Hurricane Ike Claims | Insurance Claim Disputes

Some policyholders who filed Hurricane Ike claims last fall may have had a very unsatisfying experience with their insurance company. Rather than performing due diligence with claims and paying out the funds due under the terms of the policy, some insurance companies have tried to cut corners by not providing individual policyholders with the settlement they deserve. The only recourse for some homeowners whose lives have been severely disrupted by Hurricane Ike is to dispute the offered settlement. Insurance claims disputes may turn into very lengthy, complicated proceedings, which is why smart policyholders turn to insurance claims lawyers for help.

Aside from the extreme cases of insurance bad faith claims, there are basically three ways that insurance companies fail to uphold their responsibility:

Delay: Any homeowner who has lived through Hurricane Ike or other destructive weather events knows that the first question that crosses their mind is, “How soon can I begin getting my life back together?” Unnecessary delays that cause further hardship and inconvenience become incredibly frustrating for responsible policyholders. If the goal of delaying Hurricane Ike claims is to spur the policyholder towards accepting the first available offer, then many insurance companies are quite successful.

Deny: For many homeowners, the ultimate poor outcome to their insurance disputes is the denial of their claim entirely. This denial may happen for a myriad of reasons, but many of these deal with the lack of proper property inspections. In an attempt to quickly process as many claims as possible, some companies may decide to forgo their normal inspection process in favor of a rushed, surface damage assessment. The result of such an assessment is that many claims assessors do not discover underlying structural problems that require major repair.

Underpay: The most common way insurance companies incorrectly settle insurance claims is to underpay on a policy. Usually, insurance companies are able to underpay on claims by performing inadequate assessments of the damage caused by Hurricane Ike. Insurance claims lawyers will be able carefully go through the assessment paperwork to discover if the company has performed due diligence on the claim. Homeowners deserve to have their policy pay for all of the covered repairs on their property and should not settle for an incomplete payment.

If your home was harmed by Hurricane Ike, and you are involved in insurance claims disputes, contact the attorneys at Marc Whitehead & Associates. We provide excellent legal services to Houston clients, and we are committed to providing each and every client with clear legal guidance when it comes to Hurricane Ike claims or any other legal disputes. Call us today at
713.228.8888.

Hurricane Ike Claims: Help with Insurance Claims Disputes