MARCH 4, 2015
EDINBURG, TEXAS
An Edinburg couple sued their insurance company claiming it
underestimated and undervalued the cost to repair their home after a hail
storm. The verdict is in, but the case is just one of thousands still pending
in Hidalgo County.
Martin Amaro and his wife were disappointed with the jury's
verdict. They were hoping the panel of 12 would award them the money needed to
repair their hail storm damaged home.
Instead, jurors turned them down.
The hail storm of April 2012 left its mark on Amaro’s home.
Water damage is visible in the ceilings of two bedrooms, a bathroom and laundry
area. Damage to the roof can also been seen.
At the time, Amaro reached out to his insurance provider,
National Lloyds Company, requesting coverage for the repairs. He asked for
$17,000.
Instead, he was sent two checks totaling a little over
$3,100. It was not enough, so he sued.
"I got a quote for the amount of materials and labor.
The $3,000 the company was giving me would only be enough to pay the materials,
not the labor. I would have to pay out of my own pocket," he said.
Amaro's case went to the 206th State District Court.
A jury returned a verdict citing on behalf of National
Lloyds Insurance. The twelve member panel didn't believe the company failed to
comply with Amaro's insurance policy.
Amaro learned his home's depreciation value played a big
role. His insurance company changed it from 10 percent to 70 percent. This
impacted the amount he was going to get back for repairs.
That did not sit well with the home owner. His attorneys accused
the company of over depreciating.
"I don't feel good because the jurors cited on behalf of the insurance company. Of the eleven questions they were asked, all of them were in favor of the company. I don't agree with this decision," said Amaro.
He does not understand how it came to this.
He said, "If I'm going to pay for insurance, I expect
for the company to respond to me when I need them. Do you understand? I needed
them right now, and they didn't respond the way I felt they should have.”
Amaro's lawsuit is the first hail storm related case to go to trial in Hidalgo County. More than 9,300 are waiting for their turn in court.
Hidalgo County District Clerk Laura Hinojosa said, "We've had over 13,000 cases that were filed since the hail storm hit. We currently have over 9,000 cases that are still pending. … It's a tremendous job for our judges to have to decide."
Hinojosa said the number of cases is unusual for Hidalgo
County.
"If they decided to open up a hail storm court, so to
speak, we would have enough cases filed in Hidalgo County to constitute its own
court,” she added.
The majority of these cases are going before State District
Judge Rose Reyna. She was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court as a
multi-district litigation judge to oversee pretrial matters.
From there, the cases will be sent to their original court
for their full trial.
CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to National Lloyds Insurance for
comment. They sent a statement stating they were pleased with the unanimous
jury verdict in this case, finding that they acted in good faith based on
policy terms.
As for Amaro, his attorneys are considering asking for a new
trial.
Full Statement from Bob Otis – National Lloyd Company
National Lloyds Insurance Company is certainly pleased with
the unanimous jury verdict in this case finding that we acted in good faith
based on policy terms. Bob Otis, President & CEO of Waco-based National
Lloyds, stated, “We appreciate the diligence of the jury in this case. They
were presented all the evidence about the insurance policy and the claim file
and agreed that National Lloyds complied with its insurance policy and paid to
its insured all the money they were due for actual damage that resulted from
the March and April 2012 hail storms.”
National Lloyds has served the Rio Grande Valley region
since 1948, providing affordable and reliable fire and homeowners insurance and
servicing claims fairly and promptly. More than 75% percent of National Lloyds
Insurance business is in Texas, with more than 60% in areas designated by the
Texas Department of Insurance as underserved for homeowners insurance. National
Lloyds is an AM Best A-rated carrier.