Problems when dealing with your homeowners insurance may require you to hire a Fort Lauderdale insurance lawyer to represent you. Most people believe that since they have been paying their homeowners insurance premium timely that they will receive the same timeliness from their insurance company in their time of need. Unfortunately this is usually not the case. Insurance companies are in the business of taking premiums and ultimately would like to keep your premiums so they tend to look for any reason to deny claims made. Moreover, they turn to “so called experts” to validate their denials. Your Fort Lauderdale insurance attorneys at The Injury Advocates know the tricks of these adjusters. Fortunately, insured homeowners can turn to a trusted Fort Lauderdale insurance attorney when they face complexities with their insurance company after presenting a valid claim. Whether a catastrophe, fire, flood, water damage, or old pipes, these repairs can run you into thousand of dollars.
At The Injury Advocates, we have extensive experience in property damage evaluation and insurance policy interpretation. Not only can we often be of great help and immensely increase your chances of receiving the full benefits you are entitled, but in many cases, we can represent you on a pure contingency basis. That means you, the client, are not responsible for any of our legal fees–win or lose. And, if we win, the fees are typically paid by the insurance company, in addition to your benefits, as opposed to a percentage of your recovery going to your lawyer. In short, in most cases, one hundred percent of the recovery for benefits to which you are entitled will go to you as they were intended and are not eaten up by legal fees and costs.
Insurers in Florida continue to increase insurance premiums and reduce benefits. At the same time, insurers routinely deny claims, even when those claims should be paid. If your insurance claim has been denied, our insurance claim attorneys may be able to help.
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Related: When the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, the claim shifts to your own policy. See our Florida uninsured motorist (UM/UIM) guide and answers about uninsured driver claims.
The Injury Advocates team tries to go above & beyond for those interested in simply getting the facts straight about their potential case. This is why we’ve put together some of the most common frequently asked questions we come across.
Insurance companies routinely rely on their complicated legal language written into the policies to deny claims. There are all sorts of technical legal issues an insurance company may attempt to use to deny coverage. For example, some may provide seemingly arbitrary coverage for some damage and not others. The insurance company may use the opinions of their so called “experts” to dispute your claim. The slightest error in submitting your claim may lead to the insurance company denial, even if the insurance company determines that you made the slightest error in any step of the process – sometimes as petty as how you filled out a form. Although, they may try to deny coverage on such a basis, it is often not legally justified and can frequently be successfully challenged by our insurance claim attorneys at The Injury Advocates.
Knowing that once it denies a claim, most people will accept the denial and let the company off the hook the insurance companies are adept at finding issues with client claims. Unfortunately, they will abuse the fact that most claimants are ignorant of the laws that apply. The Injury Advocates will use our knowledge, skill and experience to combat these improper denials on your behalf. Call us at 1-833-DARFOOR for a complimentary legal consultation or submit your information online through our contact page and we will schedule a consultation with you.
For homeowners and other residential property policies, you generally must give your insurer notice of a new or reopened claim within one year of the date of loss, and notice of a supplemental claim within 18 months. Missing these deadlines can bar the claim, so report damage promptly even if you are still assessing it.
Florida law generally requires a property insurer to pay or deny a claim within 60 days after receiving notice, unless factors outside its control prevent it. If your insurer has gone silent or keeps asking for the same documents, it is worth getting help.
Start by requesting the denial or estimate in writing and gathering your policy, photos, repair estimates, and all correspondence. Options may include disputing the adjuster’s findings with independent estimates, appraisal if your policy provides for it, or a lawsuit. Florida requires written notice of intent to sue at least 10 business days before filing suit against a property insurer.
Florida law allows claims against insurers that fail to handle a claim fairly and honestly. These claims have their own notice requirements, including giving the insurer a chance to cure the violation. We look at how the claim was handled, not just the final number.
Not before you understand it. First offers are often based on the insurer’s own estimate, which can leave out hidden damage, code-upgrade costs, or additional living expenses your policy may cover. Once you accept and sign a release, reopening the claim can be difficult.
