Insurance Litigation
 Insurance issues can arise in many ways, sometimes in situations where insurance is not initially anticipated as an issue. The insurance law team at Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens includes Ed Gaskins, Hugh Stevens, Matt Vaughn and Mike Tadych, who have a wealth of experience in dealing with insurance coverage and related insurance issues.
Crop Insurance Claims
Fire, Property and Casualty Insurance Claims
Flood Insurance Claims
General Insurance Coverage Disputes
Insurance Agent and Broker Errors and Omissions
Life and Accidental Death Insurance Claims
Unfair and Bad Faith Insurance Practices
Workers Compensation Insurance Audit Defense
Crop Insurance Claims
Crop-hail and multi-peril (MPCI) insurance claims can easily be likened to a race against time when growing crops (tobacco, cotton, soybeans, etc.) suffer damage from wind, hail, flood, pestilence or fire. Prompt adjustment and proper preservation of damaged plants must be weighed against salvaging what is left of a crop and meeting marketing deadlines. EGHS has successfully represented growers in central and eastern North Carolina in pursuing crop insurance claims denied or improperly adjusted by insurance companies. In the aftermath of Hurricane Fran EGHS partner Mike Tadych created computerized damages analyses that led to the successful resolution of more than 35 lawsuits by North Carolina tobacco farmers arising out of unfair claims settlement practices by crop insurers. Contact Hugh Stevens or Mike Tadych at Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens with your crop insurance claims disputes.
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Fire, Property and Casualty Insurance Claims
Attorneys E.D. Gaskins, Jr., Matt Vaughn and Mike Tadych have extensive experience representing clients with respect to their fire, property and other casualty insurance claims. Whether your claim involves commercial, homeowner or other property coverage, Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens can help to make sure you are treated fairly.
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Flood Insurance Claims
Contrary to popular misconception, homeowner and commercial casualty
insurance policies do not generally provide flood insurance coverage. Such
coverage must usually be purchased through the National
Flood Insurance Program, either from private insurance carriers or
directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Unlike most other
types of coverage, such flood insurance policies are governed by Federal
law, not state law.
Attorneys Matt Vaughn and Hugh Stevens have extensive experience litigating flood insurance claims. Our attorneys have also represented both policy-holders and insurance professionals with respect to errors and omissions claims in the flood insurance procurement process. If you have a flood insurance claim and need legal advice or representation, or if you are involved on either side of an issue of failure to procure flood insurance coverage, contact Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING FLOOD INSURANCE:
Under Federal law, strict deadlines apply to submission of flood insurance claims. Therefore, it is imperative that one comply with all deadlines regarding giving notice of the loss, submitting proof of loss to the insurer and, if warranted, contesting any denial in court.
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General Insurance Coverage Disputes
North Carolina regulates the insurance business in the state through the Department of Insurance and the North Carolina General Statutes, including Chapter 58 and related regulations. Insurance companies and their representatives must abide by North Carolina law when dealing with North Carolina residents and businesses. Although policy language is regulated by the Department of Insurance through its approval of policy forms, disputes arise frequently regarding whether a particular event, loss or circumstance triggers insurance coverage or duties under insurance policies. Attorneys Matt Vaughn, Mike Tadych, Ed Gaskins and Hugh Stevens regularly work with insureds, brokers, agencies and carriers to assess whether coverage exists and whether one interpretation of an insurance policy is consistent with its language and the requirements of North Carolina law and regulation.
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Insurance Agent and Broker Errors and Omissions
Errors and omissions claims against insurance agents and brokers typically arise where a loss occurs that the policy holder believes should have been covered, but the insurance company denies the claim. As such, these claims are often raised in the alternative, at the same time as a claim against the insurance company for improperly denying the claim.
Our attorneys regularly represent both policy holders and insurance agents and brokers with respect to claims of failure to procure coverage. If your claim has been denied when there should have been coverage, or if you are an insurance professional against whom a claim for failure to procure coverage has been asserted, contact Matt Vaughn or Mike Tadych at Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens.
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Life and Accidental Death Insurance Claims
Claims under life and accidental death insurance policies are sometimes fraught with hidden complexity. What may seem an obvious case may, upon closer inspection, be far from obvious.
An experienced attorney can help to evaluate and deal with the issues typical to life and accidental death insurance claims. If your claim under a life or accidental death insurance policy has been denied, contact Hugh Stevens or Matt Vaughn at Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens.
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Unfair and Bad Faith Insurance Practices
Insurance companies do not always treat their customers fairly and sometimes engage in policy sales and claims handling practices that are specifically prohibited by North Carolina law. If you have been treated unfairly by your insurance company, you may have a bad faith or unfair practices claim against your insurer.
Attorneys E.D. Gaskins, Jr., Matt Vaughn and Mike Tadych have represented numerous individual and corporate policy holders in state and Federal courts, in cases against insurance companies involving bad faith and other unfair practices claims. If you or your business have been treated unfairly by an insurer, Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens has the knowledge and experience evaluate whether your insurer has overstepped and to aggressively pursue the available remedies.
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Workers Compensation Insurance Audit Defense
Unlike most types of insurance, the premium owed on workers compensation insurance policies is determined at the end of the policy year, through the insurance company’s audit of the employer’s books and records. Because of the often complicated and difficult to understand rules for determining when coverage is required and establishing the rates for required coverage, audits can often produce surprising (and expensive) results.
If your company is assessed with a workers compensation audit premium that you believe may be incorrect, contact Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens. Matt Vaughn and Mike Tadych have extensive experience with challenging and defending against workers compensation audits, and would be pleased to discuss whether your company has possible grounds to reduce the claimed audit premium.
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