Hurricane and Storm Damage Insurance Claims

Florida Hurricane and Storm Damage Insurance Claims

Floridians are used to severe weather, such as hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy winds, rain, and hail storms. These natural disasters can often wreak havoc on homes in the Sunshine State and cause extensive property damage, which requires homeowners to file an insurance claim.

It would be best if you acted fast when you have property damaged by a hurricane or storm. While you look to your insurance company to side with you and make the necessary repairs to your home, the truth is that insurance companies are in the business of making money, not losing it. This is why they will often delay or deny claims to skip out on paying for the full scope of damages. Insurance companies will do everything they can to save a buck, and even if they pay out money to you, the adjuster assigned to your case may act in bad faith to lessen your total payout.

You want to ensure enough coverage to pay for the property damage. This is why you need to enlist the help of a property damage lawyer with experience handling insurance litigation. Our Florida Hurricane and Storm Damage Lawyers team at Whittel & Melton has helped numerous residential and business property owners recover the total amount for their losses caused by hurricanes, tropical storms, windstorms, and hail damage, and we can help your family, too.

Do I Have a Florida Hurricane Property Damage Claim?

If your home or other property has had any of the following damages after a hurricane, then it may be in your best interest to file a claim for damages:

• Roof Lifting or other damages
• Broken windows
• Siding damages
• Garage door damages
• Water or moisture damages
• Fire damage
• Septic tank damages
• Vehicle damages
• Projectile damages
• Damages to the structure of the home or property
• Other types of property losses include furniture, clothing, valuables, etc.
• All other types of storm-related damages

What About a Hail Damage Claim in Florida?

Due to hurricanes and tropical storms getting most of the media attention in Florida, we often fail to talk about hail and the damage it can bring. The National Weather Service reports that hailstorms cause about $1 billion in yearly damage. Hail is less predictable than other types of inclement weather, but when it does happen, the damage can be pretty costly. Even five minutes of hail damage can destroy vehicles, windows, roofs, siding, screen doors, and other property types. Homes and cars subjected to a destructive hailstorm need repairs, and homeowners will turn to their insurance companies for help, and rightfully so. If your home or property has been damaged by hail, you may have an insurance claim. The following are damages that warrant a property damage claim:

• Damage to a car
• Roof damage
• Broken windows
• Damage to gutters
• Damage to siding
• AC repair or replacement
• Water damage
• Electrical damage
• Dented garage doors
• Other damages

If your insurance company has flat-out denied your claim, undervalued your losses, or is giving you the run around about whether or not they will approve your claim. You need to consult with our Florida Hurricane and Storm Damage Lawyers at Whittel & Melton, who can help you get the funds for all hail damage repair you desperately need. We are experienced insurance claim attorneys in Florida who can help you negotiate with the insurance company and, when necessary, fight for a fair settlement in court.

How Do I File a Hurricane or Storm Damage Claim in Florida?

When you are filing a hurricane or storm damage insurance claim in Florida, there are very important steps that you must take to ensure that you can recover the full amount of monetary damages caused by the storm. By doing the following things, you can help prove the damages that have occurred to your home or property and thus reduce your odds of being denied or only given a partial settlement by your insurance company:

1. Take Pictures of the Damages: Photographic evidence is hard to deny. Before pictures definitely help back up your claims, so if you are a home or property owner then take pictures of your property often in case of an emergency, like a hurricane or storm. By documenting the damage of the aftermath of a storm, you can easily show how bad your property was affected by the storm.
2. Keep Your Receipts: Insurance companies are notorious for undervaluing people’s possessions when it comes time to replace them. Keep your receipts for big ticket items, like furniture, TVs, and other possessions. If your receipts have been subject to water damage, do your best to dry them out and submit them along with your claim.
3. Get a Professional Inspector to Investigate the Full Scope of Damages: Hire a professional, certified inspector/engineer who can fully assess ALL of the damage done to your home or property after a hurricane or storm. While you may only be able to see some of the damage, a certified inspector should be able to do a complete investigation and uncover damage that you may not be able to see. On that same note, some storm damage may not present itself right away and could take up to a year to be noticeable.
4. Do Not Delay in Filing Your Claim: You want to act fast as insurance companies will do whatever they can to keep from paying you what you are rightfully owed. There are strict deadlines placed on how long you have to file a claim with your insurance company, so do not give them anymore leverage to try and undervalue your claim.

Florida Hurricane and Storm Property Damage Attorneys Whittel and Melton can Help

Hurricane, wind and storm damage are obviously acts of God we all as property owners cringe thinking about. So much so, that we all went out and purchased commercial or residential policies for such an event.

But What Happens When the Florida Insurance Company Won’t Pay?

If your claim has been denied for any reason, don’t panic. Welcome back to Florida. Florida has created laws that somewhat insulate insurance companies from initially handling claims poorly. However, this perceived blanket of protection for bad behavior is just that—only a perception. The earlier you can obtain competent legal counsel, the closer to the proper result you will be.

Unfortunately, in our current insurance climate, insurance companies commonly create paradigms where they never pay certain types of claims or pay them at such a minimal level that it’s offensive. Many Insurance companies would prefer to handle your claim in litigation, even paying their own legal fees on a perfectly valid claim, because they are willing to gamble you won’t hire an attorney for your claim.

This has basically become a war of attrition. The longer they hold out on your claim and all the others, the hope is that claims will just fall off the vine as folks become disinterested with pursuing what seems to be an immovable object. Well, you are reading this webpage because you obviously don’t want give up.

Is My Florida Hurricane or Storm Damage Claim Being Handled in Good Faith?

If your insurance company is acting in bad faith regarding your hurricane, storm, or wind damage claim in Florida, then you need to know that this is a serious violation and intolerable in the state of Florida. The following actions or omissions are unacceptable:

• Not investigating the damage to a property completely
• Delaying any payouts for unnecessary reasons
• Using biased inspectors or adjusters to under value or under assess property damage
• Making an unfair and seriously low-ball settlement offer

Why You Need to Hire Florida Hurricane and Storm Damage Insurance Claim Lawyers Whittel & Melton

The knowledge and experience of our Florida Hurricane and Storm Damage Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help with your claim tremendously. We know how difficult it can be to file a claim, have it adjusted correctly, and even have it handled in a timely manner, which is why we are here to help you. The tricks insurance companies often used to serve their best interests. However, admittedly, they come up with new deceptions every year as the legislature tinkers with the law instead of dealing honestly with their policyholders.

We can communicate with the insurance company on your behalf and work towards protecting your rights. Over the years, we have seen how insurance companies handle these claims and will put our knowledge to work for you, making sure that you are supported throughout the entire duration of the payout process.

We know how to fight aggressively and we know what damages you are entitled to. Our Florida Hurricane and Storm Damage Lawyers at Whittel & Melton are sensitive to how tough of a time this is for you and your family, which is why you have our word that we will do everything in our power to make sure you receive a full and fair payout for all of your damages.

Call us now at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for an immediate, free consultation.