News 596 Texas Homeowners Insurance Lawsuits Skyrocket Hurricane Claims Tx

Rebuilding a home isn't cheap, especially when contractors and supplies are in as short supply as the funds needed to acquire them. While some may be content to vent their frustration via web blogs, others are taking a more active approach to their situations. They are jamming Texas courtrooms with lawsuits against homeowners insurance companies. There have been 18 times more lawsuits in Jefferson County, TX against home insurance companies in the first two months of this year than in January and February of last year. That's 55 in 2006 versus 3 in 2005.

Those embroiled in these lawsuits say that of all the home insurance companies, Allstate has been the hardest to deal with. "Allstate will pay $200,000 to fight a $10,000 claim," attorney John Morgan said. Farmers Insurance, although near the top with the number of suits filed against them has been the fastest to repay undisputed damages. Of the 55 lawsuits in Jefferson County thus far, the tally for the three largest insurers looks something like this: Allstate- 12, Farmers- 11, State Farm- 5.

One of the issues homeowners are suing over is not simply the denial of a claim, although there are plenty of those, but the amount of pay outs. Due to the use of computer programs that don't take into account the rise in prices for labor and supplies following a storm, homeowners are not receiving enough money to complete their reconstructions.

Read more: Insurance suits surge after storm (Beaumont Enterprise) In response to the post-Hurricane Rita homeowner's nightmare known as Dealing With the Insurance Company, some have turned to the Internet for relief.