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Hurricane Claim Denied?

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Hurricane? What You Should Do Next…

REPORT YOUR CLAIM

Report your claim to your insurance carrier ASAP! If you don’t know who your carrier is or how to reach them, reach out to your insurance agent who sold you the policy. Call the hotline for reporting your claim directly to the company. Reporting your claim only to you agent will not be the fastest way to report.

UNDERSTANDING DEDUCTABLES

Hurricane Deductibles are listed on the declarations page either as a stated amount or a percentage of Coverage A Dwelling. If Coverage A is $100,000, your deductible will be either 2%, 5% or 10% of that number ($2,000, $5,000, etc.). You will likely not have to pay out of pocket for your deductible to the carrier. If you are asked to pay any amount to the carrier, contact a professional to explain this to you. Deductibles will usually reduce the amount the carrier owes you.

STOP ADDITIONAL DAMAGES

Try your best to stop additional damages from occurring. If your roof or walls have holes in them, try and tarp them. You have a duty to mitigate your damages.

WORKING WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY

Allow the field adjuster to inspect the property as many times as they need to. Your policy requires this access. If it gets overly burdensome, call an insurance claims professional (first party property insurance attorney or licensed public adjuster).

PHOTO & VIDEO DOCUMENTATION

Don’t rely on the insurance company to fully document your damages. Take your own photos and make inventory lists of items damaged. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Photographs will show water damage before mold sets in. This is important on your claim. Document the damages yourself!

DOCUMENTING YOUR CASE

Start listing all contents that you are throwing away, or that were damaged . It is always best to not throw anything away until the insurance company has inspected the items. However, if you cannot wait, list the item, the year you bought it and what you believe it would cost to replace. Take photos of the items before you throw them away. Save any manuals for large electronics or appliances to prove you owned them and the year, make and model.

ADDITIONAL LIVING EXPENSES

Most Homeowner Policies have Additional Living Expenses to provide for a new place to live while you rebuild your lives. This can be tens of thousands of dollars that are at your disposal. It is listed under “Coverage D” on your policy’s declarations page. If you are in need of housing, submit your lease to your insurance carrier and request reimbursement. This is also true for “fair rental value” if your tenants are forced to move out. Keep all receipts for things you have to buy because you have nowhere to live, or cook your meals, such as restaurant receipts.

INSURANCE ADVANCES

Insurance Advances are not a final resolution of your claim. If your carrier offers you an “advance” of $5,000 or $10,000, this is usually only a start of the claim process.

DON’T SIGN ANYTHING WITHOUT READING

Please read everything you sign carefully. If you are unsure, please contact a claims professional or attorney specializing in first party property insurance claims. Your claim payments should not come with a requirement to sign a “Release”.

MITIGATION COMPANIES & TOTAL LOSS

Beware of mitigation companies offering to help. A lot of them are good people offering wonderful service and will bill the insurance carrier directly. However, if your home is a total loss, the funds will be wasted and will just reduce the amount you are owed under your Coverage A Dwelling amount.

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Librety-Mutual
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State-Form
ASI-Progressive
Home-Owners-Choice
Heritage-Insurance
Progressive
Universal-Property
Frontline-Insurance
typtap
Olypus
FED_NAT
ATIC
ST_JOHNS
American
Capital
Tower-Hill
Universal
CITYZEN
LLOYDS
NationWIde
Omega
Safe-Harbar
Front-line
Florida
GEoVera
UPC
Family-Security
Allstate
Edison
Auto_Owner
AXA
Security-First
Librety-Mutual
Clear-Blue
Ypress
Lexington
State-Form
ASI-Progressive

ROSS LEGAL GROUP

1800 Second Street Suite 765 – Sarasota, FL – 34236