You have homeowners insurance so that, should the unthinkable happen, you will have coverage for your losses. However, sometimes, insurance companies fail to deal fairly with policyholders who have valid claims.
A property claim lawyer in Orlando can hold the insurance company accountable for their obligations and help you recover compensation for your covered losses. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine provides a free, no-obligation consultation and policy review.
Common Types of Property Claims in Orlando
The Orlando personal injury lawyers at our firm handle cases of all types, including cases involving damage caused by:
- Hurricanes: Our Orlando hurricane damage lawyers help clients with hurricane damage to their homes. In Florida, the frequency and intensity of hurricanes are increasing each year.
- Tropical storms: These commonly cause floods resulting in extreme residential damages. Lightning is common in tropical storms, and Florida is a top state for lightning-related claims. Hail is also quite common in tropical storms. One of our Orlando storm damage lawyers can help you with your claim.
- Wind: Wind damage is especially common in Florida. Strong winds can cause serious exterior damage to a home.
- House fires: One of our Orlando fire damage attorneys can help if you had a house fire. According to FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), there were losses of almost $15 billion due to house fires in 2019.
- Broken pipes and water lines: One of our Orlando water damage attorneys can help with water damage due to either of these issues. Broken pipes and water lines lead to a great deal of flooding in Florida homes each year.
- Sewage line blockages: These can also lead to flooding and water damage in Florida homes.
- Fallen trees: These can be quite common in hurricanes and strong winds.
Common Issues With Property Claims in Orlando
We can handle every aspect of your property claim and assist you with the following:
Issues With Original Property Loss Claims
If you want to avoid some of the most common challenges homeowners encounter during a claim, we can investigate and document your case, prepare your property claim and demand, and submit it to the insurance company. We can pursue negotiations to get you a settlement as quickly as possible.
One of the challenges many claimants have is finding sufficient evidence of their damages. For example, it can be difficult to find corroborating evidence, such as a damage estimate and testimony from an independent investigator. Our firm can acquire such evidence for you, ensuring your claim has the support it needs.
Denied Claims
If the insurance company denied your claim, we can investigate the reason for their action and provide the necessary documentation to overcome their denial. We can push for a timely resolution and negotiate for a fair outcome for your claim.
If the insurer isn’t open to renegotiations, we threaten a lawsuit, which may force them to negotiate. If the insurer is still closed to negotiations, we can follow through and file a lawsuit on your behalf.
Delayed Claims
If the insurance company has not responded to your claim or delayed its processing, we can work to get to the bottom of the problem. We can answer questions and provide additional information to prove your losses are covered under your policy.
Undervalued Claims
If the insurance company offered you a lowball settlement that does not fairly cover your losses, we can provide documentation to support your claim’s full value.
In some cases, the insurer will issue a partial settlement check marked as “full and final” or ask you to sign a release. In either case, you could relinquish your right to pursue the full value of your losses.
Bad Faith Issues
The insurance company cannot make false or misleading statements, and they cannot advise you not to seek help from a property claim lawyer. If the insurer is dealing with your claim in bad faith, we can take every possible action to hold them accountable.
Pursuing a Property Loss Claim In Orlando
Our legal team will begin by investigating your claim to identify all covered damage. Your homeowner’s insurance may cover some or all the following items:
- Damage to the primary structure (your home)
- Damage to auxiliary structures (a guest house, garage, storage structure, workshop)
- Damage to property features (fences, gates, pool)
- Property cleanup and debris removal
- Property contents and personal possessions
- Temporary relocation expenses
Next, we will obtain the necessary documentation to support all covered losses, which may include:
- Property loss photos
- Contractor estimates for repair
- Itemized lists of lost personal property and contents
- Receipts for replacement contents
- Bills or receipts for remediation services
- Bills or receipts for board-up and property protection
- Receipts for displacement expenses if your home is unlivable
In case of a total loss, we can submit a demand for the full value of your policy, less any applicable deductible and other items excluded by your policy.
To help us document your claim, keep all receipts and document any direct or out-of-pocket expenses you incur.
Additional Benefits of Working With an Orlando Property Claim Lawyer
The complex legal language of an insurance policy can be challenging to interpret. Your insurer may say you have no valid coverage or that your policy does not cover your specific losses. Although this commonly occurs when insurers try to minimize their liability for a claim, it may be illegal under Florida law.
Our firm provides many valuable services to our Orlando property claim clients, including:
Interpreting Policies and Explaining Coverage
We offer a free, no-obligation policy review to help you understand which losses your insurance covers. Our team will answer your questions and explain your options for pursuing legal action against the insurance company.
Identifying and Documenting Covered Losses
We can investigate your damage and identify all losses covered under your policy. Then we can obtain, assemble, and present all necessary documentation to support your claim, which may help you recover the compensation to which you are entitled.
Submitting a Claim and Negotiating a Settlement
We can submit your claim and demand to the insurance company. It is important for you to focus on getting your life back to normal, so we will communicate with all parties on your behalf. In addition, we can push the insurer to negotiate your claim and make a fair settlement offer.
Protecting Our Clients’ Right to Recover Compensation
If the insurance company fails to negotiate in good faith, we will discuss the option of filing a lawsuit. Although we settle most property loss claims without going to court, filing a lawsuit can provide additional motivation for the insurer to make a fair settlement offer.
Answering Questions and Providing Updates
Throughout the legal process, we can be there for you, answering your questions and providing updates about your case. We want to advocate for you and will fight tirelessly to resolve your claim.
Do not provide any statement to the insurance company, sign any documents, or accept any settlement offer until you talk to a property claim lawyer in Orlando from our firm. Doing any of those things could compromise your ability to recover your losses.
You have a limited time to file an insurance claim or pursue legal action. The more time you give us to help you, the more we’ll be able to do to ensure you do not lose your ability to recover compensation for your property losses.
Making Appointments
After suffering damage to your home or other property, you likely have a lot on your mind, such as:
- Salvaging what you can from the property
- Replacing items damaged beyond repair
- Seeing a doctor if you or anyone else was injured in the same event that damaged your property
- Calling repair crews, carpenters, plumbers, and other specialists who can start fixing the damage
In addition to providing legal services, our team can help you get in touch with qualified professionals whose services can help you start getting back on your feet. We are proud to go the extra mile to help our clients.
About Our Orlando Property Claims Firm
Our firm has been helping Orlando residents for many years. We help these people manage legal matters, recover their damages, and rebuild their lives after their homes have been destroyed. One of our clients had the following to say about us after we settled their case:
“Anidjar and Levine, along with their amazing colleague Howard Myones, are the best! My wife and I lost our home to a catastrophic fire just before Christmas last year and we were helpless. The insurance carrier refused to take our claim seriously until this outstanding law firm got involved. Mr. Myones worked our case tirelessly.. I strongly urge anyone seeking legal services to give this firm a call. You will not regret it.”
You can expect your Orlando property loss claim lawyer to work just as hard for you. If, for whatever reason, our lawyer cannot settle your case for you or obtain a jury verdict, you won’t pay us anything at all. That is how seriously we take obtaining compensation for our clients.
Insurance Company Tactics to Watch Out for
When you purchase insurance, you do so with the assumption that your claim will help you pay for the types of damage specified in the policy. However, this process is not always as straightforward as it should be. Insurance companies may try to reduce what they have to pay by using the following tactics:
- They may claim that some or all the damage was already present before the incident, so their policy does not cover it
- Hurricane insurance may cover damage from winds and fallen tree branches but not flooding, so the insurer may state that the damage you suffered was due to flooding only
- They may state that you took inadequate precautions to prevent the incident or protect your property from natural disasters
- If you speak with them, they can pick apart your statements, searching for any minor inconsistency that could legally allow them to deny your claim
An insurance adjuster will most likely be sent out to your property to inspect the damage for themselves, take pictures, and speak with you about what happened. Their primary goal is to find ways of reducing what their employer has to pay. Nonetheless, it is imperative that you comply with their investigation; otherwise, they may use your noncompliance as an excuse to deny payment.
A good way to interact with the insurance company is indirectly—that is, through a Florida property loss attorney from our office. The only interaction you’d have with the insurance company’s representatives would be through us or with your Orlando property claim lawyer present. We can:
- Accept all phone calls, emails, and other communications from the insurance company and then relay what they have to say to you
- Work with you to decide how to respond to communications from the insurer, and then give them those responses
- Attend all negotiation meetings and negotiate with the insurer on your behalf
- Be present when the insurance adjuster talks to you and advise you against answering questions that may compromise your rights
If your insurance company contacts for information or to negotiate, you can tell its adjuster to contact us instead. Our firm wants to do everything possible to make sure the insurance company respects your rights at every step. You have been through enough already and deserve a smooth legal experience.
How We Respond to Insurer Tactics
Our lawyers don’t tolerate any dishonest tactics insurance companies use. You can expect your Orlando property claims lawyer to keep your insurer honest, such as by threatening a lawsuit and pushing the insurer to negotiate.
A Free Orlando Property Claim Consultation and Policy Review
You do not have to fight the insurance company alone. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine helps Orlando homeowners recover the compensation they are entitled to under their insurance policy. One of our Orlando property loss attorneys can help you get the settlement you need to repair your home and get your life back to normal.
For a no-cost, no-obligation consultation and policy review, contact us today to learn more about your rights and options.
We Can Help.
