Sarasota, Florida Hurricane Ian Insurance Claims Lawyers

Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC are Sarasota, Florida hurricane Ian insurance claims lawyers who may be able to help you if your insurance claim was denied or underpaid. If your property was damaged in hurricane Ian and you have questions about your rights and next steps when it comes to making your homeowner’s insurance claim, Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC may be able to help you. Our Sarasota, Florida hurricane Ian insurance claims lawyers can help families appeal denied claims.

Hurricane Ian was one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit Florida in the past hundred years, and caused widespread damage to Sarasota properties. Schools are facing indefinite closures due to damage, and reports indicate that Sarasota residents have sustained millions of dollars worth of damages in the wake of hurricane Ian. The recovery process for Sarasota, Florida following hurricane Ian is likely to require months of repairs and rebuilding.

If your home was damaged in hurricane Ian in Sarasota, Florida, you may be facing a range of challenges. Some homeowners might find that their homeowner’s insurance claim might be denied or underpaid. Insurance companies might sometimes use complicated calculations to determine depreciation and the value of damages. If you don’t understand the fine print of your policy, you might end up accepting a settlement that is lower than you might deserve. If the settlement your insurance company is offering you and your family after hurricane Ian is lower than the cost of repairs or lower than you expected, you may want to speak to the Sarasota, Florida hurricane Ian insurance claims lawyers at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC who may be able to help you appeal a denied or underpaid claim.

A Hurricane Ian Insurance Claim Denial Lawyer in Sarasota, Florida May Be Able to Help You

A homeowner’s insurance claim might be denied for many reasons. The hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC may be able to get to the bottom of why your claim was denied and fight to help you get the settlement you need to rebuild after the storm. If you believe your homeowner’s insurance claim was wrongfully denied or underpaid, reach out to the hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC. Here are some reasons why homeowner’s insurance claims might sometimes be denied:

• Your Home Was Flooded and You Don’t Have Flood Insurance. Standard homeowner’s insurance policies don’t cover flood damage. To have flood insurance, you’ll need to purchase separate coverage provided by the National Flood Insurance Program. Unfortunately, with sea levels rising and storms growing more severe, the flood maps haven’t always kept up with the regions that can suffer flooding. If your home was flooded and you don’t have flood insurance, your insurance company won’t pay for flood damage. To make matters more complicated, some standard homeowner’s insurance policies will exclude all coverage for all water damage if a home was flooded, even if water damage came from multiple sources (for example, from flooding and rain). If your homeowner’s insurance policy doesn’t have this kind of exclusion, you could face additional challenges with your water damage claim because it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between water damage and flood damage. A hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyer in Sarasota, Florida like Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC may be able to help you with your claim, especially if water damage is in question.
• You Didn’t Submit Your Claim on Time. You may only have a limited time to submit proof of loss forms and your insurance claim. If you have submitted required forms, you should be okay. But sometimes, in the aftermath of a major storm, insurance companies and adjusters lose track of important documents. If your insurance company is denying your claim, saying you didn’t submit documents on time, the hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyers in Sarasota, Florida may be able to help you appeal the decision, and help you gather documentation to support that you met deadlines.
• You Weren’t Covered. If you failed to pay your premiums on time or failed to renew your coverage, you may not be covered and may not be able to make a claim. Yet sometimes when insurance companies claim that coverage lapsed, it is due to errors of their own recordkeeping rather than actual lapsed coverage. A Sarasota, Florida hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyer at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC may be able to assist you if your claim was denied because your insurance company wrongfully claims that you failed to pay premiums or let your coverage lapse.
• Failing to Secure Your Property After Ian. You have a responsibility to make temporary repairs to prevent further damage to your home. If your roof was damaged, or if windows were damaged, and you fail to board up the windows or use a tarp to protect your home, you could be liable for any additional damages your home sustains after the storm as a result of your failure the secure your property. If you have furniture or other items in your home and you fail to protect these items if your home was severely damaged, your insurance company may not reimburse you for losses you suffered after the storm. Yet, hurricane Ian has raised unique challenges for property owners. Bridges were destroyed and in some cases homeowners were not able to return to their properties for days or even weeks after the storm. In some instances, insurance adjusters may claim that damage happened after the storm when the damage happened during the hurricane. If you find that your insurance company is denying your claim on the basis that you failed to secure your property, the hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC are here to help you.
• Insurance Coverage. The kind of insurance coverage you have will determine how much you’ll receive to rebuild and recover. There are two main types of homeowner’s insurance coverage: actual cash value coverage and replacement cost insurance. Replacement cost insurance typically costs more month to month but should reimburse you the full cost of repairs. This means if your roof was damaged, your insurance should pay for repairs in full. If furniture was damaged or electronics destroyed, your insurance company should pay the cost to replace these items. But, if you have actual cash value insurance, your insurance company can take into account depreciation. We all know an old roof is worth less than a new one, an older computer worth less than a newer one, and older furniture not worth as much as new items. With actual cash value insurance, your insurance adjuster can use algorithms and formulas to take into account the age of the items lost. With this insurance, you might need to pay out of pocket if you need to buy new items and may pay out of pocket for certain repairs. If you don’t know which policy you have, or believe your adjuster took too much money off the value of your items for depreciation (it happens, the blue book value of a car may not reflect the actual cost of a used car in your neighborhood), then the hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC may be able to help you.
• Bad Faith. Insurance companies have an obligation to honor their insurance contract. Sadly, sometimes insurance companies break the law, misrepresent the fine print of a policy, or fail to properly investigate claims. If you believe your homeowner’s insurance claim was denied or underpaid in bad faith, the hurricane Ian insurance claim denial lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC are here to help you.

These are just some of the reasons why a homeowner’s insurance claim might be denied. If you find yourself unsure why your claim was denied, Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC in Sarasota, Florida may be able to help you. Contact us today to learn more.

A Sarasota, Florida Hurricane Ian Homeowner’s Insurance Claim Denial Lawyer Can Help Protect Your Rights

Under the Florida homeowner’s claim bill of rights, you have important rights when you file a claim. A Sarasota, Florida hurricane Ian homeowner’s insurance claim denial lawyer at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC can help protect these rights. What are they? They include:

• The right to receive acknowledgement of your claim within 14 days of letting your homeowner’s insurance company know your claim was denied.
• The right to receive notice within 30 days of submitting proof of loss forms. The notice should let you know whether your claim is fully covered, partially covered, denied, or under investigation.
• The right to have your claim paid within 90 days of submitting proof of loss forms. If your claim is covered in full, you should be paid in full by this time. If your claim is partially covered and you dispute the claim, your insurance company should pay you for the undisputed portion. And if your claim was denied, your insurance company should inform you in writing that your claim was denied.

If your homeowner’s insurance company has failed to meet these deadlines, you may have rights. For example, if your payment is late, you may have the right to receive interest payments for the late payment. Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC is a hurricane Ian homeowner’s insurance claim denial lawyer in Sarasota, Florida that may be able to help you with your claim. 

A Sarasota, Florida Hurricane Ian Property Damage Lawyer Can Help You Meet Your Responsibilities 

If your property or home was damaged in hurricane Ian, these might be some of the most stressful weeks of your life. At Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC, we understand the unique challenges homeowners face in the aftermath of a hurricane. Our Sarasota, Florida hurricane Ian property damage lawyers can help you meet your responsibilities to help you get the settlement you may deserve. Homeowners have important responsibilities in the aftermath of a storm to ensure a fair and timely settlement of their claims. What are these responsibilities? They include:

• The responsibility to report the damages to your homeowner’s insurance company.
• The responsibility to document all losses and to submit proof of loss forms by your insurance company’s deadlines.
• The responsibility to get estimates from contractors.
• The responsibility to follow up with insurance companies and adjusters to help them investigate your claim as needed.
• The responsibility to prevent further damage to your property after the storm.
• The responsibility to avoid signing any contracts with contractors before your claim has been properly investigated and to check contractor’s licenses before signing any contracts.

The hurricane Ian property damage lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC can help you with your claim if it has been denied or underpaid. We can review the information you sent to your insurance company, and see whether your adjuster might require additional information. We understand how stressful the recovery process can be and are here to help you every step of the way.

Contact the Hurricane Ian Property Damage Insurance Claims Lawyers in Sarasota, Florida Today

inflammatory changes The hurricane Ian property damage insurance claims lawyers in Sarasota, Florida at Leader, Leader, & Zucker, PLLC are here to help you every step of the way. We can evaluate your claim, help you gather information to support your claim, and appeal a wrongfully denied or underpaid claim. We are here to help you rebuild. Contact us today to learn more about your rights.