Advice for Concerned Homeowners

Homeowner insurance companies are in business typically in the purpose of fulfilling the “what if” factor. Many companies rely on that “what if” scenario to bring in cautious clients. If a policyholder (homeowner) should face a problem trying to process their claim, the policyholder has every right to challenge the insurer and insist on receiving compensation for their loss. As easy as it may sound, one must first consider: In what scenarios should the rightful homeowner file a claim?

When Things Go Downhill

The sole function of home insurance is to protect the policyholder’s home along with the possessions inside the home. This is especially true should the home or belongings suddenly become severely damaged or misplaced due to a catastrophe. Insurers also provide coverage for any accidents that took place on the property or in the home. What most don’t know is that there are a small number of occurrences that homeowners insurance does not cover:

Mold
Sewer Backups
Sinkholes (earth movement)
Termites
Nuclear Plant Accidents (However, the Price-Anderson Act will compensate)
Some acts of terrorism (biological, nuclear, radioactive or chemical weapons are uninsurable and considered “acts of war”).

On the other hand, the majority of situations are completely coverable. For example, if there’s been a snowstorm and the weight of the snow damages the roof, pipes or falling objects that have destroyed the home, homeowners insurance is supposed to cover this, as well as cover hotel bills and restaurant bills. Other situations that homeowners insurance covers:

An overflowing bath that damages the floor
A hole in the roof from a fallen tree
Theft
Students living in their dorm have possessions covered by their parent’s homeowner insur-ance policy
If the family must vacate the home due to repairs being done
Liability (Insurance will cover the cost of defense if the owner is being sued for causing injury to someone or their property)

How Does a Claim Turn into Litigation?

If ever the home was to endure a hardship, the homeowner would then file a claim with their property’s insurer regarding the damage. If the insurance company refuses to cover the incident for some reason and the homeowner believes this is unfair, (it would be highly likely and recommended that) the homeowner should retain with a Property Damage attorney to further defend for their matter. If the case has been challenged and presented to court (thanks to your property damage attorney), this is now a litigation case. With the help of an attorney, the homeowner’s case will now be supervised under the utmost care of the legal professional.

Is a Homeowner Litigation Attorney Necessary?

While some may think that they can handle going through litigation on their own, the truth is only a trusted litigation lawyer is well experienced and is up-to-date with the ever changing state property laws. Hiring a trusted property damage attorney can be a huge benefit that will ensure you receive your rightfully earned compensation. Your attorney will also be able to read through your contract and understand all of the legalese, the legal terms that not everyone might understand. The second set of eyes on a contract is a huge asset, and they will often pick up things that you might have missed.

What is the Litigation Process?

With a good mortgage litigation lawyer on your side, litigation can be much smoother. Litigation is the legal process endured before, during, or after the lawsuit to enforce such legal right. In this case, it would be enforcing the right for the homeowners based on their homeowner’s insurance. Litigation begins as soon as someone decides to uphold their rights in a more formal manner.

To start, the homeowner litigation attorney will investigate the issue. This includes looking at the damage, reading through the insurance contract, and looking through any correspondence be-tween the owner and the insurance company. The point is to make sure that the claim is valid and that there is a case of the owner. This allows the attorney to gather all information and be able to defend a case in an organized manner that proves there was wrongdoing.

Sometimes, the insurance company will decide they don’t want to go to court, and they ask to settle. This is done through alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which is any settlement that occurs without having to go to court. It is much a much faster and less expensive method to come to a conclusion, and the insurance company knowing that the party has a lawyer on their side makes it more likely to come to this rather than go to trial.

Often, the litigation lawyer will fight for you against the lawyer for the insurance company. After the opposing lawyer sees the reports and correspondence, as well as investigating the area on their own (or “discovery”), they will decide whether it’s worth going to court or settling out. In most cases, the insurance company will settle on an acceptable amount of money to give the homeowner. If you are a witness of faulty homeowner’s insurance, don’t try and settle your claim without having the proper training of how to proceed. Consider consulting with one of our trusted litigation attorneys, today.