FLORIDA PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIMS
property damaged?
Filed a homeowner’s claim and it was denied, delayed or underpaid?
NO FEES UNLESS WE WIN
property damage claims
YOU WANT PROTECTION, NOT EXCUSES.
HURRICANE & WIND DAMAGE
Creased, bent back, torn, missing shingles or tiles leading to water intrusion inside home.
WATER DAMAGE
Leaky roofs or pipes leading to water intrusion inside your home damaging drywall, wood floors, kitchen countertops, cabinets and more.
FIRE & SMOKE DAMAGE
Flames and smoke creating structural damage to the roof, walls, ceiling, and floors.
MOLD DAMAGE
Nasty hidden discoloration / fungi leading to serious damage inside home and health problems.
ROOF LEAKS
Tropical storms or high speed wind events causing water to penetrate inside your home.
PIPE LEAKS
Leaky, burst or broken pipes creating sudden water overflow damaging your home.
LOSS OF USE
Additional living expenses (ALE) incurred because forced out of your home.
VANDALISM & THEFT
Broken locks and doors, spray-painted walls, stolen electronics, missing jewelry, and more.
INSURANCE TOP 5
excuses
Deny, Delay, or Underpay.
no peril-created opening
It wasn't the storm. It was "wear and tear" from your old roof.
pre-existing damage
Your roof damage was from a claim you made last year.
on-going leak
Your pipe leak has been on-going for months and therefore excluded.
late reported
You didn't "promptly" report your damage and now we are prejudiced so we don't have to pay.
Below deductible
We sent our field adjuster to your home but the RCV is below your 5% hurricane or $2500 AOP deductible.
property claim process
damage occurs
claim reported
investigation
determination made
Don’t blindly accept the first offer the insurance company gives you. The insurance company hires adjusters to generate one-way valuations. Many times the amount (if at all) won’t be enough to cover your damages.
common tactics.
insurance companies playbook
lowball estimates
Using low labor or material costs and not including an "overhead and profit" allocation for a general contractor to manage different trades working at your home.
scope reductions
Not including a "matching" allocation or a section in the home that requires replacement as a result of the loss.
late reported - prejudiced
Alleging you reported the claim late (e.g., 1.5 years later) and as a result they were prejudiced so the don't have to pay you.
no peril-created opening
Denying your claim outright alleging it was an exclusion that caused the loss (e.g., old roof, wear & tear or foot-fall).
below deductible
Providing you with a one-way estimate of damages that fall below your hurricane or all other peril deductible amounts.
sneaky endorsements and exclusions
Adding a water exclusion, $10K water cap or roof schedule endorsement limiting payout.
no fees unless we win!
DON’T LET THE INSURANCE COMPANY DECIDE WHAT YOUR CASE IS WORTH.
CLEAR COMMUNICATION
AGGRESSIVE REPRESENTATION
PERSONALIZED ATTENTION
RESULTS ORIENTED
FLORIDA
what to do after property damage / loss
document everything
Take photo's and videos of the damages. Also the storm or burst leak if possible.
provide prompt notice of your loss
Notify the carrier immediately of your loss. Don't sit on it.
get help with public adjusters or attorneys
Interview public adjusters or attorney's to get representation early.
prevent further damage
Interview several reasonably priced water mitigation companies to perform dry-out services.
keep all receipts
For emergency repairs, keep all receipts and invoices.
Cooperate with the carrier
Make your home accessible to the carrier's field adjuster for inspection and provide all necessary documents.
don't give a recorded statement without speaking with an attorney
Carriers want to pin you down early. Be careful. Consult with an attorney first.
don't speculate
If you don't know an answer say so. Don't guess or speculate. If you are not an expert in assessing property damage or what caused the damage - say so.
keep a time-line
Establishing a detailed timeline from before the date of loss (DOL) to after is critical.
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HOW TO MAKE YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY PAY
The complete homeowner’s guide to winning denied, delayed, and underpaid property damage claims.
learn how to . . .
- Choose a winning policy from the beginning.
- Avoid policy traps and sneaky endorsements.
- Set up and file a claim the right way.
- Handle field adjuster inspections and trick questions.
- Use public adjusters, engineers, and attorneys.
- Take a deposition and answer discovery during litigation.
- Settle your claim during pre-litigation and litigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Florida Property Damage Claims
Carriers accept your premiums and issue swift denials when you need them the most. But, you have every right to dispute their denial.
Contact Attorney Shah today for a free consultation.
754-888-2726.
A deductible is the amount you must pay annually out of pocket before coverage applies.
Deductibles are broken into two categories: hurricane and all other perils (“AOP”).
Hurricane deductibles are usually 2%, 5% or 10% of your Coverage A – limit of liability. For example, if you have $500,000 limit with a 2% deductible, then $10,000 is deducted first before you receive payment.
If it’s not a hurricane deductible than its considered “all other perils” and typically $2500 per occurrence.
A high deductible is a way for insurance companies to quickly deny your claim.
Your claim can be resolved in a few months during the pre-litigation or a few years if full-blown litigation is needed. It all depends on your facts and circumstances.
Attorney Shah will provide you with a free consultation to discuss your case.
Once a client, he will help with drafting a narrative, timeline, and gathering facts to challenge the insurance carrier’s denial or underpayment.
Most importantly, he will help you negotiate with the carriers and mitigation companies that performed work at your home.
The goal is to help you win denied, delayed, and underpaid property damage claims.
You pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call today for a free consultation.
It depends. A public adjuster adds value by saving you time in dealing with all the carrier’s request. The tradeoff is their fee, which is typically 20% in Florida. Also, if an attorney needs to get involved because the public adjuster was unsuccessful, then you must add on top attorney fees (e.g., another 20-40%).
Alternatively, you can hire an attorney to represent you from the beginning or try to handle the claim yourself directly with the carrier.
Contact Attorney Shah today for a free consultation and to learn more.
754-888-2726.
Your burden of proof in Florida depends upon which type of policy you purchased.
An all-risk policy (e.g., H0-3) you prove the loss happened within the policy period.
A named-peril policy is narrower (e.g., DP-1) and you also must prove the specific peril listed in the policy caused the loss (e.g., windstorm, hurricane, fire, lightening, etc.).
You also need causation and damage experts to support your case.
Contact Attorney Shah today for a free consultation and to learn more.
754-888-2726.
Insurance companies love to deny you when they see a history of previous claims.
But you may be able to recover if you can demonstrate the damage was not pre-existing. For example, yes you had a previous roof claim but you repaired the area (replaced the roof) and now the current windstorm caused damage to the roof again.
If your unsuccessful in collecting from the insurance carrier, then you will ultimately be responsible for the invoices regardless of what a mitigation company technician tells you at your home when signing the agreement, unless you have a waiver from them in writing.
Your property damages are quantifiable with estimates and receipts. The goal is to get your property back to its pre-loss condition.
Typically, your public adjuster or attorney will work with an estimator to provide a replacement costs value (RCV) or actual costs value (ACV) of the damages.
Many times your estimate is substantially different than your carrier’s low-ball estimate of damages (i.e., if they even write an estimate).
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