Lipscomb sues insurance provider

Lipscomb University is suing Travelers, seeking almost $9 million and alleging the insurance industry giant has yet to satisfy a claim related to hail damage various school properties suffered in March 2021.

According to a document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, The Travelers Indemnity Company needed three years to cover damages. Originally, the insurance giant valued the damage at about $1.5 million.

Contending the figure was insufficient, Lipscomb hired an independent adjuster and an independent engineering firm, while having to submit a "costly appraisal process" with Travelers. That effort yielded a "true cost" to repair and replace the damages, the university claims, of $20 million.

"Had Lipscomb not sought to enforce its rights, Travelers would have enjoyed an eight-figure windfall against what it owed to Lipscomb as the true value of the Claim," the court document reads.

Lipscomb alleges the first payments from Travelers were not made until June 27, 2024, more than three years after the damage occurred. Relatedly, Lipscomb contends it has incurred almost $3.5 million in additional expenses to date as a "direct result of Travelers' breach of the policy." The court document does not note the exact amount Travelers has paid Lipscomb to date.

It is unclear if the damaged Lipscomb properties are located on the university's campus or are non-campus real estate holdings (or a combination of both).

The court document notes Lipscomb claims Travelers is liable to the university for about $5.36 million in compensatory damages; $3.49 million in consequential damages (plus an amount equal to 9 percent of any final judgement); punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial; and statutory penalties of up to 25 percent of the judgement.

Lipscomb is seeking a jury trial.

Nashville-based law firm Jeffery S. Roberts and Associates is representing Lipscomb. Neither firm nor Lipscomb officials could be reached for comment.

The Post was unable to contact The Travelers Indemnity Company, which is based in Hartford, Conn.