Houston Bad Faith Insurance Attorney

Houston Bad Faith Insurance Attorney for Homeowners

When you pay premiums to an insurance company for years, you are buying more than coverage. You are buying a promise that the carrier will treat you fairly when disaster strikes. When carriers break that promise by misrepresenting your coverage, sitting on a covered claim, or refusing to investigate before denying the claim, they cross from poor customer service into bad faith. A Houston bad faith insurance attorney can hold them accountable. Brasher Law Firm represents Houston-area policyholders in bad faith claims against the carriers that wronged them.

Our firm is small for a reason. You will know your attorney and have direct access throughout the case. The initial case review is free.

What Counts as Bad Faith in Texas

In Texas, bad faith is not just a feeling that your carrier handled the claim poorly. It is a specific category of conduct defined by case law and the Texas Insurance Code. Conduct that may rise to bad faith includes:

• Denying a clearly covered claim without a reasonable basis
• Failing to conduct a reasonable investigation before denying or paying
• Misrepresenting policy provisions, exclusions, or coverage terms
• Refusing to settle a claim when liability is reasonably clear
• Forcing the policyholder to sue to recover benefits clearly owed under the policy
• Knowing or reckless mishandling of the claim
• Threatening or engaging in retaliatory cancellation or non-renewal

Not every bad claim handling decision is bad faith. The standard requires conduct that goes beyond ordinary negligence. That said, when the pattern of conduct shows the carrier was unwilling to honor the home insurance policy, the law in Texas takes that seriously.

And our firm has had success in trial in getting findings of bad faith by juries in Texas against insurance companies.

Chapter 541 and Chapter 542 of the Texas Insurance Code

Texas, like most other states, adopted a version of the “model rules”, which were promulgated to ensure that insurance companies don’t act in bad faith and mistreat their policyholders. The Texas Insurance Code Chapters 541 and 542 provide statutory recovery options to homeowners. Chapter 541 of the Code prohibits unfair claim settlement practices and creates a private right of action with the possibility of additional damages when the carrier’s conduct was knowing. Chapter 542 imposes specific deadlines on carriers for acknowledging, investigating, and paying claims, with statutory interest and reasonable attorney’s fees as penalties for violations. The Texas Department of Insurance regulates these duties, but savvy bad faith lawyers enforce them in court.

The combination of statutory interest, attorney fees, and additional damages for knowing violations can substantially exceed the policy benefits themselves. Most home policyholders do not know these remedies exist, which is part of why bad faith claims are worth bringing when the facts support them.

Common Bad Faith Scenarios in Houston Claims

The Houston market produces a distinct set of bad-faith fact patterns that we repeatedly see. They include:

Hurricane and storm claims dragged out for years.

Carriers swamped by Hurricane Beryl and other major events (like the February 2021 freeze event) sometimes responded by slow-walking claims for months past deadlines.

Lowball estimates are designed to force settlement.

A carrier sends an adjuster who writes an estimate at a fraction of the actual home repair costs, then refuses to supplement when the policyholder produces an independent estimate showing the actual cost.

Coverage misrepresentation.

The carrier tells the policyholder that a loss or part of the loss is not covered, even though the policy plainly covers it. This kind of misrepresentation can violate Chapter 541, regardless of whether the claim itself is ever paid.

Refusal to investigate before denial.

The carrier issues a denial without sending an adjuster to the property, without reviewing the documentation submitted, or without engaging a qualified professional when one was clearly needed.

Splitting one loss into multiple deductibles.

The carrier characterizes a single weather event as multiple separate losses to apply the deductible repeatedly, thereby reducing the amount the policyholder recovers.

Damages Available in a Texas Bad Faith Case

When a bad faith claim succeeds, the policyholder may recover damages in several categories:

• The policy benefits themselves, including amounts the carrier should have paid;
• Statutory interest under Chapter 542 (or Chapter 542A) on amounts not timely paid;
• Reasonable attorney fees under Chapter 542;
• Additional damages of up to three times the amount of your original claim under Chapter 541;
• Court costs;
• In some cases, common-law damages for mental anguish are awarded where the facts support that claim; and
• Consequential damages that arise due to the carrier’s breach of contract, which may not otherwise be available under the policy, but were incurred by the policyholder as a result of the carrier’s breach.

The case has to be developed correctly from the outset to preserve all of these remedies. Having a savvy bad faith insurance lawyer who knows how to handle these claims, how they work in Court, and what sorts of claims need to be filed, is essential.

Statute of Limitations on Texas Bad Faith Claims

The deadline to file a bad-faith insurance lawsuit in Texas is typically 2 years + 1 day from the date of the carrier’s wrongful conduct. You should always consult with a lawyer on the specific statute of limitations applicable to your claim.

The clock generally runs from the date of breach, not the date of the underlying loss. That means if a carrier denied a claim a year after the loss, you may have more time than you assumed. The reverse is also true: if a denial happened nearly two years ago, the window may be closing fast.

Why Houston Policyholders Choose Brasher Law Firm

Direct attorney access. You will work with the attorney handling your case from start to finish. Our firm is small by design.

Free case review. Bring us your policy, the carrier’s correspondence, and the facts of the loss, and we will give you our honest read of whether there is a bad-faith case worth pursuing.

Licensed in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, and Nevada. Many Houston clients have property and business interests on both sides of the Sabine River and beyond. We can stay with you wherever the case needs to go.

Founder with personal experience. Clint Brasher’s home was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita in 2005, and his carrier fought him for years. He has fought insurance carriers all the way from the lower state courts, up to the Texas Supreme Court and won. This firm exists because of that experience. When we talk about bad faith insurance work, we are not new to it. We’ve been here for 20 years.

Serving Houston Homeowners and the Surrounding Area

Our Houston office represents policyholders throughout Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Galveston County, and Brazoria County. We handle bad faith insurance cases in Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pasadena, Pearland, Katy, Baytown, Galveston, and the rest of Greater Houston.

Bad-faith insurance cases in Houston are typically filed in the Harris County District Court, with federal matters heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Our attorneys have experience in these courts, and oftentimes know the judges handling the claims, because our Houston-based partner, Nishi Kothari, is born and raised in Houston and familiar with the judges here.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I prove my insurance company acted in bad faith?

Proof of bad faith in Texas usually involves showing that the carrier knew or should have known there was no reasonable basis for denying the claim, or that the carrier engaged in conduct prohibited by Chapter 541 of the Insurance Code. Evidence often includes the carrier’s claim file, internal communications, professional testimony about industry standards, and the timeline of how the claim was handled. We have a team of experts that we utilize to help develop our claims and get them trial ready.

Can I sue my insurance company for emotional distress in Texas?

Texas allows mental anguish damages in some bad-faith cases when the facts support them, but the law has been narrowed over time. The viable path in most modern Texas bad-faith cases is the statutory framework under Chapters 541 and 542, which provides specific monetary remedies for certain damages. Our experienced attorneys can talk to you about what recoveries are allowed under Texas law and what practical remedies we see in Court every day.

How much does it cost to hire a bad-faith insurance attorney in Houston?

Our initial consultations are free. Bring your policy, the carrier’s denial or settlement correspondence, and any documentation of the underlying loss. We will review what you have and give you our honest assessment of the case. Most of our cases are taken on a contingency fee nature. That means that unless you recover something, you don’t owe us a dime.

What if my carrier already paid part of the claim? Can I still sue for bad faith?

Yes, a partial payment does not foreclose a bad-faith claim. If the payment did not fully cover the policy’s obligation, the unpaid portion may still be the subject of suit. The fact that the carrier paid something can actually help with the coverage analysis, since it confirms that the loss was at least partially covered.

Contact Our Houston Office

Brasher Law Firm, PLLC, Houston Office

3555 Timmons Lane, Suite 1130

Houston, TX 77027

Phone: (713) 714-5014

Toll-Free: (888) 989-2889

If your insurance carrier has acted in bad faith on a Houston claim, you do not have to handle this alone. Brasher Law Firm offers free consultations. Call us today or fill out our online contact form to speak with a Houston bad faith insurance attorney.