Attorney Brent Coon’s Response to Sen. Hancock’s Dangerous Harvey Misinformation Campaign

Shame on Senator Kelly Hancock for sending out a self-serving communication from his office this week stating that the law regarding the new hurricane and flood insurance laws WILL NOT change the claims process. It WILL change the process, and to the detriment of policy holders.   Why is he saying that?  Because HE sponsored the bill in the last session.  Why did he sponsor the bill?  Because he never met an insurance company he didn’t like, and he took a bunch of campaign money (and who knows what else) from their lobby groups.  That’s how the process sadly works.  The Texans For Lawsuit Reform (TLR), a front for the insurance industry and other corporate interests, is just ONE of his financial supporters. Kelly probably isnt smart enough to have even drafted this horrible legislation. Instead, it was drafted by the industry and GIVEN to him to push through. That’s ALSO how it works.

The new law goes into effect in the middle of the worst disaster in Texas history. Millions of homeowners and business owners will likely take the sting of the new laws when they try to navigate the claims and litigation processes. However, anyone getting their claim number from their agent BEFORE the deadline is protected by the penalty provisions of the old law, which has higher penalties to the insurance company for low and unfair offers and shifts the costs of any litigation to the carrier. The new law cuts penalties in half (5% over prime rate rather than 18%). It also requires claimants to wait 60 days, shifts the burden of legal costs, and obligates the claimant to go through many additional legal compliance hurdles…AND takes away State Court venues and transfers them to the Federal system.  The new laws are codified as Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542A.  Fortunately for Senator Hancock, he lives in Dallas. Houston and all of Southeast Texas would vote him out.