Prompt Payment of Appraisal Award Defeats Policyholder’s Contractual Claims, Texas Court Affirms

HOUSTON — An insurer’s prompt payment of an appraisal award for covered damages to a home caused by a storm defeats the policyholder’s claims of breach of contract, bad faith, and violation of the state insurance code, a Texas appellate court has affirmed.

On June 21, the Texas Court of Appeal, 1st District, found the policyholder has failed to show that the insurer caused her to suffer some injury independent of her policy claim or failed to timely investigate her claim and therefore the insurer is entitled to summary judgment.

During a June 12, 2012, storm, a tree fell through …