Property Damage Lawyer in Florida

Property damage claims can be a source of conflict with your insurance company. These claims often have many moving parts, and it can be easy for your insurance company to deny your claim. Natural disasters, accidents, and other issues can lead to a property damage claim. It can be hard to collect the information that you need from witnesses in some cases, and you might run into issues if you have never submitted this kind of claim before. You might not know what information is necessary to support the claim.

If you are not sure how to submit a property damage claim, you need to be sure that you secure a skilled lawyer who can work hard on your case. Securing the right outcome for your property damage claim is much easier with a legal team on your side. The team at Lopez Law Group has years of experience working on these kinds of cases and can be trusted to help you to seek the favorable outcome that you have been looking for.

What is Property Damage?

There are various kinds of property damage that might be eligible for a claim payout from your homeowner’s insurance company. The most common kinds of these claims are the following:

•         Wind and hail
•         Fire
•         Lightning
•         Water damage
•         Theft
•         Vandalism
•         Car accident damage
•         Tornado damage
•         Hurricane damage
•         Sinkhole damage
•         Fallen tree damage
•         Freezing
•         Bodily injury
•         Theft
•         Medical payments

Your homeowner’s insurance is intended to be used for emergency circumstances, but there are many kinds of accidents and injuries that can qualify under the property damage portion of your policy. There are various kinds of property damage that are covered under most homeowner’s insurance policies to help homeowners to be able to repair damage and cover medical costs for parties who might have been injured on the property during the incident.

If you are not sure if your property damage will qualify for a claim, you can reach out to the team at Lopez Law before you file a claim. We have years of experience working on behalf of clients on these kinds of claims. We will be able to advise you about the right ways to provide information for these claims, and we can also offer advice about what kinds of property damage can be eligible for a property damage claim.

Will I Need an Estimate for my Property Damage Claim?

In all property damage claims, an estimate of the cost to repair the damages will need to be submitted to the insurance company. It is almost always to the advantage of the homeowner to make sure that they have their own estimate created by an impartial party. When you trust the adjustor from the insurance company to assess the extent of the damage, you could end up being offered a payout for your claim that is not going to cover the actual cost of your damages.

It is important to remember that insurance company adjustors are tasked with paying the minimum amount on each claim. This saves the insurance company money, but it is not very beneficial for you as the insured party with damage to repair. Being sure that you are getting the right payout for your actual costs to enact repairs matters.

Your lawyer will be able to access the skills of a third-party adjuster who can assess the extent of the damage that needs to be repaired in order for you to get your property back to its former condition. This can be a key benefit to working with an attorney, among many others. If you need to take your case to court or you need help with an incorrect denial, a lawyer can offer beneficial services to help you to get the payout that you need for your claim.

Trying to go it alone through the claims process when property damage is involved can be really tough. There are so many details that need to be handled for these claims that it can be easy to make mistakes if you have never had to work on a claim of this kind. Your lawyer will make sure that you don’t forget to submit important documents related to your claim, and they can also help collect witness testimony and other important details related to your claim.

Does My Insurance Policy Cover All Kinds of Property Damage?

Unfortunately, homeowner’s insurance policies don’t cover all kinds of damages. You will not get protection for damages related to earthquakes, flooding, or sewer backups. However, these kinds of issues might still be paid for by another party, depending on the area that you live in. In the case of sewer backups and other kinds of infrastructure-related accidents that cause property damage, you might be able to get payment from the city for your property damages. Your lawyer will be able to check out these other repayment options if you cannot make a homeowner’s claim.

Having legal help on your side can be critical if your claim doesn’t fall under the coverage offered by your homeowner’s insurance policy. There are many reasons that property damage can occur, and in some cases, someone else is still at fault for the issues that have impacted your property. Without the help of a lawyer, you might also be uncertain if the claim that you need to place will even be eligible for attention from your insurance company.

Your lawyer will be able to provide advice and support before you submit a claim if you are not sure about the nature of the damage that you need help repairing or paying for. At Lopez Law Group, we can offer advice and guidance for property damage that you think might not be covered by your insurance policy. There may be other parties who can be sued for the damages that you need to pay for.

How do I Know When to Hire a Lawyer for My Property Claim?

It can be really distressing to experience the kinds of issues that lead to the need to file a property claim. There might be medical bills associated with the claim, and someone that you live with might have been hurt in the incident. Even if you are only dealing with property damage that needs to be repaired, you might be in a situation where you need to move out of your home and to be able to return it to its former condition.

It can be easy to just allow the insurance company to dictate the payment that you are offered for your property damage claim. Many people also accept claims denials that are not correct. Whether a natural disaster or another person has caused the damage to your property, you should consider securing a lawyer to help you with your claim. Being able to allow an expert to handle the claims process can allow you the peace of mind that your claims process will be dealt with correctly. If you were also injured in the incident in question, allowing a lawyer to work on your claim can be the only way to ensure that it will be handled properly from start to finish.

Your lawyer will be able to do the following for your claims process:

•         Collect documents necessary to support the information related to the claim
•         Collect information from witnesses and experts
•         Collect an accurate and impartial estimate of the cost of the damages to your property
•         Submit additional information as requested by the insurance company
•         Respond to incorrect denials from the insurance company
•         Support you during the settlement process if you need to discuss a payout from the insurance company using this process

If your claim is incorrectly denied, or the payout amount that you are offered is not enough to help you to cover the cost of repairs, your lawyer will be able to tackle the appeals process on your behalf. It is rare for these kinds of claims to require a visit to court, but in some cases, settlement negotiations are not successful.

It is always better to have a lawyer working hard on your claim before you run into issues. It wastes time and causes a lot of stress to have to find a lawyer after you have run into issues with your claims process that could have been avoided from the beginning.

How Can My Lawyer Help With the Settlement Process?

Many property damage claims are very expensive when compared to auto insurance claims. Repairing a home or the property related to a home can be very costly. Insurance companies will almost always offer the minimum allowable payout for your property damage claim. This saves them money and helps them to make sure that they don’t need to increase premiums across the state of Florida. The goal of insurance companies is almost always to save money by paying out the minimum amount on every property claim that is submitted to them.

Once you have received an offer that is not sufficient to cover the damages that you have suffered, your lawyer can help to start the settlement process. During a settlement, the insurance company and your lawyer will try to figure out a way to come up with a payout amount that everyone can agree on. Your lawyer will be able to provide documentation and other proof that the payout that has been offered to their client is not correct and does not cover the cost of the damages that have happened to the insured.

In the rare instance that the insurance company and your lawyer cannot come up with a settlement amount that you are happy with, the case might head to court. This is something that the team at Lopez Law Group always works hard to avoid since it costs more to present your case to a judge than to work on a settlement discussion outside of court. Court cases can be an ideal way to compel an insurance company to pay out on a large claim, but most homeowner’s claims are not large enough to justify a trip to court. Your lawyer will be able to advise you about the right steps to take if the settlement that you have been offered is not sufficient.

Your lawyer will advise you about the possible benefits of taking your case to court or accepting the offer that the insurance company has made with regard to a settlement. There are instances where the added cost of going to court might not be worth shouldering in order to seek a larger payout for your claim. This kind of decision is much less clear when you are working on the settlement process alone and without expert assistance.

What Do I Do About a Claim Denial?

Claims denials can feel very defeating. Many people accept denials that they receive from their insurance company when they do not have to do so. Many denials are related to paperwork mistakes, a lack of response by experts or medical staff involved in the claim, or problems with communication between the insurance company and the insured. There are some kinds of denials that cannot be appealed, but this is rare.

Your lawyer will be able to help you to appeal the denial that you received. In most cases, submitting the missing documentation is all that is necessary to get the claim process sorted out so that a payout can be made. If you have received a denial for this kind of claim, it is almost always a good idea to secure an attorney to help you to fight the denial. Denials can be more complex than you might realize, which is why having expert assistance can be so key.

Denials can turn into payouts much more easily than you might think. Don’t give up if you have been handed a denial. Instead, reach out to the team at Lopez Law Group for support and guidance so that you can seek the correct payout for your covered claim.

Do I Need to Make a List of Damaged Property for My Insurance Company?

Yes, when you submit a property claim, you will need to make sure that you create a detailed list of items that were damaged in the loss. This might be paintings, possessions, vehicles, and more. Your home is not the only thing that is covered on this kind of claim. Your fences and landscaping might also be covered if they have been damaged related to the accident or incident.

Many people do not look at the fine print of their insurance policy and are not sure about which items they need to list in their request for payout from their insurance policy. All of these items need to be brought to the attention of your insurance company if you are expecting them to pay out on your claim correctly.

This is one of the many reasons that people choose to work with a skilled attorney when they have suffered damage to their property that requires that a claim be filed with their insurance company. Creating a complete list of the items that you need to be reimbursed for can be overwhelming, and knowing which items to include can be just as daunting.

Your lawyer will be able to help you to create a list of items that you need to be compensated for. This critical step in the claims process is much easier to tackle with the help of a legal pro on your side. The Lopez Law group can be trusted to help you create this kind of documentation, and our familiarity with Florida Property insurance is a big benefit to homeowners who reside in this state.

The Team at Lopez Law Group Can Help

If you have been handed a denial for your property claim or the payout that you have been offered does not cover the damages that you suffered related to the incident, a lawyer can help. The team at Lopez Law Group can help you to secure the payout that you need to be able to repair your property and pay all associated medical bills related to the incident. We have years of experience in this area of the law, and we can help you to take on your insurance company if they are not willing to pay out correctly on your claim.

If you need to submit a homeowners claim but are not even sure where to start, the team at Lopez Law Group is happy to step up and help you start the claims process the right way. You might miss essential steps in the property damage claim process if you have never had to submit this kind of claim before.

Contact us today and find out how we can help you fight your insurance company if they have denied your claim or offered a payout that you cannot accept. We have the expertise to help you to seek the favorable outcome that you have been looking for related to your property damage claim.

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