If so, our Florida insurance claims lawyers here at Leader & Leader P.A. want to help you make an informed decision your homeowner’s insurance company may be trying to deceive you out of obtaining.
How familiar are you with your homeowner’s insurance policy and the hidden clauses that may be lurking in the terms of it? As a homeowner in Florida, you know flooding and other water damage is common among many homes and leaves an abundant amount of individuals struggling with the cost of repairs. While your insurer wants you to believe that they have your best interest in mind as they attempt to reduce the amount of work and money you are required to put into mending your home with their “managed repair” clause, our insurance claims attorneys are here to tell you that you may want to rethink and reevaluate whether or not your insurer is providing you with top of the line service. Sadly, in a very high percentage of claims, insurance companies do not act with the insureds best interests in mind by frequently improperly denying all or aspects of the claim or woefully underpaying what the insured is entitled to.
While you are required to make your monthly premium payments to your insurer regardless of whether or not you can afford it, if you want your home protected, it is the lengths you must go in order to ensure it stays covered in the event a disaster arises. But, for those whose home has sustained a significant amount of damage, whether it be to your roof or flooring, consider treading cautiously as you allow your insurer to take hold of your claim and remove your rights to provide input on who and how your home is repaired.
If you haven’t heard of the “managed repair” clause, we are here to tell you that as of recently, many individuals have come forward with complaints rather than compliments regarding this clause many didn’t even know existed. Our Florida insurance lawyers explain that when your “managed repair” clause comes into effect, your insurer will ask you to sign and provide consent for them to take hold of your claim, hire a contractor, and send them out to make the repairs they believe are necessary while you sit back and “relax.” In most instances, the insurance company has the sole right of election of the managed repair provision but in most cases, they have to invoke the right in writing within thirty days of the claim being made. They will then try to force their vendors but you are not always obligated to have their people pushed upon you, depending upon the language of your policy of insurance.
Unfortunately, many dissatisfied consumers are claiming their homes have incurred more damage than restoration, and others are being forced to come out-of-pocket in the thousands for their home to undergo the necessary repairs to get it back to a livable and comfortable state. You are generally entitled to have your home brought back to its “pre loss condition”. By way of example, if flooring is damaged in one small area but runs throughout the house, they may be required to replace the flooring in the entire house. As another example, if molding in one hall or room has be changed but cannot be matched to the rest of the house, they may have to replace it in the entire house. A third common example is with kitchens. If there is water or fire damage to portion of the kitchen (i.e. cabinet or counter) and it cannot be repaired or replaced to match everything else, the insurance company may be obligated to pay to replace the entire kitchen.
What is worse, the quality of the parts and labor used by the managed or preferred vendors of your insurance carrier may be sub-standard to what you had at the time of your loss; this is not acceptable and need not be tolerated. This is one of many reasons you should contact competent insurance lawyers like Leader & Leader, P.A. as soon as you become aware, suspect or concerned that you may have a claim. They should be your first call before your insurance carrier or a public adjuster. Sometimes public adjusters are incredibly useful and important but often (in non hurricane related claims) they contract to take twenty percent (20%) of what you recover from the insurance company. In many instances, Leader & Leader, P.A. can successfully handle your claim without the need of a public adjuster saving you twenty percent of your money which will stay in your pocket for the necessary repairs.
If you have recently experienced a similar situation and are looking for some input from a skilled and experienced insurance claims law firm in Florida, Leader and Leader, P.A. can assist you with any matter, regardless of how complex it may be.
Our qualified insurance claim lawyers possess determination and display dedication to our clients, and we understand how inconvenient it must be to have been displaced from your home while getting it rebuilt or repaired only to learn the contractor you had no say in hiring has caused you more of a hardship than you had prior to having any work done. Call and speak with a compassionate attorney here at Leader & Leader P.A. today and learn the ways in which we can help you with this unfortunate circumstance you have been forced to face.
