Posts by Brandon McWherter
What is Contents Insurance Coverage?
Contents coverage, also known as personal property coverage, is insurance for damage or loss to property within a home, apartment, condominium, office, or any building. If property is damaged due to fire, theft, or other causes, the policyholder is entitled to be paid for the amount of the damage to the property – provided the…
Read MoreHow Can Brandon Help?
Most of the claims that we handle involve disputes about how much is owed. Sometimes it’s if you’re owed anything at all, but most of the time it’s a dispute about how much. And so what we do here at McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, is we have assembled a team of experts from all over…
Read MoreIs a Lawsuit My Only Option?
There are options other than filing a lawsuit. Oftentimes, when we get involved in a claim, we will present the claim, negotiate with the adjuster, negotiate with the opposing attorney, and try to get something worked out that’s satisfactory to the client before we even file a lawsuit. Sometimes we can avoid a lawsuit by…
Read MoreRecovery of General Contractor’s Overhead and Profit
One item of particular interest to contractors is the inclusion of overhead and profit in insurers’ payment of insurance losses. In Tennessee and in many other states, the general standard is that insurance companies must include overhead and profit in their calculation of the amount of loss when the job is of a type that…
Read MoreSingular Focus on Representing Policyholders
All I do are insurance claims. I work for the policyholder: for the person who suffered a loss, who’s not being paid enough, who’s not being paid at all, whose claim has not been denied. That’s all we do. We handle property claims primarily: homeowners, commercial, industrial, churches, non-profits – the whole gamut. From the…
Read MoreTennessee Commissioner of Insurance Confirms: Insurers Have to Pay to Match
Let’s say that your home is damaged in a storm. You need to replace a part of your roof as well as a section of vinyl siding. The company that originally manufactured these products is no longer in business, or has discontinued the line – which means that the front of your home will feature…
Read MoreMisrepresentations on Your Insurance Application Can Result in Denial of Claims
In a recent appellate case, Freeze v. Tenn. Farmers Mut. Ins. Co., the Tennessee Court of Appeals again analyzed the effect of misrepresentations in applications for insurance. The Court began by referencing Tenn. Code Ann § 56-7-103), which provides that misrepresentations on an application will not void the policy unless the misrepresentation is made with…
Read MoreImportance of Having a Qualified Lawyer Review Your Policy
The only way to know what coverages you have are to read your policy. If you’re like me, nobody wants to actually sit down and read an insurance policy. I wouldn’t if it was my own personal home, but because I know about all of the problems that my clients have had – hundreds and…
Read MoreCan I Sue My Insurance Company if They Deny My Claim?
One of the questions we hear a lot from policyholders whose claims have been denied is, “Can I sue to recover my money?” The short answer to that question is “yes, but.” The simple truth is that many claim denials are appropriate, and in those cases any lawsuit that is filed would likely be unsuccessful.…
Read MoreWhat is a Proof of Loss?
One of the most often-overlooked pieces of the insurance claim process is the submission of a “proof of loss.” What is a proof of loss? It’s nothing more than a one-page document that, at the top, says “Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss,” and it is your claim. It is setting forth what you’re owed,…
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