Denied, Delayed, or Underpaid Property Insurance Claims: Diagnosing the True Nature of the Dispute
Critical Documents, Distinguishing Flawed Results From Flawed Processes, Recognizing Red Flags of Superficial Analysis
About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will examine how insurance counsel can evaluate a client or potential client’s initial narrative after a property claim has been delayed, denied, or underpaid, and examine the source of the dispute--whether it be coverage, causation, valuation, policy compliance, inadequate investigation, bad faith, or something else. The panel will discuss common issues related to documentation, data, analysis, or other aspects of a claim that may have required a different decision.
Description
Whether a client alleges bad faith, unreasonable delay, or underpayment, its version of the facts is often incomplete or distorted. An attorney who misdiagnoses the actual disputes can end up asserting the wrong claims or pursuing incorrect remedies. Experienced attorneys understand that their initial working theory often changes after they review key documents, photos, and communications related to the claim.
Attorneys in these matters need to determine what the insurer actually decided, identify the facts upon which those decisions were based, understand if facts were or were not verified, and assess whether the decisions and claim amounts were correct. It is important to be able to recognize the red flags of superficial analysis on key issues, such as causation or valuation of work. Only after all of the facts have been analyzed can counsel arrive at an accurate diagnosis of the issues, and offer the most productive remedies.
Listen as our panel of experienced insurance practitioners offer practical tips and guidance for identifying underlying claim disputes, reviewing documentation that might highlight shortcomings in the claims investigation, distinguishing a wrong result from actionable bad faith, and selecting the appropriate path forward to meet the client’s objectives.
Presented By
Mr. DeMeo handles insurance litigation, including claims stemming from large-scale natural and man-made disasters. He has extensive experience with complex and high-exposure property and general liability insurance claims and litigation, including class action lawsuits, domestically and internationally. Before joining the firm Mr. DeMeo was Assistant Vice President and Managing Counsel at Travelers Property Casualty Company, where he oversaw all commercial property insurance litigation nationwide, including bad faith lawsuits arising from property insurance claims. He directly supervised the World Trade Center property insurance litigation and oversaw all litigation arising from Hurricane Katrina.
Mr. Klein is a Board-Certified insurance trial lawyer, and member of the Texas Insurance Law Council, who has dedicated his career to representing policyholders against insurance companies. His skill and advocacy has led to numerous record-setting verdicts and judgments, including securing a finding for the first time in Texas history that an insurer acted with “specific intent to harm” his client (judgment in that case exceeded $4 million), and securing a bad faith judgment against another insurer which resulted in a judgment over five times the actual damages owed (which judgment was paid in full). Mr. Klein's reputation as a trial lawyer and proven ability to win leads to carriers choosing to settle matters rather than risk the wrong side of a bad faith verdict, including numerous settlements well in excess of the policy’s limit. Setting records and taking the tough cases is something he is used to, representing a Medical Marijuana facility in Colorado Springs following the Waldo Canyon Fire. Mr. Klein briefed, argued, and won the first ever ruling in United States District Court that marijuana was not contraband (and thus covered) in a jurisdiction where marijuana was legal at the state level, but illegal under Federal Law. The case reached a favorable settlement following that ruling. He has never lost a coverage fight in Court. Mr. Klein has co-authored articles and presented Continuing Education Courses for the Insurance Law Section of the Texas Bar and is frequently requested to speak at educational seminars across the United States on Insurance Law matters.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. Introduction: Why a policyholder’s narrative is often distorted and the risk of misdiagnosing the actual disputes
II. Identifying potential disputes underlying denial, delay, and underpayment
A. Coverage
B. Causation
C. Valuation/scope
D. Policy compliance and post-loss conditions
E. Adequacy of investigation
F. Bad faith conduct, individual or institutional
G. Non-insurance problems
III. Key questions to ask
A. Determining what the insurer actually decided and analyzing the supporting documents
B. Identifying the facts the insurer relied on and how they were vetted
C. If the insurer had sufficient and accurate facts, was the policy followed correctly?
D. Was the amount of the payment correctly determined?
IV. Key documents and what to look for
A. Policy
B. Communications to and from insurer
C. Estimates
D. Insured’s own records: photos, videos, repair invoices, timelines of events
E. Any EUO testimony
F. Proof of loss documentation
V. Comparing file contents v. what an accurate adjustment requires
A. Facts needed v. facts available v. facts relied on
B. Red flags of superficial analysis
C. Causation
D. Scope and valuation of work
VI. Presence of data that may have compelled a different result
VII. Selecting the correct remedies to pursue
The panel will discuss these important issues:
- What documents are critical in determining the source of the dispute and in what order should they be reviewed?
- How can counsel distinguish between a disputed result and an unreasonable process that would support extracontractual damages?
- How can counsel evaluate whether an adjustment was accurately calculated?
- What are some red flags that may indicate a superficial analysis?
Related Courses
Denied, Delayed, or Underpaid Property Insurance Claims: Diagnosing the True Nature of the Dispute
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1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
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