Experiencing a fire in your home is devastating for a variety of reasons. The damage to your home from the smoke and heat, along with the water used to extinguish the flames, can result in the loss of precious mementos.
If your homeowners’ insurance company is trying to deny, delay, or underpay your disaster claim, we can help. Our legal team understands the stress and frustration that occurs when insurance companies ignore your need for assistance.
Losses Your Insurance Policy May Cover
A fire can lead to serious financial losses, not only for the damaged property and personal belongings but also for the expenses of vacating the home. When we calculate what your settlement should look like, we will take the following losses into account:
Damages to the House Itself
The obvious loss after a fire is the damage done to your property. Your home may have been partially or fully affected, depending on how far the fire spread before it was put out. Additionally, smoke and water damage can take a toll on your property.
You may have to replace your floors, appliances, roof, windows, and more. We will calculate what it will take to repair your home.
Damages to Personal Belongings
Destroyed clothes, electronics, and other personal items may also be things you can claim. Additionally, you will have to purchase new clothes and essentials to function on a daily basis.
Take pictures of the burnt or damaged items to help document these losses. Any receipts or personal pictures of these items can also help when collecting evidence for your claim.
Temporary Living Arrangements
Depending upon the damage caused by the fire, you may need to find temporary living arrangements. We can pursue damages to cover these expenses and others. Keep your receipts from hotel stays to help validate your expenses.
Transportation
You may also qualify to recover the cost of any transportation involved in securing basic essentials. Other losses may apply in your case, and our fire claims lawyer can determine their worth.
Determining Insurance Company Responsibility After a Fire
When it comes to filing your insurance claim, you expect immediate assistance of your insurance company—years of paying homeowner’s insurance premiums provided you with a sense of security. However, when a fire damages your home, you may find the insurance company unresponsive to you or unwilling to honor your covered losses clearly listed in your policy.
A homeowners’ insurance policy is often a complex document that many homeowners do not fully understand. If your insurance company is trying to deny or underpay your claim due to specific wording in the policy, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help.
Your Insurer May Try to Shift the Blame Onto You
The U.S. Fire Administration reports that “‘residential” is the leading property type for fire deaths. More than half of all residential fires occur when cooking. Other causes include smoking and electrical device malfunctions.
Sometimes, insurance adjusters will argue that a fire could have been prevented in order to deny a claim. If your insurer argues that you negligently caused the fire and denies your claim, we can help you prove they are responsible for honoring your claim.
Appealing a Claim
If your insurer denies your claim, our first step will be to appeal their decision. We can handle all of the paperwork and communications involved with this process. We will also make sure we observe any deadlines associated with your appeal. Insurers may become unresponsive or try to delay your appeal, but we will work to hold them responsible for honoring your claim.
If we are not successful with an appeal, we will not hesitate to take legal action on your behalf. We will do whatever is necessary to fight for your claim and help you seek recovery as soon as possible.
Let the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine Protect Your Best Interests
Our legal team helps people suffering from losses secure fair payment from their insurance companies. Taking on big insurance companies is not always easy on your own. Any attempts at appealing your claim on your own can lead to disappointment. At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, if we are unable to reach a fair settlement out of court, we are ready and willing to go to trial.
A fire can cause serious damage that requires immediate attention. Your insurance company should do everything they can to assist you during this upsetting and overwhelming time. We are prepared to help you in any way we can to obligate your insurance company to uphold what it promised in your policy. We can:
- Gather and analyze evidence to support your case
- Handle all communications with the insurance company
- Valuate your covered losses
- Keep you updated at every stage of your case
- Represent you at trial, if necessary
Work with a Fort Lauderdale Fire Claims Lawyer
Losing your house to a fire is bad enough without seeing your claim denied or undervalued. We want to help you put this experience in your past and move on with your life as quickly as possible.
If you want to discuss how a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer can help, we invite you to take advantage of a free, no-obligation consultation. We take great pride in providing responsive legal care for our clients, and we work on a contingency-fee-basis, which means you pay us nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine now for a free case evaluation.
We Can Help.
