Hurricane Gustav Insurance Claim Denials
Hurricane Gustav Insurance Claim Denials
The lawyers and attorneys at our firm are offering free case evaluations to individuals who have had their Hurricane Gustav insurance claims unfairly denied. Our Hurricane Gustav insurance claim denial lawyers have represented many victims of previous storms who have experienced unfair treatment at the hands of their insurance companies. If your Hurricane Gustav insurance claim has been denied, we urge you to contact one of the Hurricane Gustav insurance claim denial lawyers at our firm as soon as possible to protect your rights.
Hurricane Gustav came ashore the Louisiana Gulf Coast on September 1, 2008. Fortunately Gustav weakened to a Category 2 storm by the time it reached land. Despite the fact that Gustav was weaker than predicted, it still took a significant toll. Damage from the storm's winds and storm surge spanned from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi to Texas. Even after Gustav was downgraded to a tropical storm, the storm's significant rainfall was expected to cause problems in northeastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, northern Louisiana, as well as much of Arkansas.
Early estimates of property damage from Hurricane Gustav came in at between $3 billion and $7 billion. While these figures were lower than originally feared, our Hurricane Gustav insurance claim denial lawyers expect insurance companies to take a hard line when it comes to dealing with policyholders. In many cases, we expect they will undervalue - and even deny - legitimate property damage claims.
Insurance Company Tactics
Insurance companies are obligated by law to handle claims with good faith and fair dealing. Nearly all states have laws governing how insurers deal with claimants and call for insurers to make a written offer to settle a property damage claim in a timely manner - usually 30 days - after they have received "satisfactory proof of loss" for the claim from a policy holder. Unfortunately, when faced with a disaster like Hurricane Gustav that involves billions of dollars in damages, insurance companies often look for ways to avoid paying legitimate claims in order to protect their profits.
Our Hurricane Gustav insurance claim denial lawyers have already helped victims of other storms deal with unscrupulous insurance companies. For instance, we have worked with property owners whose legitimate Hurricane Katrina claims were denied by their insurance companies. Our experience with this disaster taught us a great deal about the tactics insurance companies will employ to avoid paying claims properly.
To save money on hurricane damage claims, insurance companies systematically low-ball claims, delay paying on them or arbitrarily change the terms of homeowners’ insurance policies. One of the major tactics that insurance companies used in Katrina was to find that property damage was caused by flooding, and not by wind. Conventional property insurance does not cover flood damage, so insurance companies used this tactic in an attempt to avoid paying thousands of claims.
In some instances, insurance companies handling Katrina claims may have acted fraudulently in finding that property damage was caused by flooding. According to a 2007 investigation by Bloomberg.com, one engineer who examined damaged Gulf Coast homes for insurers alleged that some of his reports were altered by the companies to say that homes were damaged by flood, and not by wind. In response to this despicable behavior, more than 1000 Katrina homeowners sued their insurance companies over claims, the largest number of lawsuits ever to follow a natural disaster in the US.
In other Katrina claims, insurance companies purposely offered settlements that were far below the actual value of damages. At the same time, insurance companies would unnecessarily delay paying the claims, making it more likely that an exhausted policyholder would accept the low-ball claim.
Insurance companies are still reeling from the losses they sustained from Hurricane Katrina. For that reason, our law firm expects that many insurers will employ the same tactics that were used to deny claims for that storm when they address damage claims from Hurricane Gustav.
Legal Help for Victims of Hurricane Gustav Insurance Claim Denials
If you or someone you know have had your Hurricane Gustav insurance claim denied, or if you believe that your insurance company has devalued your claim or is not treating you fairly in some other way, you have valuable legal rights. Please fill out our online form, or call 1-800 LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case with an experienced Hurricane Gustav insurance claim denial lawyer at our firm.
Legal Help for Victims of Hurrican Gustav Insurance Claim Denials
Legal Help for Victims of Hurrican Gustav Insurance Claim Denials