Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

Tips On Post-Hurricane Recovery in the Gulf Coast

Published on: November 7, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

The extreme damage incurred by the Galveston area is only now being comprehended over two months after Hurricane Ike. Recovery efforts are underway but the immediate steps to be undertaken in the event of damage to your home are crucial and need to be handled with care. If you live in the Gulf Coast area and have to deal with a damaging tropical storm or hurricane, whether you are in Corpus Christi or Lafayette, there are a series of things you must do in the aftermath. Here are some hurricane recovery tips:

In the event of a hurricane or extreme damage to your home, do not risk electrocution. Check electronic equipment for water damage and watch for damaged power lines. Open all of your home’s doors and windows to let air in and ventilate the area. Use bottled water and throw away any food and condiments that may have gone bad in the refrigerator if the power went out for an extended period of time.

When it comes to damage to your home and property, only make temporary fixes that will later be fixed using your insurance settlement. Doing so will allow the insurance company’s inspector to see the full extent of the damage and help you with your overall claim. After a storm, contact your insurance agent as soon as possible, photograph damage and keep all receipts and detailed records of your costs. FEMA assistance can be received by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by going to www.FEMA.gov.

The Texas Department of Insurance’s Tips on Storm Recovery

Published on: November 6, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has created a series of tips for homeowners in the state looking to make a claim after the recent series of storms in the Gulf. While each storm may lead to significantly different issues, there are several things the state recommends with any claim:

1. Develop an organized and itemized list of the property damaged and visually record the damage if it is possible. This will help speed the claims process.
2. Attempt to make appropriate temporary fixes and repairs so as to keep your property and home from any further harm from the elements. Make only temporary fixes until the insurance company’s claims adjusters can assess the damage. Record all expenses incurred by repairs through receipts and other means.
3. Be on the property or at home when the insurance company visits to assess the damages being claimed. Having a contractor available during the inspection or when you receive the adjuster’s claim is also encouraged.

Following these guidelines will help make sure that you are sufficiently prepared in the event of storm damage. If you have problems with your insurance company, call TDI’s Consumer Help Line toll-free at 1-800-252-3439.

Annual Car Insurance Reviews Could Save You Plenty

Published on: November 5, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

Annually, it is recommended for anyone living in the Gulf Coast area to do a full inspection of their insurance coverage. While people are often meticulous with their car insurance and its coverage, home owners insurance can be a confusing and daunting set of documents to review and even understand. However, a solid review of your plan’s limits and extents will help you be prepared should damage come to your home.

Periodically reviewing your coverage helps guarantee you have the protection you need in the right areas. These reviews can coincide with the renewal of your insurance or at the time in which you purchase significant enhancements or items for your home that change its value. Reviewing can be as simple as re-reading the literature provided that summarizes your coverage but can, and should, also include a call to your insurance agent. Simply asking your agent to go over your homeowners, damage protection and other insurance provisions can help you get a concise and clear idea of what your insurance will protect you from.

Feel free to have a frank and honest conversation with your agent about if the coverage on your home is adequate or if it needs to be adjusted based upon the value of those things being protected. Such a conversation keeps you from finding out that your recent boat purchase or the deck improvement that increased your home’s value are not covered.

By reviewing your insurance coverage and talking with an agent, disputes that may arise should damage occur that you must make a claim on may be avoided.

Don’t Be Left Out To Dry On Wind vs. Flood Damage Disputes

Published on: November 4, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

Dealing with hurricane and other forms of severe weather damage can be a truly confusing and stressful time for homeowners. Figuring out the best contractor to fix the work, temporary fixes for the damage, however severe, and moving on with life are all dilemmas people have to deal with in the face of such disasters. What makes things worse, however, is when insurance companies make it difficult to make a claim.

One of the most common ways in which insurance companies deny claims for righteous hurricane or storm damage is blaming the damage on wind or flooding, depending on coverage. In numerous cases post-Katrina insurance companies like Allstate and State Farm denied a claim of wind damage relief because the true damage was caused by flooding. The courts, though, have found that any flooding that comes as a result of damage caused by wind is thereby covered under a wind damage claim. That is to say, for example, if wind damage caves in your roof, all of the rain and water damage that results from the broken roof is covered.

The courts have further held that concurrent causation clauses like State Farm’s are capable of being knocked down because of the close proximity of damages. The overriding principle for homeowners to keep in mind is that if they can prove the wind damaged something, coverage by the homeowners wind policy should cover the damage, even if the flood came through afterwards and destroyed the home. The difficulty comes in to cases such as this, though, in the expert testimony and the proof claimants must provide that the wind came first.

When dealing with your denied claim in which your insurance provider is denying coverage on the basis of wind vs. flood causation, it is important to have the experts necessary to prove your case. The Berniard Law Firm knows all of the best experts to refute the insurance company’s claims that the flood came first. Excellent legal council, coupled with the experts that can tell the court exactly why you deserve your claim, can be the difference between rebuilding your life with help or rebuilding from scratch.

Get the Car Insurance Claim You Are Owed!

Published on: November 3, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

The loss of one’s vehicle to any sort of calamity is a stressful and difficult event for anyone. When this loss occurs amidst a natural disaster, such a loss can feel completely overwhelming. What can make it even worse is when the insurance company drags their feet in paying you the very money you deserve. The law, however, protects the people from insurance companies dragging their feet and does so with strict penalties for such delays.

In the event of the inaction of an insurer that leads to deprivation of the use of a personal vehicle for more than five working days (excluding weekends and holidays), the insured party is entitled to any legally reasonable expenses that resulted during the entire period of time the claimant is without the vehicle. If the insurance company fails to pay this within 30 days of a claim that the insured is without the use of the vehicle, and the failure is deemed arbitrary, capricious or without probably cause, an additional penalty not to exceed 10 percent of reasonable expenses, or $1000, whichever is greater, will be tacked onto the claim with attorneys fees.

What this means is that, with a speedy claim and consistent effort to stay in line with deadlines and paperwork, the law protects Louisiana citizens from becoming overwhelmed in the event of a catastrophe.

How to Avoid Insurance Company Bullying

Published on: November 2, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

When working on an insurance claim for damages incurred for any set of reasons, it is important for Louisiana citizens to remember that while the insurance companies might not respect them, the law does. Louisiana law includes various different provisions to prevent insurers from taking advantage of policy holders and it is important for people to know their rights.

Louisiana law mandates a good faith effort on the part of insurance companies to their policy holders. This includes adjusting claims fairly, promptly and to make a reasonable effort to make settlements with the claimant or insured. Insurance companies violate this law when they

1. Misrepresent policy provisions or facts relating to a holder’s coverage.
2. Take longer than 30 days to pay a settlement after a written agreement is met.
3. Attempt to settle or deny coverage to a claim that was modified without knowledge or consent by the insured.
4. Lie or mislead a claimant as to the prescriptive period of a claim.
5. Fail to pay any claim due to an insurance holder within 60 days after they receive a satisfactory proof of loss from the holder when failing to do so is arbitrary or without probable cause.

If an insurance company is held liable for any of these violations, a policy holder may be rewarded financial damages of significant value. This money is in addition to the settlement already made.

The Buyout’s Pinch on Louisiana Homeowners

Published on: November 1, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

Jim Brown of WNRO in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, recently brought to light in an October 23, 2008, posting that the recent economic downturn felt by citizens nationwide and subsequent national buyout has very specific ramifications on the people of this state. This insurance squeeze will be sure to be felt by citizens of Louisiana as the cost of the buyout falls upon the American people to pay. The recent buyout of AIG cost the average American family of four $1200 and yet there seems to be no end in sight to the pinch insurance holders feel each time they make a claim on their policies.

What’s more, as Louisiana has no consumer protection agency to operate as a state oversight of insurance companies and their activities, the average policy holder has no governmental body to rely upon to watch over these companies. During Congressional hearings regarding the economic bailout, it was discovered that AIG executives had withheld and hid the financial risks being taken from federal auditors when the company began headed into a downtrurn. With executives going on $400,000+ retreats in the face of economic crisis, there appears to be no responsibility or restraint demonstrated by insurance companies like AIG.

Because of this sad state of affairs, it is even more important and relevant for insurance claimants to remain vigilant on their claims and policies. Whether dealing with a Home Owner’s, Mold Damage, Personal Injury or various other insurance claim you may be forced to deal with, it is crucial to have the representation necessary to protect your rights against insurance companies.

The Impact of Katrina on Louisiana Insurance Policy Holders

Published on: October 31, 2008 | By Berniard Law Firm

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, statistics emerged that put into perspective the burden and overall economic hit that the state of Louisiana took because of this horrific storm. According to the Louisiana Recovery Authority, nearly twice as many people from Louisiana were impacted than any of the other four states in Katrina, a storm that destroyed three times as many homes in Louisiana as any other state. Combined with the fact that ten times as many businesses were destroyed in Louisiana than in any other state and it is easy to see that the rebuilding effort by this state was truly an undertaking.

With all of the insurance claims and problems that resulted from Katrina, many home and property owners found extreme difficulty in getting the insurance company they deserved from their policy providers. People who had one day had a home found themselves the next day homeless and without the means to start over without the insurance money they were entitled to.

The Berniard Law Firm is proud to have been a big part of helping these people have their day in court and receive the money they deserved. Today, just a little more than three years after Katrina, Lousiana home owners are still finding themselves having difficulties with an assortment of claims against their insurance companies. And today, just like in 2005, the Berniard Law Firm is ready and willing to represent policy holders against the insurance companies to make sure that people get what they are entitled to.