Important Considerations Before Hiring a Property Insurance Attorney
As of late, many policyholders seem to be subjected to more and more lawyer advertising in the quest by certain law firms to aggregate a mass number of clients from a major storm. Unfortunately, the days of providing quality representation based on the individualized needs of a particular insured do not always align with firms looking purely to maximize fees. These firms often take on far more cases than they can handle (all on contingency fees), then allow young or inexperienced associates in the first party insurance field to manage a large number of claims. Some law firms and public adjusters unethically agree to exchange their clients’ cases, so the attorney sends cases to public adjusters for appraisal in return for the public adjuster sending the attorneys cases needed for litigation.
That said, there’s no question dealing with property damage can be a stressful and overwhelming experience for any homeowner or business owner. While making temporary repairs, assessing and taking photos of the damage, and filing an insurance claim are all necessary steps to fully recoup the losses your investment sustained, it’s not uncommon for an insurance carrier to wrongly deny, delay, or underpay your valid claim. In these situations, it’s often in the best interest of the policyholder to obtain legal representation.
What Type of Claims Dispute Am I Involved In?
When unexpected property damage happens, it can immediately halt operations for your business. This will lead to the need for a commercial property damage claim to be filed with an insurance provider. Although this process is supposed to give business owners peace of mind, a variety of disputes can occur over the claim, including:
Extent of Damage: The insurance carrier and its adjusters may disagree with you on what is damaged, the extent of the damage, and even the event that caused the damage to occur. For instance, if your commercial property suffered roof damage due to a hail storm, your insurance carrier may attempt to blame the damage on regular wear and tear, often leading to a wrongful denial of the claim. Not only that, but insurers may insist your property does not need to be repaired or may grossly undervalue the appropriate scope of repairs based on an adjuster’s estimate reflecting a minimal scope of loss.
Coverage Issues: The insurance carrier may deny coverage for your entire commercial property damage claim or for specific portions of the claim that should be covered. In these instances, it’s important to review your commercial property policy to ensure you have the proper coverage in place.
Bad Faith Actions: Many wrongful acts committed by insurance carriers are classified as bad faith actions, depending on state-specific laws. The most common situations involving bad faith include the wrongful denial of a claim, gross underpayment of a claim and/or purposefully delaying a claims decision. Insurers often act in bad faith as a means to avoid paying a claim in full in order to turn a profit for themselves. Denying or delaying coverage with little to no reason is a sign you should hire legal counsel.
An insurance policy is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company. It is what the legal world calls an adhesion contract, a legally binding contract between two parties where one party has a disproportionate amount of power over the other. However, in truth, the policyholder has almost no bargaining power in their dealings with insurers aside from deciding which insurance company to select and which type of policy to purchase. Despite the seemingly unfair nature of insurance policies, they remain contracts, and these special type of contracts contain an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing.
How Do I Know When During The Claims Process I Should Hire A Property Insurance Lawyer?
The law can be complicated, especially an area as specific as commercial property insurance. Your claim may very well lead to litigation, and it is not a good idea to represent yourself in court against well-funded, extremely experienced insurance defense attorneys. Even before litigation, insurance companies are able to employ experienced adjusters and hire skilled counsel behind the scenes to throw up roadblocks. Sadly, their marching orders are often to pay the minimum amount on all claims and to deny claims whenever possible. Hiring a lawyer can also increase the amount an insurance company is willing to pay because their risk of losing in court becomes greater when you have a property insurance lawyer on your side, especially in states like Texas, where a prevailing insured can recover their reasonable and necessary attorneys’ fees, statutory interest exceeding 10% per annum, and potentially extra-contractual damages.
If you stand to lose a lot of money due to business interruption and/or extensive repairs to commercial property, you should consult with an insurance coverage lawyer. Stated differently, if you believe you have a large claim or where there is a substantial difference in the amount you or an experienced contractor believe is owed compared to what the insurance company has countered with, experienced property insurance attorneys will be able to handle your claim more skillfully and understand how to best position your claim under your specific policy in issue, likely leading to a greater monetary award in your case. Indeed, the Texas Department of Insurance has found that engaging the services of an advocate increases an insured’s payment on a property insurance claim by an average of 308% (See Texas Department of Insurance Report 85th Legislature, Senate Business and Commerce Committee Interim Charge #2, Page 16).
In addition, if you believe that your carrier has acted in bad faith or breached the terms of your policy, it’s likely time to hire a commercial insurance attorney. While it’s always a good idea to consider hiring an insurance lawyer as early as possible in the claims process, when and if your claim for property damage is outright or even partially denied, it means that the carrier does not agree with what you have alleged. Attempt to get as detailed of a response as possible as to why your property claim was denied so that you can take this information in with you to meet with lawyers. For example, it is not uncommon for insurance companies to retain a third-party engineering company to bolster the carrier’s coverage position. Regardless, make no mistake—even after a partial denial, your timeline to file a lawsuit to dispute the carrier’s decision (or be forever barred from doing so) will begin to run in most states.
The value of your time is another reason to hire a property insurance attorney. After all, some law firms specialize exclusively in property insurance disputes and handle these types of claims every day for a living. If your time is better spent working, caring for your family, or earning money outside of a lengthy claims battle, you should consider hiring a lawyer.
Finally, hiring a property insurance attorney can be essential in cases where the cause of loss is difficult to explain or prove. If you have a particularly complex claim or multiple dates when the damage could have occurred, you may want a lawyer to review your policy before you file a claim with your insurance carrier. An experience insurance coverage attorney can help you understand the legal jargon and technicalities that may impact your claim payout.
While insurance companies advertise themselves as being a lifeline for business owners when a disaster causes damage to their commercial property, they most often act in their own interests rather than those of the policyholder. In these situations, it’s important that commercial property owners consult with legal counsel to not only protect themselves but also their investment. At Lundquist Law Firm, our commercial insurance claim lawyers are well-versed in the multitude of ways insurance companies attempt to skew the claims process for their benefit. If you are a commercial property owner needing assistance with commercial policy coverage or with a wrongfully delayed, underpaid, or denied property damage claim, we can help.
What Type of Property Insurance Attorney Should I Hire (and Tips for Choosing One)?
When seeking the right property insurance attorney, experts recommend choosing an attorney specifically well-versed in insurance claims rather than a general practitioner or someone who considers themselves a ‘jack of all trades.’ Even many law firms who handle car wreck, slip and fall, and other types of personal injuries lawsuits will claim to be property insurance coverage lawyers, with a small section on their website noting they handle wind/hail property insurance disputes.
Friends, family, work colleagues, and other business owners are always a great place to start when seeking a referral. If they have worked with any type of lawyer, they may be able to recommend someone who deals with the pursuit of property insurance claims payouts through settlement and/or through litigation, where necessary.
When doing your homework on a potential hire for an insurance claims attorney, some questions to consider include:
How long has the lawyer been licensed by the state in which the insured property is located?
Does their law license have any discipline on it, and what kind?
How many property insurance carriers has the lawyer gone up against?
Does the law firm have experienced lawyers (15+ years) or one or two lawyers with some experience and a number of young associates who will actually make most of the decisions on your case?
o As part of their background and experience, have any attorneys at the firm previously defended insurers in these types of disputes?
Has the law firm ever taken a property insurance claim to trial against a carrier?
o What is the attorney’s record at trial specific to property insurance disputes?
o Inquire about any results at trial over the last 5 years.
What types of awards or accolades has the lawyer received from Bar Associations and other reputable peer-reviewed organizations?
Does the lead lawyer work directly with clients or pass the clients off to their “team?”
When you call the office, does the person who answers behave in a manner that displays courtesy, professionalism, and respect toward you and your case?
How Long Have You Been In Practice?
The number of years a lawyer has been in practice will generally directly affect the amount of experience they have. For instance, the lawyers at Lundquist Law Firm have practiced law for over 50 years combined and during that time they have successfully handled thousands of claims against all major international insurance carriers. Many less experienced lawyers have entered the property insurance practice arena, offering lower fees and other promises; but these attorneys may not have the experience needed to get you the most money possible for your claims. The team of insurance lawyers at Lundquist Law Firm has represented clients in complex insurance disputes nationwide.
Do You Have Trial Experience?
Contrary to popular belief, not all lawyers are trial lawyers with litigation experience. Although some commercial property insurance policies have language that requires disputes to be resolved through arbitration, pursuing litigation may be necessary. Litigation means that a trial is always on the horizon. The commercial property insurance lawyers at Lundquist Law Firm are well-versed in the civil litigation process and have successfully filed lawsuits and taken cases to trial on behalf of clients for insurance-related issues. Since 2017, along with our co-counsel, we remain the only lawyers who successfully went to trial on a commercial property insurance claim against any insurance company stemming from a denied Hurricane Harvey claim—obtaining a record-setting verdict in the process.
How Much Do I Pay In Attorneys’ Fees?
Since you are hiring a property insurance lawyer to help you recover financial damages, it is important to ask how much of your recovery the law firm will be taking as a fee. There are many different options for legal fee structuring. While under most state laws, insurance companies are obligated to pay all attorneys’ fees and costs if your lawyer wins the case, regardless, you will not have to pay us any fees or costs unless and until we recover money for you. Our firm handles cases on what is called a “contingency fee” basis. In a contingent fee arrangement, the lawyer agrees to accept a fixed percentage of the client’s recovery. If the client wins the case, the lawyer’s fee comes out of the money awarded to the client. If the client loses the case, neither the client nor the lawyer will get any money, but the client will not be required to pay the attorneys for the work done or expenses incurred on the case.
Boost Your Chances of Success with Lundquist Law Firm
As property insurance attorneys focused exclusively on helping clients interpret insurance policies, understand their rights, and recover their losses every day, the attorneys at Lundquist Law Firm are well-positioned to assist clients with disputed insurance claims in any state. All of our attorneys previously defended carriers in these exact types of disputes. For over 20 years, we have helped policyholders with their insurance claims. Additionally, as a smaller firm with only experienced lawyers, we offer greater attention to detail and always approach each case as though it is going to trial, not just settlement, appraisal or mediation.