Property Damage Lawyers

Our property damage attorneys handle a wide range of insurance claims related to property damage. The most common types include storm and natural disaster damage, and fire and smoke damage. Each type of claim has its own complexities and requires a specialized approach to ensure the fair compensation you deserve.  Recognizing the various property damage claims can help determine the best course of action and the necessary legal assistance.

Storm and Natural Disaster Damage

Storms and natural disasters can cause extensive property damage, leading to complex and large-scale claims. Our property damage attorneys handle claims from various natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and windstorms. These events often result in significant structural damage, requiring substantial repair funds. Wind damage claims, in particular, are among the most frequently filed in property damage cases.  Legal representation in such cases is essential as natural disasters like hurricanes or floods frequently lead to wind and water damage claims. 

Fire and Smoke Damage

Fire and smoke damage is another significant category of property damage claims. Astonishingly, 33% of all property claims are due to fire and smoke damage. The average cost of fire and lightning losses is staggering, reaching $78,838 per incident. Insurance companies often blame the homeowner when dealing with fire claims, making it essential to have a knowledgeable lawyer.

In one instance, a family faced devastating fire damage that left their home uninhabitable. Their insurance company initially offered a low settlement, citing homeowner negligence. However, our team at Storm Law Partners successfully challenged this– securing a settlement that covered the full extent of the damage and allowed them to rebuild their lives.  This illustrates the critical role of a good property damage lawyer in navigating and winning fire and smoke damage claims.

A thorough understanding of your homeowner’s insurance policy is vital for adequate protection against property damage. These policies cover property damage against negligence, natural disasters, or willful destruction.

A typical homeowners insurance policy covers structural damage, personal belongings, and liability protection. However, common exclusions may include damages from floods, earthquakes, and pest infestations, which can lead to claim denials if not properly understood.

Thoroughly reviewing your policy helps you grasp the coverage limits and exclusions. Homeowners in flood-prone areas, for instance, should consider obtaining special flood insurance to ensure adequate protection. Understanding these details can prevent unwelcome surprises when you need to file a claim.

Dwelling and Structural Coverage

Dwelling and structural coverage is a fundamental component of homeowners insurance. This coverage includes protection for the structure of the home and attached structures. Commonly claimed damages under homeowners insurance include wind and hail damage, particularly hurricanes, tornadoes, and storms. Standard policies typically cover foundations, walls, roofs, and attached or detached structures.

When assessing damage, it’s crucial to determine whether the property is so damaged that it cannot be fixed. This requires understanding repair costs and possibly providing estimates to support your property damage claim. Without this knowledge, you might struggle to grasp the extent of the damage and the costs involved.

Personal Property Coverage

Personal property coverage within a homeowners insurance policy protects your belongings inside the home. This includes furniture, electronics, clothing, and appliances within the insured premises. However, certain high-value items like jewelry, artwork, and collectibles may have limited coverage amounts unless additional insurance is purchased.

Regularly updating your home inventory list maximizes personal property coverage. This ensures that your coverage reflects the current value of your personal belongings. Additionally, reviewing policy details and considering riders for specific high-value items can prevent gaps in coverage and ensure adequate protection for all your possessions.

Liability Coverage

Liability coverage is another critical aspect of homeowners insurance. This coverage protects against liability claims from injuries occurring on your property. However, it does not cover injuries caused intentionally by the policyholder.  Knowing the scope of liability coverage helps manage risks and ensures adequate protection against potential lawsuits.

Property damage attorneys are vital for managing insurance claims and ensuring fair compensation. Our attorneys manage all communications with insurance companies, protecting you from manipulation and providing claim status updates.

Our property damage lawyers document and assess recoverable losses, and we negotiate with the insurance company for fair compensation. If negotiations fail, we gather evidence and prepare legal documents for court, fighting for fair settlements.

Our skilled advocates can significantly impact the outcome of your claim.

Negotiating Fair Settlements

One of the most critical roles of property damage attorneys is negotiating fair settlements. Skilled lawyers can identify inadequate settlement offers and advocate for better terms. Experience and legal knowledge enables effective advocacy, ensuring you receive deserved compensation.

Preparing for Litigation

If negotiations fail, our property damage lawyers are fully prepared to take the issue to court in a property damage lawsuit to secure full and fair compensation for repairs and replacement of your damaged property.

Common Reasons for Insurance Claim Denials

Insurance claim denials can be frustrating and financially devastating. Common reasons for denials include: 

• Late premium payments
• Suspicious statements
• Inconsistencies in the application
• Missing a filing deadline. 

Understanding these pitfalls helps avoid common mistakes and strengthens their claim.  Lack of sufficient evidence of damage is another common reason for claim denials. Insurers may use tactics to intimidate policyholders and deny claims, including employing teams of lawyers. Insurance companies might blame victims for inadequate security in theft cases and undervalue the stolen property. Awareness of these tactics helps you prepare and protect your rights.

Common exclusions in homeowners insurance policies, like damages from floods, earthquakes, and pest infestations, can lead to claim denials. Understanding these exclusions and securing additional coverage can prevent unwelcome surprises when filing a claim.

Step 1) Vigorous Preparation

The first step includes a vigorous amount of preparation.  We review your policy, the property damage, and any and all communications with the insurance company, from there our team starts digging in.  We want to see every e-mail exchange, any notes you’ve made, pictures you’ve taken, vendors you’ve spoken with, anything that can help us successfully fight for your case. Our team thoroughly reviews your insurance policy to review the types of loss covered, all exclusions, and any vague or ambiguous language that we can argue in your favor.  Has coverage been opened up? Are they denying your claim for a specific exclusion in the policy?  Each policy is different and there’s certain rules that you have to follow in the policies so our team goes over it with a fine tooth comb.  We also make sure that all rules, deadlines, and other potential “gotcha” items in your policy are followed to give you the best possible chance of success. 

Step 2) We Hire Experts 

Next we send in an expert licensed in your state (different from a public adjuster you may have had before) directly to your property.  These experts are third party companies that our firm pays to come to your property, they have a team of engineers and construction specialists trained on how to testify in court and write expert reports for these types of cases.  A cost expert goes to your property and does a full twenty-point plus inspection to look at every possible component of your property that could be damaged and they write a full report about not only what is damaged to your property, but the cost and repair method that’s required to put your property back to pre-loss condition.

As soon as we get your expert reports, we send them directly to the insurance company to make sure we’re putting you in the best position possible to win your claim, as we never want your claim to delay or drag on.   We want to be proactive and get the insurance company all of the information so that they can do the right thing quickly.  That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make the right choice, and in that instance we’ll be fully prepared to file a lawsuit if needed. However, we want to give them the opportunity to pay you. This way, if it comes to making a bad faith argument, we can stand confidently knowing we took the high road and did the right thing by giving them all the information and an opportunity to pay you correctly.

Step 3) Mediation, Arbitration, or Litigation 

Throughout this process we make sure that all pre-suit requirements are fulfilled so that if we need to file a lawsuit we can do it quickly without any delays.  In our experience, most cases will settle in mediation. It’s just a matter of getting it there and making sure that once it’s there, we’re prepped and we’ve given the insurance company enough exposure and liability that they bring the right amount of money to pay you out properly.

Mediation is a voluntary, non-binding process in which a neutral third-party mediator, usually paid by our firm, helps  us negotiate and reach a mutually acceptable resolution with the insurance company.  We are able to present our arguments, evidence (including our expert reports), and positions to the mediator, and we are 

Advantages of Mediation:

• Faster and less expensive than litigation
• Preserves relationships through collaborative problem-solving
• Confidential and private
• Arbitration (also known as appraisal) is where we hire an advocate and the insurance company hires their own advocate and the parties try to settle.