Allegedly Denied, Delayed, or Underpaid Property Insurance Claims: Diagnosing The True Nature of Disputes
Critical Documents, Distinguishing Flawed Results From Flawed Processes, Expediting the Dispute Resolution Process Before Suit
About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course, led by policyholder and insurer counsel, will examine how insurance counsel can evaluate a client or potential client's initial narrative that its property claim allegedly has been delayed, denied, or underpaid, so that counsel can determine before litigation, the true nature of a possible dispute—whether it be coverage, causation, valuation, compliance with policy conditions, scope of the loss, or disputes over adjustment conduct, or even a non-insurance issue. The panel will discuss common reasons that documentation, data, analysis, or other aspects of a claim can spawn disputes between carrier and insured over whether the facts may have required a different decision.
Description
Whether a policyholder alleges bad faith, unreasonable delay, or underpayment, the insured's initial version of the facts is often incomplete or distorted. An attorney who misdiagnoses the actual disputes can end up asserting non-meritorious claims or proposing incorrect remedies or solutions. Experienced policyholder attorneys understand that their initial working theory often changes after they review key documents, photos, and communications related to the claim.
There are a number of things carrier-side attorneys wish policyholder lawyers knew about how to expedite the claim resolution process without litigation.
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 for both sides to recognize any red flags concerning 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 work toward the most productive remedies.
Listen as our panel of experienced insurance practitioners offers practical tips and guidance for getting beyond the original accusation of unfair delay or denial and identifying any real disputes as early in the process as possible and before commencing litigation.
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 alleged unfair denial, delay, or underpayment
III. Key questions to ask
IV. Key documents and what to look for
V. What carrier counsel wish insured counsel knew that would expedite the process
VI. Comparing file contents vs. what an accurate adjustment requires
VII. Presence of data that may have compelled a different result
VIII. Selecting the correct remedies to pursue
The panel will discuss these important issues:
- What are common sources of disagreement in property insurance claims?
- 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?
- How can counsel evaluate whether an adjustment was accurately calculated in pre-suit analysis?
- How can the process of claim resolution be expedited?
- How can the adjustment process proceed in the face of a coverage dispute?
