Property Damage Representation

The Threat of Property Damage in Florida

Regardless of the kind of insurance claim you need to make, you could potentially get into a disagreement with the insurance company. A disagreement with an insurance company may be challenging and stressful. Balance the scales between you and the insurance provider with assistance from a Barak Law Group PA attorney. A lawyer could increase the likelihood of a favorable result. To get your claim ahead, learn more about insurance disputes.

Numerous miles of coastline offer fantastic opportunity for family vacations, tourism, picturesque events...and storms.

More Storms Means More Property Damage

Property damage insurance is a requirement for all citizens and company owners in Orlando, FL. These plans might provide you some reassurance that your finances won't suffer as a result of the repair bills following catastrophic disasters like fire or water damage.

Regrettably, insurance companies frequently reject, postpone, or underpay such claims. Such rejections, delays, and underpayments may be devastating for a property or homeowner because the expenses of this sort of damage are sometimes in the hundreds of dollars or more.

Dealing with the insurance claims procedure is not always simple, regardless of whether you have had a vehicle accident or a tree fall on your property. Finding out that an insurance provider has rejected your claim or decided to postpone payment might make the process more challenging than it has to be. A lawyer could be able to address any queries or worries you have regarding the claims procedure if your insurance company has consistently refused or postponed your settlement.

Why You May Need an Attorney

Focusing on this area of the law allows attorneys to become experts in their field. An attorney can help you realize the full legal worth of your claim and more effectively represent your interests. Simply put, you may obtain significantly greater compensation to fix or restore your property to its pre-loss condition with a qualified attorney by your side.

When Insurance Companies Aren't Reliable

It is annoying to pay your monthly payments on schedule, only to have the insurance company take a long time to process a claim for your house or place of business. Therefore, hiring a lawyer could be your best course of action.

You can tackle this scenario and maybe expedite the insurance claims procedure with the aid of a property damage attorney with offices in Orlando, FL, or Winter Haven. Call (941) 782-8242 today to get started.

Common Causes of Property Damage

In Orlando, Florida, there are many different things that can cause property damage to a house or company, including fire, water, lightning, hurricanes, mildew, wind, and sinkholes.

Fire Damage Attorneys

Water Damage Attorneys

Orlando, Florida, is particularly prone to water damage. Residential water damage can undoubtedly result from storm-related flooding, but this is not the case in the majority of cases.

Instead, defects or leaks in water heaters, HVAC systems, roofs, toilets, and sprinklers are the most typical causes of water damage in a house. Water damage can also result from leaking air conditioning equipment, broken pumps, and overflowing gutters.

Additionally, an increasing amount of flooding accidents occur in Florida homes as a result of aging pipes and water infrastructure. Water damage is the second most frequent cause of insurance claims, behind hail and wind damage. One out of every fifty insured households submits a water damage insurance claim each year.

Each year, insurance claims for water damage also became more expensive. Claims exceeding $500,000 have increased by 50% since 2015, while claims over $1 million have increased by 100%.

Damages Due to Lightning

Hurricane and Storm Damage

Florida is greatly impacted by this trend since both the frequency and intensity of storms are progressively rising.

Fifty weather-related disasters from 2018 to 2020 resulted in losses of $1 billion or more. In the U.S., there were 22 catastrophes worth a billion dollars in 2020 alone. As of 2020, there have been at least eight billion-dollar storms for ten years running. Climate-related catastrophes like hurricanes have cost the world $1.875 trillion in damage since 1980.

A house may sustain severe damage from a hurricane. If climate scientists are right, hurricane frequency and severity will only continue to rise. Damage to properties will only increase in expense, particularly in Florida.

Mold Damages

Wind Damages

One of the most frequent reasons for property damage insurance claims is wind. A property damage claim for wind-related harm affects around one in forty insured homes each year, compared to one in 350 for fire or lightning damage and one in 400 for theft.

One-quarter of all insurance claim losses are attributable to outside wind damage. In reality, wind-related damage occurs more frequently than tornado-related damage.

Hail Damage Lawyers

Hail is one of the most frequent natural disasters that result in house damage and insurance claims, accounting for 15% of all claims. Between 2019 and 2000, insured losses from hail were between $8 and $14 billion per year.

In 2020, there were a total of 4,611 large hailstorms, suggesting that, like hurricanes, the number of hailstorms is rising with time.

Hail is most often in Florida between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00 PM and between the months of May and June, despite the fact that hailstorms are famously difficult to anticipate.

Hailstorms may dent aluminum siding, shingles, and gutters in addition to causing damage to the roof. Wood shakes, asphalt roofs, and vinyl siding can all be damaged by large hail. Additionally, hailstorms can force nearby trees' limbs to split off and strike your house.

Sinkhole Damage Protection

The most unpredictable of Orlando's significant sources of property loss is probably sinkholes.

Sinkholes are ground-level fissures brought on by water erosion. The ground falls into the void, taking whatever is constructed on it with it when the subsurface caverns created by this erosion are too enormous to support the surface layer.

Unfortunately, Florida leads the way in terms of the number of sinkhole occurrences, with Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania following.

Although sinkholes are not often covered by homeowner's insurance in many areas, Florida law requires insurance providers to cover catastrophic ground cover collapse due to the state's high incidence of sinkholes. However, according to the details of the insurance, additional damage brought on by a sinkhole might not be protected.

In addition to the foundation cracking or settling, sinkholes can also cause floor cracks, wall cracks, uneven floors, cracks in window and door frames, and improperly functioning windows and doors.

The average annual sinkhole damage since 2006 is nearly $300 million. In Florida, sinkhole damage claims often cost over $140,000.

The Issues With Insurance Coverage

Types of Coverage

Levels of Coverage

There are three tiers of coverage:

• Depreciation is subtracted from the actual cash value before paying to repair or replace damaged goods.
• No depreciation is taken into account when determining the cost to repair or replace damaged property.
• Guaranteed/Extended: Even if the cost of repair or replacement exceeds the coverage limit, replacement cost pays for it. If a natural catastrophe has resulted in a lack of goods and an increase in costs, this type of strategy is extremely advantageous.

What to Do When Insurance Companies Resist

Theoretically, when you get an insurance policy, it gives you the protection you believe you may need against any dangers to your home and possessions as well as any personal injuries. Your insurance provider receives a monthly premium from you. When a calamity occurs, you then file a claim.

Adjusters from the insurance company visit your home to assess the property damage. The insurance provider writes you a check for the replacement cost of your belongings as well as any expenses related to personal injuries. Your house is restored to its previous state.

Unfortunately, dealing with insurance providers isn't always as straightforward. This is why attorneys are frequently required to intervene. The same as a driver's insurance company, Orlando property insurance firms are businesses, not temples or charitable organizations. Making money is their major objective. They achieve this by charging a client more in premiums than they compensate them for in property damage claims.

They have a built-in incentive to obtain the greatest premium they can persuade a customer to accept, and when your property is damaged, they will work to downplay, postpone, or outright reject your claim. Here is where a knowledgeable legal firm can help.

You may get started by scheduling a free consultation with a lawyer who regularly deals with the insurance industry and can help you obtain the payment you deserve.

How a Property Damage Attorney Can Help

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