Natural Disaster First Party Insurance Litigation
Natural disasters are unavoidable. No matter where you live, you are at threat of some form of catastrophic weather event, whether it be hurricanes, tornados, storm surge, hailstorms, fires, or earthquakes.
If your property has suffered damage from a weather event, your first step may be filing a first party insurance claim. When doing so, insurance companies document the damage and are expected to fairly value the cost of repair.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Many insurance companies have proven more interested in saving money than assisting victims of catastrophic weather events, undervaluing the value of damage or loss, or even denying claims.
This clearly is an infringement of the insured’s rights under state insurance laws or policy language. It shows no regard or respect for victims who are already dealing with a traumatic event. Property owners deserve to be fairly compensation for damage to their property.
Why You Should Contact an Attorney Following an Extreme Weather Event
Dealing with insurance companies, and the process in general following a natural disaster, can be very complex, so it’s important to have a knowledgeable attorney guiding the process. Attorneys at Cory Watson understand how this process works and will ensure all you have to focus on is your recovery.
It’s important to contact an experienced attorney to help you through the complex process of filing a claim and fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
Who Should Contact an Attorney
If you are an owner of a commercial or residential property, apartment or condominium complex, industrial facility, business, or another institutional property that has been damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster, you should contact a Cory Watson attorney as soon as possible following the event.
Steps to Take Before and After a Weather Event
Once the storm or event has passed and you’ve recognized damage to your property, you may think, “what now?”
- Make sure you understand your insurance policy and that you know what is, and what is not covered by your insurers.
- Document everything you can. If there’s enough warning and time to safely prepare, take photos of the exterior and interior of your home before the storm or weather event. If you sustain damage, before and after photos can be extremely beneficial evidence to have.
- Take photos of any damage sustained after the event.
- Contact an experienced attorney or law firm to help you in your recovery. It is critical you do so before repairs have been made. This allows our experts the chance to survey the property damage and go through the full estimate process. An attorney at Cory Watson will help if you believe your insurer is denying, delaying, and underpaying regarding your claim.
Potential Legal Issues to Understand Following a Natural Disaster
Evaluating Damage – Think about how much an object or structure, like a roof, is worth. That roof is worth a certain amount of money, but if destroyed, rebuilding the exact same roof from scratch would likely cost more than the original value of the roof due to all the replacement work, and workers, needed.
You deserve compensation for what the replacement work is valued at – Cory Watson Attorneys will work diligently to make that happen.
Temporary Expenses – A hurricane may force you to evacuate, or even relocate or find work in a new location because of the damage sustained to your home. Keep receipts and records of all the expenses related to leaving or moving away from your property during and following a hurricane. All these relocation costs can add up.
Deductibles – These can vary depending on the storm. A deductible for a hurricane may be different from a deductible for a non-tropical storm or another natural disaster.
Contact a First Party Insurance Attorney
Cory Watson Attorneys know that it can seem like a helpless, confusing feeling after a natural disaster damages or destroys your property.
We’re here to walk you through the road to recovery, take the pressure off, and ensure that you receive the settlement needed to build back to where you were before.
We help clients like you every day, and we will review your hurricane insurance claim for free. Call or contact us today for a 100% free case evaluation.
About Cory Watson Attorneys
Cory Watson Attorneys is a national personal injury law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama, with more than $3 billion in recoveries. Attorneys are frequently appointed to leadership positions in national cases involving pharmaceuticals and defective medical devices. Practice areas include product liability, class actions, mass torts, pharmaceutical litigation, wrongful death, asbestos, mesothelioma, car accidents, truck accidents, catastrophic injury, aviation, recalled products, and environmental litigation.
Contact Cory Watson Attorneys today by calling (877) 562-0000 or fill out the FREE online consultation form on this page to learn more about your legal options. Don’t wait to reach out – Contact us today!