Hurricane & Storm
Damage Claim Attorneys
Storm, Wind, Lightning & Hurricane Claims (New,
Pending, Denied) and Disputes.
When We Can Help You with your Storm / Hurricane Claim
Your hard work and money is invested in your home, commercial
building or investment real estate property and when it is
damaged due to a Storm, Wind, Lightning or Hurricane, we will
work hard to protect this very important investment – as well
as your safety and the safety of your guests.
We can help you at ALL stages of your Storm, Wind, Lightning
or Hurricane Claim – either before you report the claim, while
the claim is pending, if your claim was denied or if your
claim not handled properly. Our goal is to maximize the
valuation of your claim as expeditiously as possible.
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Prior to contacting your insurance company (i.e. New
Claim) – This is generally best for you, since we are able to
offer you the most benefit by overseeing the entire claim
process on your behalf (assisting to minimize any delays and
maximize the valuation of your claim). In addition, we will
retain our own experts to provide us with the ‘gold standard’
in repair and remediation estimates – to insure that the
repairs being made will either meet or exceed new, more
stringent building costs. In addition, if the devastation is
severe, we will move quickly to assist you with your Loss of
Use and/or Additional Living Expense benefits while your home,
commercial building or investment real estate is being
repaired. By being involved early, we can help prevent the
insurance company representative from taking a negative
position with regard to your claim – which will help expedite
the ultimate processing of your claim as well as help maximize
the valuation of your claim.
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During a pending claim with your insurance company
(i.e. Pending Claim) – Even though you have already reported
your claim to your insurance company, we can evaluate the
situation and take it over from virtually any point in the
claim process (before you have received the repair estimates
from your insurance company; after you have received the
repair estimates from your insurance company or either before
or after you have received an offer to settle from your
insurance company). Again – the sooner the better (for the
reasons outlined in the preceding paragraph). No matter what
– you have virtually nothing to lose by retaining us to help
maximize the valuation of your pending claim with your
insurance company.
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After your claim has been denied by your insurance
company (i.e. Denied Claim) – If your insurance company has
denied your claim (or stated that the damages do not meet your
deductible) and you still believe that the physical damages to
your home, commercial building or investment real estate
property may be related to a hurricane or storm, we will
review your claim, your damages and your insurance policy at
no charge to you. Many times we can point out flaws and/or
deficiencies in the adjusting process and we can convince your
insurance company to change their mind and accept your claim.
Other times we have no choice but to file a lawsuit against
your insurance company if they are not willing to change their
mind amicably (based upon the additional information that we
provide to them). Again – in this scenario – you have
absolutely nothing to lose and all to gain by retaining us to
assist you in your denied claim.
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After your claim has already been
paid – we can reopen a previous claim (i.e. Reopen Previous
Claim) – Even though you had already accepted a previous
settlement from your insurance company, we may be able to
reopen your claim if you were not compensated fairly and
reasonably for the damages you had sustained or you are
presenting experiencing worsening of previous damages or new
damages (which is indicative that payment and/or repair
process that was recommended was not adequate or proper).
Generally speaking, you have five (5) years from the date of
loss (most often this is the date you reported the claim to
your insurance company). Furthermore, if your insurance
company did not follow strict guidelines in evaluating and
paying your claim in a prompt manner, they may be subject to a
potential “Bad Faith” lawsuit, which may provide you with
additional compensation beyond that listed in your insurance
policy.
What We Can Do To Help You with your Storm
/ Hurricane Claim
Under Florida law, your homeowner’s or commercial property
insurance carrier usually must provide coverage for damage to
your home, commercial business or real estate investment
property caused by a storm, wind, lightning or hurricane. Due
to the severe weather that Florida has experienced over the
past few years, there has been a significant increase in
property damage to homes, commercial buildings and real estate
investment property related to hurricanes and storm activity.
This damage could be fairly minimal or severe – we can help
you under any circumstance. And remember, you may have hidden
damages that may greatly exceed your insurance policy limits
and we will work hard to ensure that you receive everything to
which you are entitled.
If you have a good faith belief that you have sustained
damages caused by a hurricane or storm, your insurance company
has a statutory and fiduciary duty to promptly and properly
investigate this damage. They first make an initial
inspection at your property and if the adjuster believes that
the damages noted could possibly be caused by a hurricane or
storm, then they must obtain written estimates from certified
and licensed contractors to repair said damages (or offer you
funds for Loss of Use or Additional Living Expenses if the
home or dwelling in severely damaged).
There are many potential hazards in dealing with your
insurance company, several of which include delaying the
evaluation of your claim, denying you the fair market value
you deserve in a settlement or even denying coverage for your
claim. Your insurance company oftentimes only retains experts
whom they believe will provide less than the ‘gold standard’
in repair estimates. In other cases the investigations
conducted by the experts retained by your insurance company
may be inadequate or incomplete and therefore resulting in
flawed results. Finally, many insurance companies recommend
sub-standard repair methods to minimize the settlement or
repair costs of your storm, wind, lightning or hurricane
loss. Your insurance policy alone is not enough to guarantee
you coverage or a fair representation from your insurance
carrier.
The Law Offices of Joseph A. Porcelli, P.A. has represented
numerous homeowners in disputes with their insurance company
with regard to storm, wind, lightning and hurricane claims,
quite possibly even someone in your neighborhood. Most people
do not have the experience of resolving a property damage
claim with their insurance company and are at a decided
disadvantage vis-à-vis their insurance company. Our years of
experience in assisting policyholders helps level the playing
field to your benefit by thoroughly investing your damages in
an expedient and professional manner. Our goal is to maximize
the valuation of your claim as expeditiously as possible.
How You Pay For Our Storm / Hurricane Legal Services
We offer a FREE SAME DAY CONSULTATION and we always accept Storm, Wind, Lightning and
Hurricane cases on Contingency Fee Basis. Putting
it in another way, if we do not obtain a recovery on your
behalf, you will owe us NOTHING in legal fees nor do you have
to reimburse us for your costs / expenses of our legal
representation. Furthermore, if your insurance company
did not follow strict guidelines in evaluating and paying your
claim, they may be subject to a potential “Bad Faith” lawsuit,
which may provide you with additional compensation beyond that
listed in your insurance policy. In summary, you have
nothing to lose and all to gain if you retain us to assist you
in your hurricane or storm claim.
We represent clients in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk,
Hernando, Manatee and Sarasota Counties and the entire state
of Florida.
Call Us Today – Toll Free at 877-529-9191 or submit a FREE Case Evaluation Form.
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