Jack McKinley
Insurance coverage analysis/opinions and civil appeals since 1990
Assisting insurers to accurately apply policy provisions and assess risk
Texas has some of the most creative and aggressive plaintiffs’ lawyers in the nation, along with elected judges and some too-receptive juries. Getting insurance coverage right, from the start, is a crucial part of insurers’ risk management in that environment. Jack McKinley has been primarily engaged in analyzing, researching and writing opinions about clients’ insurance coverage issues since 1990. He also handles civil appeals and serves as monitoring counsel for excess insurers. If you retain Texas Insurance Law, PLLC for your legal needs in those three areas, you get Jack—not an associate lacking experience and expertise.
The firm’s location is Houston but the practice is state-wide. The law at issue is typically that of Texas but may also be federal or sister state, depending upon policies, events, jurisdiction and choice-of-law rules. The firm’s written product is usually a coverage opinion, a letter to insureds or lawyers, or an appellate brief, but the scope of work is client- and case-dependent.
When the application of law to facts and policy provisions takes coverage analysis out of the ordinary, or a lawsuit needs to be closely watched or appealed, Texas Insurance Law, PLLC brings extensive experience and expertise to assist in your decision-making and presentation.
Contact Us
jack@texinslaw.com
713-562-4951
1000 Uptown Park Blvd. #262
Houston, Texas 77056
Areas of Practice
Insurance Coverage Opinions
Most applications of policy text to facts are well within the expertise of experienced claims handlers. This firm exists to assist with the ones that are not, or that involve a level of risk requiring confirmation. Good coverage analysis starts with plain meaning but must be grounded in applicable case law, anticipate counter-arguments and assess risk. Jack’s coverage opinions provide analysis culminating in answers, not recitation of law ending in fence-sitting.
Civil Appeals
Jack McKinley has decades of experience handling civil appeals, always well short of specialist volume but still managing to find his way to the courthouse and frequently obtain favorable results for clients. Jack’s appellate history will be linked for reference early in 2026.
Monitoring Counsel
Excess insurers need not have “trust issues” to find that their interests are better and more reliably protected by retaining counsel of their choice to monitor lawsuits being handled by primary insurers. Even assuming perfect handling of a lawsuit by defense counsel, insurers’ evaluations, risk management calculations and coverage often differ from the primary to the excess level. Jack McKinley brings 10 years of civil trial experience and long appellate experience to the evaluation of excess policy exposure in tort lawsuits.
“Prevention is much less expensive than cure”
– Confucius
Potentially Useful Commentary
As 2026 unfolds, this section of the website will be populated with commentary on legal issues of interest to clients.