What’s In This Articles

• Homeowners’ Property Damage Claim-Do You Need an Attorney?
• The Answer is No-Most of the Time
• When Should You Hire a Home Insurance Lawyer?
• Don’t Wait to Speak to a Home Insurance Dispute Lawyer Until They Deny Your Claim
• Filing a Lawsuit is the Last Step
• Before You Hire a Lawyer, Call AllCity Adjusting
• You Have a Homeowners’ Property Damage Claim-Do You Need an Attorney?

Homeowners’ Property Damage Claim-Do You Need an Attorney?

Unfortunately, a terrible storm moved through your area. It left fallen trees and damaged homes in its wake. Your house was one of them. However, you have never filed a claim with your homeowners’ insurance company. But you now have a homeowners’ property damage claim-do you need an attorney?

The Answer is No-Most of the Time

Indeed, for most home insurance claims, hiring an attorney to represent the homeowner is unnecessary. Moreover, most property damage claims settle with the insurance company with no problems.

However, there are instances in which the insured and the insurance carriers butt heads.

For instance, the storm may have damaged several expensive appliances. The insured may have replacement cost value (RCV) coverage. However, the insured and the insurance adjuster may argue over the cost of new appliances of like kind and quality to replace the damaged appliances.

As another example, a large tree fell on the house. As a result, the fallen tree punched a large hole in the roof. A few days later, a new storm hit the area. Consequently, the adjuster is telling the insured the company will not pay the property damage claim for the additional water damage.

The adjuster says the insured did not cover the hole in the roof. But the insured says it took several days to get a contractor out because they were all busy because of the extensive damage to homes in the area.

Lastly, you may have put an addition on your home several years ago. It increased the value of your home. However, you never told your insurance agent. Now the adjuster is telling you the carrier will reduce the payout on your claim because you are underinsured.

When Should You Hire a Home Insurance Lawyer?

For most claims, the insured can start the claims process by filing the claim without the help of an insurance attorney.

However, for large claims with complicated coverage issues, the insured may want to speak to a homeowners’ insurance attorney sooner than later. In those instances, it would be best for the homeowner to ”get in front” of any issues that may arise in the claims process down the road.

As another example, if there is a question about who or what caused the incident, you may want to get an attorney involved early in the claims process.

For example, if there is a question of whether a burst pipe caused water damage (covered) or a slow leaking pipe (not covered), the insured may want to get some guidance from an insurance attorney.

In short, if there are problems early in the claims process, you may want to consider speaking to a home insurance dispute lawyer. Of course, coverage issues and disputes over the cause and extent of the damage can be troublesome issues to resolve. Hence, an experienced insurance claim lawyer could help.

Similarly, if the insurance adjuster doesn’t return calls, keeps requesting additional documents, etc., you may want to speak to an experienced insurance attorney.

Don’t Wait to Speak to a Home Insurance Dispute Lawyer Until They Deny Your Claim

In the event you sense the adjuster is not valuing the claim properly or is disputing all or part of your claim, reach out to an insurance claim lawyer for legal advice. She can give you guidance regarding the insurance company’s obligations and yours. In addition, she can tell you what the appeals process is if they deny your claim.

Filing a Lawsuit is the Last Step

If you are not satisfied with a claim settlement offer, or the carrier has denied all or part of your claim, there are several steps you can take short of a lawsuit.

First, most insurance companies have an internal appeals process. You can request that the carrier’s decision be reviewed by higher-ups.

Second, the states regulate insurance companies. Therefore, if you believe the insurance company improperly handled your claim, you can file a complaint with the state insurance commissioner. Consequently, the insurance company will have to respond to the complaint.

And filing that complaint could convince the carrier to rethink its position on your claim.

Before You Hire a Lawyer, Call AllCity Adjusting

We are a family-owned claims company with five decades of combined adjusting experience. As a result, if there’s one thing we understand, it’s that you need 100% of your claim value.

At AllCity Adjusting we work to ensure you get 100% of your damage claim value. Equally important, with over 50 years of combined adjusting experience, we know insurance companies and understand where they cut corners.

Indeed, if you have a valid claim, we’ll fight to get you every penny you deserve.

You Have a Homeowners’ Property Damage Claim-Do You Need an Attorney?

But if you are thinking of hiring an insurance claim lawyer, call AllCity Adjusting first. Before hiring an attorney, we can review the status of your claim, to what insurance benefits you are entitled and see where the problem lies.

In addition, we will review your proof of claim and supporting documentation. If there is any missing information, we’ll help you get it.

We’ll also review the insurance company’s settlement offer or their denial letter. Likewise, we’ll review repair estimates to see if they are accurate and properly account for all costs.

Moreover, we are experts in insurance policy language. We know that insurance policies require insurance companies to do for their insureds. We’ll make sure the insurance company has done everything for you that the policy requires.

We also understand the restoration of damaged property, the cost to rebuild or replace property and how much building materials and labor will cost.

They don’t teach that in law school.

Then we can contact the insurance adjuster to see what the problem is. In fact, we may save you the attorney’s contingency fee by getting you a better settlement than the insurance company is offering.

However, if we can’t resolve the problem, we can assist you in suing your homeowners’ insurance company. Indeed, we are experts in insurance laws. We can assist your experienced lawyer and law firm prepare for legal action.

Additionally, we can act as your expert witness.

Therefore, if you have received a low-ball offer from the insurance company, they are refusing to pay anything or you just want to talk to someone on your side, call us at 844.692.3587. Or you can email us at info@allcityadhjusting.com.