Texas Hurricane Damage and Insurance Claims Attorney
Hurricane season goes strong within the Atlantic Basin. It's just another thing to feature to the list of potential hazards that cause personal injury and structural damage in 2020. Texas has now experienced their first significant hurricane with Hurricane Laura, which made landfall near the Louisiana and Texas border as a Category 4 hurricane.
Year over year, Texas sees its justifiable share of hurricanes and tropical storms. However, communities still haven't fully recovered from Hurricane Harvey's turmoil and financial damage in 2017. That's why it's more important than ever, given the tenuous times we live in, that Texans understand why a Houston hurricane attorney could be in their best interest.
If you're on the Texas Gulf Coast, or other areas of Texas susceptible to hurricanes, you'll want to take a position during a Texas hurricane lawyer; here's why:
Why hire a Texas hurricane lawyer?
Hurricane Harvey was the second-costliest hurricane in our history between 1900 and today, and it could happen again. The storm, which made landfall in Texas, affected many property owners. It wrecked homes, cars, and lives in its path at an unprecedented level for Texans.
But it didn't stop there. Harvey's devastation broke another record, too. It had been the wettest hurricane in history, releasing a frightening 27 trillions of plenty of water onto Texas because it raged through Texas, devastating what was in its path.
In the aftermath of Harvey, Texas saw new laws passed that made it harder for plaintiffs to settle a lawsuit over an insurance damage claim with the full payment of their legal fees. Steeper penalties also applied to insurance companies, intending to reduce the number of frivolous suits through Texas courthouses.
For survivors of Hurricane Harvey and future natural disasters in Texas, this suggests new things to think about when making claims and seeking payment for damages. Sometimes a Houston hurricane attorney could also make sure you receive adequate compensation for property damage on insurance claims.
With many thousands of Hurricane Harvey claims, the Texas government initiated a "Help After Harvey" program that's geared at helping consumers get payments from insurance companies. If nothing else, that punctuates how important it's to possess representation in Texas if you plan to hunt damages on insurance claims that are drawn out, underpaid, or denied altogether.
Texas Insurance Law: Hurricane Coverage
Texas is one of several states that need certain hurricane losses to be covered by a hurricane deductible. This is often a separate deductible from one homeowner who would file for more typical property damage and casualties. Texas requires insurers that cover a policyholder to supply coverage of injury thanks to windstorms. This is often referred to as windstorm insurance and is out there through private insurers who operate in Texas or via the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).
Secondarily, Texans can buy flood insurance. Texas law doesn't require policyholders to possess flood insurance. However, suppose someone is buying a replacement house on a real estate loan. In that case, their lender may require flood insurance as a condition of the loan in exceptionally high-risk areas. While windstorm coverage is applied to any damage that would are avoided if the wind hadn't damaged a structure, it doesn't account for flood damage sustained through unsealed doors and windows and other vulnerabilities within the home that don't stem from wind damage. For this reason, it's favorable that Texas homeowners in risky areas invest flooding insurance, albeit they don't need to.
When should I hire a hurricane lawyer in Texas?
If you're in Houston, or any a part of Texas for that matter, you ought to call a claim attorney immediately if you experience any of the following:
- Longer than typical time to listen to back from insurance adjusters on your claim
- Outright denial of a hurricane-related claim by your homeowner's insurance
- Asked to accept an amount much less than the worth of the hurricane damage claim
- Receive misinformation or believe the corporate could also be operating in bad faith
Any of those might be a red flag. In Texas, hurricane attorneys are essential to make sure your needs as a policyholder are met.
Hurricane Harvey Insurance Claims
Looking back at hurricane damage insurance claims filed under Hurricane Harvey, Texans can get a thought of what quite vulnerabilities to their home they ought to be careful for. Here's an inventory of various sorts of hurricane damage that would affect your home:
- Damage and destruction of buildings, homes, businesses, and structures
- Flooding of residences and businesses
- Hurricane damage affecting rooftops and windows
- Water damage from exposure to elements thanks to wind damage
- Structural damage to the building infrastructure
- Wind and fire damage caused by hurricane conditions
- Total loss of private and business inventory
- Alternative living expenses and lost profit
- Agricultural losses, like livestock or seasonal crops
Losses are often severe or maybe life-altering. That's why you shouldn't wait to contact an attorney torepresent your hurricane damage claim against insurance companies who act in bad faith or make mistakes when handling your request.
How To Hire A Hurricane Lawyer In Texas
When you hire a hurricane lawyer in Texas, you would like to form sure you come prepared. That's why the method of hiring an attorney is more of a process of what to try before you create the decision. Hiring an attorney is straightforward, but pursuing your claim could take longer if you aren't prepared. Here's the way to hire an attorney in Texas, starting with what steps you ought to take before you call:
Step 1: Document Damage
It's essential to itemize damage and document the extent of your losses. Once it's safe to examine your home, do so by surveying the whole family and taking pictures of the damage and creating an inventory of inventory and determining where you experienced losses. These are belongings your insurance firm will likely want to ascertain to handle your claim, and are essential preparations for any attorney who goes to require on the insurance firm.
Step 2: Be Prompt and Timely
Don't wait to start out documenting damage. Once it's safe, begin assessing your property and taking photos directly. If the damage changes over time, as an example, unstable roof caves in, take pictures of the hurricane's progression damage to pointing out the extent of injury from once you started the claim onward.
Step 3: Take Photos Of All Damage
No damage is just too small when it involves preparing to rent an attorney. Please take pictures of all injuries and losses regardless of how insignificant you feel it's going to be. When it requires hurricane damage, it's better to possess more documentation than not enough.
Step 4: Photograph Different Angles
Expanding on the point, don't stop at one photograph of a damaged area. Instead, get an image from every angle you'll. And take close-ups, also as pictures from farther away. The goal is to completely record the extent of the damage and confirm that your attorney can see every part of the damage to your home. Then can the insurance firm assist you in avoiding an insurance dispute?
Step 5: Photograph with Proper Lighting.
Hurricane damage to crawlspaces, attics, basements, and other areas that will not be lit is often tricky to photograph. When you're assessing for property damage claims, confirm to try so during the day when there's any sunlight. If you're photographing a neighborhood that doesn't get tons of sunshine, think about using a flashlight, or merely your camera flash to form sure you've got documentation that's usable.
Step 6: Find the Proper Attorney.
When hurricane damage gets bad, policyholders, like business owners or homeowners, should hire an attorney directly before an insurance dispute occurs. But how does one know whom to hire? Search for these qualities during a hurricane lawyer to service all of your legal policy needs in Houston, Galveston, Rockport, or wherever you're on the Gulf Coast:
Experience: Your attorney should have a history of successful cases where they represented Texans with insurance claims.
Reputation: Attorneys know their reputation is everything. Before selecting an attorney, confirm you are doing a reputation check by watching reviews online and asking around to friends and family.
Appraisal: an honest hurricane damage claims attorney will send only the foremost experienced public adjusters and appraisers to examine the damage on your home and make sure you get what you would like to repair it. Your attorney knows insurance companies will have an adjuster working for them, and you ought to too.
Specialization: When handling hurricane damage, it's essential to figure with someone who understands Texas insurance law, your policy, and how it applies to policyholders. Whether you're a homeowner, business owner, or both, your attorney should be ready to show you cases like yours that they need successfully prosecuted.
Integrity: an honest attorney operates with a high level of integrity. That's especially important for Texas hurricane lawyers who often try cases where the court has got to determine the result of an insurance dispute and if an insurance firm acted in bad faith. This needs A level of skill, tact, and integrity when presenting allegations that may be damaging.
Relationship: Establishing rapport and trust are essential to the attorney-client relationship. Consider how easy it's to speak with the attorney and the way you feel once you do. If you determine rapport early, odds are you'll be ready to establish a cushty relationship together with your attorney.
By prioritizing experience, reputation, specialization, integrity, and relationship, you'll make sure the absolute best attorney is handling your case. That's precisely what you get once you partner with the firm of Eric Dick with Dick Law Firm PLLC.
Houston Hurricane Attorney: Support For Your Home and Business
The hurricane damage and insurance lawyers at the law offices of Eric Dick with Dick Law Firm PLLC know that your claim is vital. That's why we've experts waiting to talk to you about hurricane damage in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Rockport, and, therefore, the surrounding Gulf Coast areas. If you're in Texas and wish a hurricane attorney, don't wait, contact Eric Dick with Dick Law Firm PLLC so that we will start on your claim today. Hurricane Laura caused catastrophic damage from not only wind but flooding thanks to storm surge. Nobody wants to ascertain the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Ike, or Hurricane Laura. However, if it does occur, you would like the law offices of Eric Dick with Dick Law Firm PLLC to be fighting for you. Call us today for a confidential free consultation with the hurricane property damage claim experts.