Will Your Property Insurance Company Deny Your Storm Damage Claim?
If a catastrophic weather event damages your property in Texas, who can help you with your storm damage claim? If your claim is denied, you’ll need the services of a Texas storm damage lawyer. When preparing your claim, you should consider seeking help from a public adjuster.
Tornadoes, hurricanes, and hailstorms cause extensive property damage in Texas. After a severe weather event, Texas property owners sometimes do not receive the payouts they need from their insurance companies.
When you know what your property insurance policy covers, how to submit a property damage claim, how to provide evidence of your damages, and what the claims process entails, you will be in the best position to deal with your property insurance company.
How Common is Severe Weather in Texas?
More tornadoes strike Texas than any other state – 169 in 2024 – and only Florida is hit by more hurricanes. The weather that causes severe property damage can happen anywhere in Texas at almost any time:
- Historic floods hit San Antonio in 1921 and again in 1998, and over 13 inches of snow fell there in 1985.
- Destructive tornadoes struck Dallas in 1957 and again in 2019, and an extreme cold wave hit the city in 1989.
- Austin almost routinely experiences heat waves, severe winter storms, tornadoes, and heavy rainfall that causes flooding.
What Do Public Adjusters Do?
Public adjusters and storm damage lawyers work for property owners and help those property owners recover the payouts they need to repair their storm-damaged properties.
Public adjusters are insurance adjusters, but they don’t work for insurance companies. Instead, they work for policyholders to recover the maximum available payout amounts for those policyholders. They are licensed and regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI).
Public adjusters understand insurance policies, property damage, and repair costs. When you hire a public insurance adjuster, that adjuster will thoroughly assess your property damage and document every detail, including hidden damage such as water infiltration and structural issues.
Comprehensive documentation of your property damage must accompany your damage claim. Public insurance adjusters use technology that includes infrared cameras and drones for aerial inspections to ensure that no property damage is overlooked or undocumented.
What Can a Public Adjuster Provide?
When hiring a public adjuster, contact the TDI to ensure the adjuster is licensed and determine if the adjuster has been the subject of any complaints or disciplinary actions. An adjuster’s fee is usually a percentage of the final payout your insurance company makes.
A public adjuster knows how to identify damages that may not be apparent to others and ensure these damages are part of your claim. Your adjuster will present a final damage report to your insurance company and negotiate for a payout that covers all of your property damages.
In some cases, a public adjuster and an insurance company’s adjuster will settle a claim with no dispute or controversy. If your property insurer still denies your claim or offers you a “lowball” payout amount, you’ll need the services of a Texas storm damage attorney.
Who Can Provide Property Owners With Legal Assistance?
In Texas, it is illegal for contractors, including restoration and roofing contractors, to negotiate your property damage claim with an insurance company, and a contractor may not hire an adjuster to negotiate the claim. Only the property owner may hire a public adjuster or an attorney.
Insurance adjusting requires special training and licensing, but public adjusters do not practice law and cannot provide legal advice. However, before an attorney negotiates directly with an insurance company for you, that attorney will need to see the adjuster’s report (if you have one).
If your property insurance company continues to deny your damage claim after negotiating with your public adjuster, or if you believe the insurance company is not operating or negotiating in good faith, contact a Texas storm damage attorney to discuss your legal options.
Why Are Storm Damage Claims Denied?
Property insurance companies may deny severe weather damage claims for the following reasons:
- Exclusion clauses in some property insurance policies – especially in Texas – do not cover flood damage or wind damage. Take the time to review your policy to determine if you need additional coverage.
- You failed to pay your premiums. Ensure your payments have been made before you file a claim for severe weather damage.
- You missed the deadline for filing your claim. It is essential to know and meet the filing deadline. Your policy should tell you what that deadline is, or you should ask your insurance company.
- Some severe weather damage claims are wrongly denied because an insurance company is operating, either negligently or intentionally, in bad faith. If you believe you are a target of insurance bad faith, promptly consult a Texas storm damage lawyer.
How Do Storm Damage Lawyers Assist Property Owners?
Your storm damage lawyer will provide you with sound, personalized legal advice, negotiate for a fair payout from your property insurance company, and, if necessary, take legal steps against that insurance company to recover what you need for property repairs.
If your property insurance claim is rejected or if you believe you are the target of insurance bad faith, now or in the future, your first legal consultation with Stormlex Law Group is offered without cost or obligation.
Stormlex Law Group Represents Homeowners in Every Part of Texas
If you and your lawyer agree to take legal action against your property insurance company, you will owe no lawyer’s fee to Stormlex Law Group unless and until the insurance company pays your claim. A court may even order the insurance company to pay your lawyer’s fee.
With over fifty years of combined legal experience, the attorneys at Stormlex Law Group have settled more than 12,000 property damage claims. We have recovered millions of dollars for property owners in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and every part of Texas.
We know what it takes to recover the payout you need. If your severe weather damage claim has been denied or is denied in the future, contact Stormlex Law Group immediately and schedule your no-cost legal consultation by calling us at 877-890-6372.
