Thousands of businesses and people have suffered from by the flood waters and wind of Hurricane Sandy. But those who are hoping to rebuild may likely find their hurricane insurance claims denied and many of them have real and legitimate claims to compensation. Business owners, homeowners and others who have lost their livelihoods or property along the East Coasts will soon begin filing insurance claims for such losses. In few cases, this will account the total replacement of their cars, homes and even land damage due to the recent surges. Hence, clients might face hurricane insurance issues that victims suffered after the surge: widespread denials of insurance coverage based on vague policy language. Cited below are some tips on filing a hurricane insurance claim after a surge:
- Record your losses. Log any lost items and take pictures of the damage.
- Keep all damaged and destroyed items. Your claim might be denied if you’re unable to verify the scope of the damage to your insurance company/adjuster, so don’t make any permanent repairs first and/or throw away your damaged property.
- You need to contact your insurance company. Most clients will be soon filing hurricane insurance claims at that point of time, so insurers will probably be behind on their responses. You must file your claim as soon as possible.
- Jot down your expenses. Take note of any expenses you’ve already paid for right from your own pocket such as towing un-drivable vehicles or hauling away debris.
- You also need to contact your lawyer or attorney. If your insurance claims have been denied, you should always appeal the decision to the court. A hurricane insurance attorney can help you have a better understanding of your insurance policy language and deal with the insurer on your behalf.
The insurance industry that has likely taken lumps from hurricanes and other disturbances have come to treat them quite differently in the past years. Because of this, an insurance policy in hurricane as of today comes with a potentially and special steeper hurricane deductible which kicks in when insurance hurricane claims are related to the punishing hurricanes and storms. Such deductibles were born out after the Hurricane Andrew in year 1992, into South Florida. Around $15 billion of losses are entailed from properties to infrastructures. A hurricane deductible, the 2nd deductible on some insurance policies, applies only to wreck caused by hurricanes and weather disturbances and commonly run between two percent and five percent of your property’s value.
In some cities and states with hurricane deductibles, homeowners and business owners can get a regular dollar-amount deductible just by approving to pay a greater premium, though in high risk areas, the proportion deductibles might be unavoidable. Just in the case of Hurricane Sandy, NWS had officially downgraded it from a hurricane just couple of hours prior to its landing and spared homeowners by failing to trigger the said deductibles due to the hurricane. There are still issues concerning hurricane insurances today and it is important to know everything in order to get compensated.
