If your homeowner’s insurance company is taking too long to settle your claim, trying to pay you less than you feel that you deserve, or has wrongly denied your claim, a hurricane property claim lawyer in Jacksonville Beach, Florida might be able to help you get the compensation you need. After a significant hurricane or tropical storm, you might need your insurance proceeds right away to pay for lodging and repairs to your home.
Homeowners insurance companies know how stressful things can be when you need access to the insurance proceeds right away. Some insurers take advantage of this fact to get desperate homeowners to accept less than they deserve just to wrap up the settlement and get the money they need to go forward with repairs.
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can negotiate directly with the insurance company on your behalf. Call us to get started.
The Cryptic Language of Homeowners Insurance Policies
Unless you work at a law firm or an insurance company, you probably find insurance policies confusing. It can be frustrating to try to figure out what coverage you have and whether any of the loopholes in your homeowner’s policy give the insurer an excuse to deny your claim or pay you less than it should.
Not to worry. A Jacksonville Beach personal injury lawyer from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we deal with insurance companies and policy documents every day. We can translate insurance policy language into ordinary language that makes sense. We can answer your questions and help you navigate through the convoluted maze of processing a hurricane property claim.
Homeowners Insurance and Flood Damage
Homeowners policies typically do not cover flood damage. You have to buy separate flood insurance from the government. Many people do not realize this until they file a claim for the damage from a hurricane or tropical storm.
They discover that their homeowner’s policy will pay for them to repair, replace, or rebuild the items that took direct storm damage, but not everything ruined by flooding. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), even though the storm also caused the flooding, most homeowners policies exclude flood damage from coverage.
Things That Homeowners Insurance Usually Covers
There is a great deal of difference in coverage from one insurance company to the next, and even within an insurer, there can be a wide range of coverage. The insurance benefits you can collect will depend on the language in your individual policy. We can take a look at your policy and let you know what the insurer will and will not pay.
Many standard homeowners insurance policies will pay for things like these:
- To repair or replace covered structures and buildings. This category can include things like your home, detached buildings like the garage, shed, and other outbuildings not connected to your house, and other structures like your fence, patio, pool, and deck.
- To replace things in your home that suffered storm damage. These things can include contents like your furniture, lamps, rugs, dishes, and clothing.
- To clear storm debris around your home.
- Lodging at a hotel while your house gets repaired.
How to Protect Your Right to Insurance Benefits for Your Jacksonville Beach Hurricane Property Claim
There are a few things you can do to protect your property and right to compensation after a hurricane hits Jacksonville Beach:
Contact Your Homeowners Insurance Company
You must notify your insurance company right away after your house gets damaged from a hurricane or tropical storm. Let them know about the damage and advise them that you will be filing a claim.
Document the Storm Damage
After the authorities let you back into your neighborhood, take plenty of photos from the outside of the house to document the extent of the damage. Photograph from all sides of the home and multiple angles, if you can do so safely. Make a detailed list of all items of damage.
If it is safe to enter the building, go in and continue the photographic record, snapping pictures of every wall of every room. Make sure that you get photos of all damaged areas and items from multiple angles. Add all interior building and content damage to the list.
Keep Track of Receipts
You will have to produce receipts to prove the losses you suffered. It can be easy to lose receipts, especially in the early days when you are living in a hotel or sofa-surfing. Consider getting an accordion folder to keep track of all receipts and notes about each expense. Make sure that you include receipts for food, gas, lodging, clothing, personal items, and supplies you bought to secure your house.
Prevent Additional Damage and Looting
Unless your insurance company sends out a team right away to board up the broken windows and roof damage, you should take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage and looting. Be careful to avoid injury from unstable areas that might collapse and sharp objects like broken glass.
How to Get Help from a Hurricane Property Claim Lawyer in Jacksonville Beach, FL
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we help people take on the insurance companies that do not treat them fairly. These multi-billion-dollar mega-corporations do not scare us. We will advocate for you aggressively to help you get all the money you deserve. Call us to get started on your hurricane property claim, car accident, or slip and fall case.
We Can Help.
