When natural disaster strikes, homeowners who sustained property hurricane damage and loss may feel like they don’t know where to turn.

While a call to your insurance provider may be the first thing you do, you might want to consider what else you might need to do to protect yourself and receive the compensation you deserve under your insurance policy.

Homeowners and renters dutifully pay their insurance every year, but unfortunately, that isn’t enough to ensure that every insurance company will fully honor their policy and act in their best interest.

Fortunately, you can make insurance companies live up to their obligations by hiring an attorney. By seeking legal counsel, you will have someone experienced with the insurance claims process on your side.

How Can an Insurance Claims Attorney Help?

Insurance policies are long, complicated legal documents. Did you sit down and read every word of your policy? Don’t worry, almost no one does that.

But when you hire an attorney to assist you with your legal claim, they will take the time to carefully review each clause of your policy, which will equip them to handle negotiations with insurance adjusters who may seek to avoid the company’s responsibilities under the policy.

Your attorney can also review the claims process to ensure that the insurance company kept up their end of the responsibility to investigate the damaged property in a timely manner.

At times like these, insurance representatives may be overwhelmed with work. However, the insurance company must ensure that they have enough competent staff to help all of their policy holders in a thorough and professional manner.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire An Insurance Claim Attorney To Represent Me For My Insurance Claim?

The cost of hiring an insurance claim attorney might not be as much as you think. And, it might be well worth it if they can help you receive thousands of dollars in coverage for extensive storm, flood or wind damage to your Florida home after this devastating hurricane season.

Beware of Signing a Release to the Insurance Company

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, many Floridians will be waking up to property damage to their home or business. 

Tropical wind storms are a hazard we are all too familiar with living in the Sunshine State, and our recent encounter with Hurricane Irma has been yet another reminder Mother Nature will have her say whenever she wants. 

Ideally, you have protected your home and personal belongings by purchasing insurance to cover them in the event of a loss, whether due to a wind storm, or other peril.  You pay your premiums dutifully, hoping never to have to make a claim. 

But once you have to use your insurance, the process can be confusing, drawn out, and sometimes falls well short of making you whole. 

In fact, one pitfall you should be wary of is the lowball offer from your carrier that comes with a “requirement” that you sign a release. 

A release is a document that says if you take the payment on offer by the insurance company, you do so in exchange for forever discharging the insurance company for any further liability or payments.

Do not be lulled into signing any such document without consulting an attorney first!

The insurance company owes what it owes on your claim, and you are under no obligation to sign any release in order to obtain the money that is rightfully owed to you. 

If you are asked to sign one, take it as a red flag that the claims decision on offer by the insurance company may not be full value for what coverage you are entitled to under the policy. 

And if you sign it, and find out later the money you were paid does not cover all of your damages, it may prevent you from recovering anything further.  So keep your head up for this trick, and know your rights.

If you are given an offer and are told by your insurance company you should sign a release as a requirement for getting the payment, please call us for a free consultation.

What should Managers and Board Members do when Property Damage Occurs?

After the devastation caused by Irma, it is crucial for managers to take the proper measures to ensure their properties are safe.

While structural damages can be repaired, injuries resulting from negligence can prove costly to the association.

Managers should consider following these important steps after a loss due to a Hurricane.

• Report the claim to the insurance agent and carrier by telephone and email or facsimile immediately, and request verification that they received the notice.
• Take several photographs or videos of the losses in an effort to support your claim.
• Act fast to prevent any additional damage.
• If a contractor makes emergency or temporary repairs, these repairs should be limited to mitigating further damage until inspections are completed by the insurance carrier.
• The association should always save evidence of any losses. As example: Do not discard any damaged windows, doors, lobby furnishings, broken pipes, etc. until the insurance company approves in writing that it is acceptable to do so.
• Maintain all receipts associated with the repairs.
• Consult a professional about your responsibilities as a policy holder. As example, some policies require filing a claim within 60 days of the loss, otherwise the claim maybe denied.
• Be careful in entering any agreements with their insurer, or contracts for repairs, and to contact the Firm if they have any questions or need assistance

FL Legal Group handles a wide spectrum of legal counseling on the topics of condominium, cooperative, time shares, homeowners associations, property management firms and master associations.

Our Community Association attorney, Nicki Fernandez Asmer, plays an integral part of our client’s professional team. We assist the board and its management companies while preparing for, and conducting their meetings.

We equip them with the answers needed when faced with questions about documents or pertinent law.

We help to enforce covenants and restrictions, and assist the drafting and negotiating of contracts for provision of services. Attorney Asmer is responsible for providing legal counsel to the officers and directors of the association, as well as the manager on the operation.

For more detailed information about hiring an insurance claim attorney to help you receive the payments you deserve, contact us at FL Legal Group today for a free evaluation. We are waiting to help Floridians rebuild after this difficult storm season. Call us today at 1-800-984-9951 to get started.

Call us today at 1-800-984-9951 to get started.