If your home, business, or other property sustained damage in Hurricane Dorian, you are about to be thrust into the confusing and chaotic realm of insurance claims. It can be a daunting place, and to make matters worse, you are not alone.
Thousands of other Floridians also suffered property damage in Hurricane Dorian, and their claims are competing with your claim—while both of you fight insurers’ standard policy of not paying out if there is any chance they can get away with it.
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can relieve you of this logistical and emotional burden. We will go the extra mile to ensure that your property damage claim meets muster and is not forgotten among the other claims that await approval and payout. Our Florida property claim lawyers will fight to get you the money you need to start rebuilding your life. Call us today.
Types of Property Damage Caused by Hurricane Dorian
From the winds and rain to the flooding and tornadoes, hurricanes can tear up your home, business, and personal property in short order. You might find yourself facing any of the following:
- Damage from pipe bursts
- Roof damage
- Tile or carpet damage
- Damaged or missing roof shingles
- Damaged personal possessions
- Sinkhole damage
- Damage from fallen trees
- Wind damage
- Damage from flying projectiles and debris
- Hail damage
- Theft
- Vandalism
Enter the Insurance Company
There is no way around it—repairs must be made. This means you will be working with insurance companies to cover costs for which you simply had not budgeted. You would think this process would be as simple as documenting your damages, submitting them to the insurance company to which you have diligently been paying monthly premiums, and then waiting for your check to show up in the mail.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Insurance policies are complicated contractual pieces. You can read your contract top to bottom and still not be sure what it will cover.
A Hurricane Dorian property claims lawyer in Florida can review your insurance policy, then explain it to you in a way that makes sense. Next, we will review our approach for filing your property damage claim.
How Insurance Companies Try to Get Away With Not Paying
It’s no secret that many insurance companies make the claims process as difficult as possible for policyholders to benefit. As for-profit entities, these businesses invest heavily in systems, policies, and procedures that keep their profit margins high and healthy.
Settlement amounts are generated by sophisticated estimation programs employees can easily tweak to tabulate settlement amounts that strongly favor insurers—and undervalue the extent of property damage the policyholder has suffered. As for the human factor, adjusters are trained in the fine art of delaying claims to the point where policyholders give up and accept whatever settlement offer is extended.
In other cases, insurers will deny claims completely, citing any of a number of reasons for the denials. For example, insurers may try to tell Hurricane Dorian victims that their property damage was pre-existing or did not occur as a result of the storm.
How a Hurricane Dorian Property Claim Lawyer Can Help
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine helps both homeowners and public adjusters work through their property claims throughout Florida.
Your Hurricane Dorian property claims lawyer in Florida will provide responsive legal care, handling every aspect of your claim, from filing to insurance settlement negotiations, and if necessary, litigation in court. Homeowners can benefit from a legal team that knows the law and will champion your right to fully recover your losses. Public adjusters can take advantage of our keen investigators, and our lawyers will make sure you are ready for any state mediation, umpire process, or examinations under oath.
And if your insurance company tries to violate your rights under the Florida Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights or deny or undervalue your claim, we will fight for a stronger settlement, or if the insurance company does not budge, we can file a bad-faith lawsuit against it. We are in your corner.
You worry about restoring your health and wellbeing after this stressful storm. We take care of everything else, including fighting to get you the full payout of your claim.
Compensation You May Get in Your Hurricane Dorian Property Damages Claim
Whatever amount your insurance company tries to settle with you, most likely it is far less than what you should be getting. Our attorneys will review your property damage then talk to you about how they correlate to your insurance coverage.
Some of the types of property damage losses your policy may cover include:
- Replacement of personal belongings inside your home
- Replacement or repair of damaged outdoor structures, like garages and sheds
- Replacement or repair of your house
- Replacement or repair of pools, decks, fences, etc.
- Removal and disposal of debris left by the storm
- Hotel or alternative-living arrangement costs while your home is repaired
Rebuilding your home and your life is no small feat. But with our help, the job will be much easier, and you can relax in knowing that your insurance company is picking up the tab for the repairs that must happen to get you back on track.
What to Do After Hurricane Dorian to Protect Your Property Damage Claim
By taking a few thoughtful steps immediately following Hurricane Dorian, you can set yourself up for a much easier claims process:
- Call your insurance company to notify it that you have suffered property damage.
- Document your losses with photos, videos, and notes.
- Protect your home from further damage by covering holes, boarding up windows, etc.
- Gather and store your receipts.
Call Our Hurricane Dorian Property Claims Lawyer in Florida to Help You With Your Claim
The team at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine is assembled and ready to usher you through this difficult and challenging time. We will help you understand the insurance claims process you are about to traverse. From there, we will handle the entire process, fighting for the maximum compensation for your losses, and keeping you in the loop every step of the way.
Call us today for a free consultation, before the statute of limitations under FL § 627.70132 expires.
We Can Help.
