If you received a denied Federated property claim, a lawyer can help you pursue justice. You do not have to accept a wrongful denial of your property claim. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can contact Federated, make a demand for payment of your claim, negotiate with the company, and possibly file a lawsuit for bad faith denial of the claim.
Insurance companies are not allowed to take your premium payments and then deny your property claim without justification or for an unacceptable reason. If Federated does not have a legitimate reason to deny your property claim, we can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call us today at 1-800-747-3733 to get started.
Reasons the Insurance Company Might Deny a Property Claim
When an insurer denies a property claim, tries to pay you less then you deserve, or delays the payment, they can use one of several excuses. Here are a few of the common reasons that insurance companies do not pay some claims quickly:
- The insurer got hit with a massive number of claims at one time. When a natural disaster happens, like a hurricane, the company might get thousands of damage claims within a few days. The insurer’s ready reserves might be insufficient to pay all the claims at once, so the company might try to buy itself some time by dragging its feet, denying some claims, and offering less than a fair amount on some claims.
- Battle of the forms. Let’s say that you hire a professional appraiser or investigator to prepare your property damage claim form. The appraiser submits a detailed claim using the form her software creates. Your insurance company has a proprietary form they want all claimants to use. Insurance companies often deny claims if the policyholder does not use the insurer’s form.
- The insurance company’s adjuster fails to document all the damage. The insurer sends you a check for the damage the adjuster put on the form, but the proceeds do not cover all the actual losses. The insurance company says that the additional damage must have happened from some other cause since the adjuster failed to include the item on the form.
Bad Faith Claims Denial Lawsuits in Florida
Florida law allows you to sue your insurance company if it does not treat you fairly when you file a claim. The insurer must try in good faith to settle the claim “when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for her or his interests.”
Before filing the lawsuit, we will have to give the insurance company and the state insurance department 60 days written notice of the violation of the requirement to act in good faith when handling claims. We will have to use the form the department provides and provide specific facts about the violation.
If we win in court, the insurer will have to pay your damages, plus the court costs and your reasonable attorney’s fees.
The Economic Impact of Wrongful Denial of a Business’ Property Damage Claim
When a business has damage to its property, the firm’s very livelihood could depend on its ability to get up and running again and serving its customers. When that company’s property insurer delays payment or denies that claim, the firm could go under as a result. Some insurance companies use this knowledge as a way to “strong-arm” a small or medium-size commercial business to accept a lesser amount than is fair, out of desperation.
We understand this financial reality at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. We know how much you have at stake, and we will fight for your denied Federated property claim and the future of your business.
How a Lawyer Can Help with Your Denied Property Claim
After the initial consultation, we will investigate your situation to discover all the relevant facts. We need to know what happened that caused the property damage, take a look at the property claim you filed, and explore the evidence that supports your claim. The stronger your supporting evidence, the harder it is for an insurance company to deny your property claim.
Types of the relevant evidence in these cases can include things like before and after photographs and videos, appraisals of items before and after the damage, purchase receipts, repair invoices, and estimates for repair or replacement of items. Depending on the situation, we might also use testimony from witnesses and experts.
We will read your insurance policy and explain your rights and coverage. We will notify the insurance company that we represent you. If anyone from the insurance company contacts you, tell them to talk to us, and let us know that they contacted you.
Stages of Action After Wrongful Denial of a Property Claim
Once we have the information and evidence that we need to build your case, we can contact the insurance company and demand payment of your claim. If the insurer ignores our demand letter or continues to deny your claim unfairly, we can give the 60-day notice and file a lawsuit against the insurance company.
Sometimes we can resolve the claims dispute without filing a lawsuit, but if suing the insurance company is the best way to get you the money you should receive, we will do so. If the insurer is willing to work with us instead of having to go to court, we can negotiate with the company on your behalf to try to resolve the property claim.
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we help people with denied Federated property claims. If Federated violated your rights as a homeowner, call us today at 1-800-747-3733 for a free consultation. There is no obligation.
We Can Help.
