You have one year to file a hurricane property damage insurance claim from the date of the hurricane.
In Florida, timely action is crucial when dealing with hurricane property damage. State law generally requires that insurance claims be filed within one year of the hurricane’s date of occurrence.
JT Law Firm can help you navigate the complexities surrounding a hurricane property damage claim. Our legal team helps gather and prepare necessary claim documents so they can be submitted by Florida’s one-year filing deadline.
The proactive approach our team takes streamlines all essential activities to help avoid missing deadlines, which can complicate your claim or even result in a claim denial.
A one-year filing window means you need to quickly identify if you have damage in your home.
In the past, homeowners would commonly file a claim after noticing water stains on their ceiling, which could indicate wind uplift damage was present in their roof, and it went unnoticed until the damage spread to a more noticeable area of their home.
This will likely not work as well anymore.
A one-year window to file may seem like a long enough timeframe, but in truth, it requires multiple timely actions. You need to identify your home has damage, get your home inspected, gather plus file all the needed paperwork, wait for the insurance company to go through their process, wait on a coverage decision, and then choose to either accept or fight the decision made by your insurance company.
An insurance claim does not always go as you or your attorney plan. Sometimes, your insurance company will use tactics to reduce your expected payout amount.
Your insurance company is a for-profit entity, and like any business, they want to maximize their profit.
We have caught insurance companies engaging in unethical tactics to reduce or deny a valid insurance claim on more than one occasion before.
Here are some ways an insurance company can make it seem like they tried to help you but still offer you a lowball compensation amount or send you a claim denial letter.
- Unjust denial – your claim was denied, and the claim denial letter is vague.
- Your water damage is categorized as flood damage – Flood damage and water damage coverage typically require two separate policies. If you do not have a flood damage insurance policy, then you may not be eligible for compensation for any damage resulting from a flood. However, most homeowners’ insurance policies provide some water damage coverage, so if your insurance company miscategorizes your damage as flood damage, your claim may have been unjustly denied or underpaid.
- Your hurricane water damage was treated as a mold damage claim – While your policy may have coverage for mold and water damage, the coverage amount for water damage will likely be higher than the coverage limit for mold. If your water damage claim is miscategorized as a mold damage claim, then the actual amount of compensation you are entitled to may be higher than the initial offer your insurance company gave you.
- Your insurance company goes silent for long periods of time – Claim delays and stall tactics can make it difficult to close out your claim in a timely manner, making it seem like your claim process just keeps going on and on.
- Lowball offers – Your insurance company may offer you a coverage amount that may sound fair at first. However, getting a second opinion is critical to helping ensure you are being fairly compensated for your damage. You need to know what your actual repair or replacement costs will be so you can accept or deny an offer from the insurance company from an informed standpoint.
Helping owners file their hurricane property insurance claims on time.
With JT Law Firm, you have a dedicated team that fiercely defends your rights against insurers’ delay, denial, and underpayment tactics.
Contact us today to help ensure your claim is handled promptly and professionally, providing you peace of mind as you focus on recovering and rebuilding.
Call us at: (855) 585-2997
