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What to do when you have a claim.
- Report your claim immediately: Report the loss or damage to your insurance company and/or insurance agent. Ask to receive written confirmation of the insurer's receipt of the claim. Sometimes the claim is not properly documented by the insurer and they later try to state the claim was untimely made or the insured failed to provide timely notice.
- Find your insurance policy: If you don't have one, when you report the claim, ask for a copy of your policy to be delivered to you immediately. If you don’t have a copy of your policy, the insurance company is required to provide you with a copy at your request. The policy sets forth your rights, duties and responsibilities under the policy of insurance as well as the insurance company's. Without your policy, you likely will not know your responsibilities and the actions you must take to obtain a recovery or assistance under the policy.
- Document everything. Keep copies of any document given to you by your insurer, your agent, or even your mortgage lender. This includes all correspondence you receive, as well as copies of anything you send the insurer or any other person or entity regarding the loss. Take notes of every telephone conference or personal meeting with an insurance adjuster, agent, investigator or anyone asking you questions regarding your loss, and try to confirm the conversation in writing with a letter to the insurer. This includes each time you call and cannot reach the person you are calling and you have to leave a message with someone else or a voice mail. This is VERY important. Keep all the documents and your notes in one place, preferably a secure folder. If you have incurred expenses because of the loss,...renting a hotel room, clothing, food, buying something to clean, repair or cover the damage, keep the receipts. You will likely be able to recoup this money later.
- Photograph the damage. The more photos the better. If you have experienced a loss to your property or a physical injury, take as many photos as possible of the loss or damages you have suffered. You may be able to effectively describe the extent of the loss or its effect on you, but nothing assists people (including adjusters, agents, attorneys and potentially jury members) to understand the physical damage like a photograph. During the repair, demolition, cleanup or rebuilding take more photos.
- Early settlement offers: Occasionally an insurance company will make a quick settlement offer on a claim. Usually, this is indicative of an incomplete evaluation or damage analysis by your insurer which results in a low settlement offer. Request documentation explaining how they arrived at the extent of damages and an explanation, in writing, of all coverages available to you under the policy. While a quick settlement offer may seem to be a lot of money or a fair offer at first, these offers are usually insufficient to cover the loss you actually suffered. Always remember that no matter how friendly, interested in you or eager to assist you the insurance adjuster may appear, he or she is an employee of the insurance company and many times has the company’s best interests at heart, not yours.
- Settlement Checks: If you are not represented by a professional who regularly litigates against insurance companies, you should never accept a check indicating that the payments are a full and final settlement or if the settlement check indicates a possible release of the insurance company. Before you endorse and deposit any settlement check, carefully read both sides of the check and the letter with which it came. If you are not sure what the effect of the language on the check means, seek legal assistance before signing the check. Many times the language located on the check is misunderstood or overlooked by an insured. Other times an insurance adjuster may tell you not to worry about that language. That could be a fatal mistake regarding any remaining portions of your claim. Releasing your insurance company or cashing a check noted as "Final Payment," "Full Payment" or "Full Settlement" may eliminate your ability to recover additional damages to which you may be entitled under your insurance policy, or that were simply not found, noticed or were ignored by the insurance company. Remember that you always have the right to consult with an attorney and if you are told by the insurance adjuster you do not need one, it should be a warning sign to you that something is wrong. If the insurer's damage estimate and ultimately the settlement offer is low, you do not have to accept the offer.
- You May need help. Most people are overwhelmed after a major loss, especially if it is to their home or business. After you report the loss, the insurance adjuster may ask for information, documents or even a sworn statement. You are required to cooperate with them in these requests because these are rights they have under the policy. Don’t try to handle this alone. Consult with an experienced Insurance Lawyer. If the insurance company delays the adjustment or payment of your claim, get legal assistance. If your insurer takes a position that the damages are not as severe as you think, that there is no coverage for the loss or that the loss is only partly covered, it will only add to your frustration and confusion. An experienced insurance attorney will be able to assist you.
- Hire an Insurance Attorney: The layman or even an attorney who is inexperienced in dealing with insurance claims may find dealing with an insurance dispute extremely difficult and frustrating. Mr. Wells has over 23 years of experience in the insurance industry and has previously represented insurance companies, so he is familiar with their positions, arguments and tactics. He is also aware of the difficulty in finding experienced insurance attorneys. Not all attorneys are well versed in taking on an insurance company in a coverage dispute or know not only what bad faith actions by an insurer are, but also know how to properly preserve a bad faith claim. Because of this, many of Mr. Wells clients are referred by other attorneys when their clients are denied coverage or underpaid by their insurance company. We provide our clients representation on a contingency fee basis where our client pays us no fees or costs unless we make a recovery on their behalf.
- Tell the truth. An insured, or someone seeking insurance coverage, always needs to remember that even an innocent misstatement in the application for insurance or a materially false statement on any insurance claim form may be used as a basis to deny your claim. Always be truthful with your insurer. There are civil and criminal penalties for filing false claims or attempting to defraud an insurer.
Wells Law Group - Representing families and businesses in disputes with insurance companies throughout Florida.
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