Florida Property Claim Lawyer

You pay your premiums on your homeowners or business insurance policy, so when you have a property claim, you expect the insurance company to pay. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Are you experiencing trouble getting payment from your insurance company following a fire, a storm, or other event damaging your property? Call a property claim lawyer in Florida at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine at 1-800-747-3733 for a free consultation.

Events Giving Rise to a Property Claim Under Your Insurance Policy

When a weather event, like a hurricane, strikes your home or business, the damage can be significant. Our lawyers can make sure you get the full benefit of your insurance policy.

Weather Events

If you live on or near the coast in Florida, your property can be severely damaged or obliterated by a hurricane. Rain and hail from storms can damage your property as well. Once the immediate danger passes, call your insurance company. Here are some things that can go wrong:

• You and the insurance company may disagree over whether the house is a total loss.
• You and the insurance company may disagree about whether hail or wind from a storm caused damage to your house or the damage was present before the storm.
• You and the insurance company may disagree on whether you can live in the house after the weather event.

Our attorneys can help you file your claim and submit the necessary documentation. We can deal with the insurance company and look out for your interests.

Fires

If a fire damages or destroys your home, the insurance company will send an adjuster or an investigator to examine your house. In Florida, if your policy covers the fire and if your house is a total loss, you get up to your policy’s limit.

Some disputes that could arise between you and your insurance company include:

• The insurance company may claim the house is not a total loss.
• The insurance company may disagree with you over the amount of damage to the house.
• The insurance company may claim the policy does not cover the loss. For example, the insurance company may say you set the fire or had someone start the fire.

Our attorneys will interview employees of the fire department about the cause of the fire. We can conduct our own investigation into the origin of the fire. We can hire an appraiser to value your loss. Our attorneys will read your policy to see that you get the full benefits. For example, your policy may cover the cost for you to rent an apartment while your house is being repaired.

Other Property Damage Claims

Other events can trigger coverage under your homeowners’ insurance policy:

• Busted pipes
• Leaks from your water heater
• Theft of property
• Burglary
• Vandalism
• Roofing incidents

The insurance company may question whether an event happened, the value of the lost items, the amount of damage caused by a burglar’s entry, or the cause of the water damage. Our attorneys will help you substantiate your losses.

Business Insurance

A weather event, fire, or other peril can damage your business. You may disagree with your insurance company over the value of your claim. Our attorneys can help you sort out the income your business lost due to the interruption of its operations.

If your insurance company does not pay your property claim, contact a property claim lawyer at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. Our attorneys will look after your interests. We will read your policy, investigate your loss, and make sure your insurance company pays what your policy requires.

Reasons Your Insurance Company May Deny Your Property Claim

The insurance company may have a legitimate reason for denying your claim:

• The insurance policy contained an exclusion. Your insurance policy may exclude coverage for a fire if the house was vacant for a certain number of days before the fire. A policy may exclude water damage from a flood.
• You did not file your claim on time. The insurance policy will require you to file your claim with the insurance company within a certain number of days, for example, 90 days.
• You failed to pay your premium.
• You made a material misrepresentation on your insurance application. For example, you misrepresented the number of claims you filed in the past.

An insurance company usually sends a letter stating the reason for denying your claim. Our attorneys will examine the basis for the denial. If the denial is not valid, we will work to see that the insurance company pays your claim.

Did an insurance company deny your property claim? Contact a property claim lawyer at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine for help.

Filing a Suit to Get Payment of Your Property Claim

Our lawyers will negotiate with your insurance company, but if we cannot settle, we can take the matter to court. Your policy will state how long you have to file a lawsuit, for example, one year. Contact our attorneys so we can examine the facts of the case, read your insurance policy, and hire the necessary experts to build your case.

If your insurance company acts in bad faith, Florida law provides a remedy. If your insurance company denies your claim without a legitimate reason, fails to investigate your claim, or offers you an unreasonably low settlement amount, you can file an insurance bad faith claim.

If we prove your bad faith claim, in addition to the amount of your loss, you can recover the following:

• The financial loss, including court costs and your attorney fees, you suffered because the insurance company denied your claim or delayed paying your claim
• The emotional distress you suffered as a result of the insurance company’s bad faith
• Punitive damages, damages intended to punish the wrongdoer, if the insurance company’s action was willful and malicious or reckless

If your insurance company refused to pay your property claim, call a property claim lawyer in Florida at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine at 1-800-747-3733 for a free consultation.