Ty Tyler and Clark Hamilton have been partners for 13 years. Their office, located in the St. Nicholas area, represents individuals and businesses who are involved in disputes with insurance companies.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“We represent insureds in first-party claims where the insured is seeking coverage under his/her own insurance policy,” said Tyler.
WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?
Property insurance cases, including automobile collision claims, homeowners claims [involving fire, theft, windstorm, and other losses], commercial claims [including fire, windstorm, business interruption and business income loss], life insurance claims, disability claims, and health insurance claims. “We are primarily involved in property insurance, but we also do disability and life insurance,” said Tyler. “What we don’t do is personal injury claims. We represent people all over the state from Pensacola to Key West.”
WHO WORKS THERE?
Tyler and Hamilton, managing partners; Terry Furman, associate; Candy Strickland, office manager/secretary, and Sue Dunlap, secretary.
UNIQUE?
“We are the only firm around here that does what we do exclusively that I know of,” said Hamilton.
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE OF WHY YOU WOULD SUE AN INSURANCE COMPANY?
“Insurance policies only cover certain things, so many times the dispute is whether the damage that happened was caused by one of the covered perils under the policy,” said Hamilton. “Other times, a claim may be denied because the insurance company says the application for the insurance policy contained an incorrect statement, which makes the policy unenforceable,” added Tyler. “On some occasions, an insurer will accuse its policyholder of attempting to perpetrate a fraud.”
HOW DID THE FIRM GET STARTED?
Fannin & Tyler was originally started in 1976 by John Fannin and Tyler. Hamilton joined the firm in the late 1980s and it became Fannin, Tyler & Hamilton. Fannin left the firm three years ago and the firm became Tyler & Hamilton.
SWITCHING SIDES?
“The firm originally represented insurance companies doing the same things that we do now for insureds,” said Tyler. “About 10 years ago, for a variety of reasons, we stopped representing the insurance industry and started representing the insureds. We continued to represent a few companies for a period of time. The last company we represented was State Farm in 1998.”
ARE YOU PLANNING TO GROW THE FIRM?
“No. I don’t think we are absolutely opposed to it, but what we do is so specialized, that I don’t know if there is enough work for us to be a five lawyer firm in the near future,” said Hamilton. “Also, getting someone up to speed on what we do would be very expensive,” said Tyler. “It’s not rocket science, but we both know it. We have been doing it for 19 years and have a great depth of experience.”
TRAVEL?
“We travel all the time. I can’t give you an exact percentage, but probably only 30 percent of our work is here in Jacksonville,” said Tyler.
HOW MANY CASES DO YOU HANDLE?
“We have about 100 active cases right now,” said Hamilton.
WHAT COMPANIES DO YOU GO UP AGAINST?
“All the big property insurance companies, including Allstate, Nationwide, State Farm, Travelers, Auto Owners and Lloyds of London,” said Hamilton. They also tangle with condominium associations and school boards.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis