government entities such as:

• Police departments (including charges of brutaility) and
• City or county governments.

An insurance company or other business may think that because of their size, they need to hire a law firm from outside the immediate area where they are located or where the loss took place. They frequently think that by going elsewhere, they get the power of a larger law firm; but bigger isn't always better. We are familiar with the judges and court personnel you are going to face when you have a case tried in the state. Our resources are here with us.

To learn more about our proven track record handling claims of liability for insurance clients, contact us at 903-757-4001 to speak with one of our attorneys.