Here’s What You Should Avoid When Filing a Hurricane Insurance Claim
Hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida. They are so prevalent, in fact, that they have their own season and insurance damage coverages. Hurricanes inflict catastrophic damages when they make landfall, leveling homes and flooding entire towns. The financial loss caused is staggering, both on an individual and an aggregate level. For many, filing a hurricane insurance claim on their Miami home insurance is their only hope for rebuilding or restoring life to some sense of normalcy.
The process of filing a hurricane insurance claim with your Miami home insurance is a complex procedure lined with multiple obstacles, each a legitimate reason to deny your claim. Navigating the intricate claims process without making mistakes can help ensure your claim is processed quickly and proficiently to get you the money you need after a disaster. Here are some of the most prevalent mistakes to avoid when filing a hurricane claim with your Miami home Insurance.
Not Properly Documenting Damage
Properly documenting hurricane damage is critical to your claim. It directly impacts how quickly your claim is processed and the amount that is paid on your claim. It’s inherently important to take multiple clear photographs of the damage from several perspectives.
While pictures are worth a thousand words, they aren’t the only documentation of the damage required. You should also take a detailed inventory of all damaged possessions belonging to everyone in the family home. You’ll also want to make copies of all quotes for repair work and invoices paid relating to your home’s damages.
Failing to Get Professional Assistance
Professional assistance is absolutely necessary when filing a hurricane claim on your Miami home insurance. In fact, your homeowner’s insurance is hoping you don’t know this. They make a large portion of their profits by denying claims, often legitimate claims. They are not being unscrupulous, it’s a common practice in the insurance industry.
Getting professional assistance to file your hurricane claim helps streamline the process and ensures your claim is paid in a timely fashion. It also increases the amount of the settlement offer from the insurance company and reduces the chances of claim denial. Professional assistance is like having a second person to handle important administrative tasks so that you can focus on your family when they need you most.
Not Filing an Immediate Claim
Many insurance contracts outline strict timelines for filing claims on a Miami home insurance policy. Reporting damages promptly within that time frame is critical to ensuring those damages are covered and your claim is approved. It is also an important part of showing that the damages you are claiming came strictly from the hurricane and not anything else.
As earlier stated, home insurance companies often search for reasons to deny a claim because it saves them money. Waiting too long to file your hurricane claim virtually hands the insurance company a vital reason to reject your request for payment of damages. It is always best to submit hurricane claims on your Miami Home Insurance immediately or as soon as possible.
Not Including Additional Living Expenses
Hurricanes are traumatic and when residents return to uninhabitable homes, that trauma often turns to shock and awe. Many times, it’s all they can do to get by on a daily basis. They have no idea where they will stay or what they will feed their family. If they have small children or elderly parents to care for, their burden and stress is only increased during this delicate time.
Victims are often so focused on submitting their claim and doing it properly, they forget to include additional living expenses. These are written into most Miami home insurance policies to include the cost of meals, transportation, and hotel accommodations when the home is rendered uninhabitable. Having these expenses covered can be a life saver and reduce an already inordinate amount of stress.
Accepting the Initial Offer
Even Miami home insurance providers are profit driven companies, so they will always consider their interests first. If they are making a settlement offer for hurricane damages, then you know you have a legitimate claim, and it is probably worth much more than what they are offering. Insurance companies always attempt to offer minimal compensation because it saves them money.
They never offer the full amount customers are entitled to, and especially not in the very first settlement offer. Working with a professional who is well versed in Miami home insurance laws and hurricane coverages can help ensure you get every single penny you are entitled to for damages. They know hoe to represent your interests and negotiate a fair settlement offer with the insurance company.
Read Your Miami Home Insurance Policy Today
Reading over your Miami home insurance policy can help familiarize you with your hurricane coverage. It helps ensure you are aware of the deadlines for filing claims and the ceiling on daily living expenses for your family. It also gives you a chance to ensure your policy includes coverage for hurricane damage because it isn’t always standard. Sometimes you must select this coverage and it can often be overlooked. Be sure you have an emergency plan, and you file any necessary claims immediately. Take the time to document the damages properly and extensively. Then, get professional assistance submitting a hurricane claim for payment through your Miami home Insurance.