Two more Hidalgo County school districts sued their insurers this month for Hurricane Hanna coverage.
Both Donna and Weslaco independent school districts claim they’re owed millions of dollars that weren’t paid out by insurers for damages sustained in the 2020 storm.
The districts aren’t the first school systems to file lawsuits in connection to the hurricane.
In May, Edinburg CISD sued a bundle of its insurance carriers, claiming that they failed to payout over $39 million for damages sustained during Hanna.
Donna and Weslaco’s suits are similar to each other and both districts are being represented by San Antonio law firm Flores & Pelaez-Prada.
They’re also both suing the same ten insurance carriers: Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, Indian Harbor Insurance Company, QBE Specialty Insurance Company, Steadfast Insurance Company, General Security Indemnity Company of Arizona, United Specialty Insurance Company, Lexington Insurance Company, Safety Specialty Insurance Company, HDI Global Specialty SE and Old Republic Union Insurance Company.
Donna claims actual covered damage from the storm exceeds $17 million. Weslaco puts that figure above $16 million.
Both claim through consultants, their carriers either failed to conduct a thorough investigation of their insured properties or intentionally ignored covered damages.
“The adjusters/consultants, and therefore The Carriers, failed to spend the appropriate amount of time necessary to investigate and properly identify the damages at issue or ignored the storm related damages caused by the storm at issue,” the lawsuits said. They failed to perform testing that would have found storm-related damages and failed to properly interview district staff, the districts argued in court filings.
The carriers also didn’t explain their opinions or how they arrived at their conclusions, the districts alleged. As a result, the districts have not been able to make all the necessary repairs to the damaged properties, the suits said.
Donna claims the carriers ignored or overlooked damage to roofs at nine schools and did the same for window systems at 20 schools.
Weslaco is making its claims in relation to 15 properties. Only five insured buildings appear to have been inspected, their suit says.
Properties, the suits claim, continue “to experience water intrusion as a result of the water and wind that damaged the structures on July 25, 2020.”
Donna ISD, court filings allege, was led to believe none of its buildings sustained roof damage from the hurricane.
“How is this possible? The water had to penetrate the building through the roofing structure or the windows in order for the ceiling tiles and batt insulation to get wet. This occurred in multiple sections of numerous schools,” the school district argued in the suit.
The carriers ultimately breached their contracts and violated the Texas Insurance Code, the suits claim.
