HURRICANE DAMAGE INSURANCE CLAIMS

Hurricanes, tropical storms, and other windstorms now account for the highest cause of loss for businesses. The Gulf Coast has been particularly hard hit over the past decade. Combined, Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Ike resulted in $15 billion worth of hurricane insurance claims filed in Texas alone. Some estimates put Harvey’s commercial hurricane damage insurance claims to businesses at over $35 billion. More recently, the damages from the May 16, 2024 windstorm event in Houston with over 100+ MPH winds are currently predicted to be $5-$7 billion. The Houston storm was ruled to be a derecho, a widespread, long-lived windstorm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms that produces wind damage along a path length of at least 240 miles. The recorded damages were remarkably similar to the impact from Hurricane Ike in 2008, according to AccuWeather. Finally, after Hurricane Beryl on July 8, 2024, many Texas insureds are still grappling with the devastation left in its wake by the Category 1 hurricane.

It is no secret that hurricanes and tropical storms cause extensive damage to building structures. High winds cause differential pressure inside and outside of buildings, compromising roofs, walls, windows, and doors. Once structural elements in your building envelope are damaged or destroyed, water can get in. Rainwater and storm surge complicate the damages caused by hurricane and tropical storm winds and debris, bringing with them the strong possibility of mold growth.

Insurance policies often contain limited coverage for items such as debris removal, wind-driven rain, and mold remediation, making it imperative to strategically categorize and present your recovery costs in order to maximize your available insurance coverage. A thorough grasp of the details of your business interruption, extra expense, code & ordinance upgrade, ICC, and other relevant coverages will help put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to navigating your hurricane insurance claim. Understanding the specific language of your commercial property insurance coverages and exclusions is critical to making sure you get everything you’re entitled to under your policy.

Commercial Property Damage Hurricane and Windstorm Insurance Attorneys

Commercial property owners have insurance coverage to ensure that a catastrophic wind or hail storm, fire or water loss doesn’t destroy the financial stability of the business venture or cause the property investment to decline or become a total loss.

For commercial property owners waiting for their hurricane damage claim to be honored, it is advantageous to seek legal assistance to combat your insurer’s bad faith tactics. A commercial property damage insurance lawyer experienced in catastrophes can pursue bad faith claims in court and ensure the insured receives the money needed to repair their property.

Ideally, insurance companies would be understanding of the devastation caused by a storm and would pay out claims in a timely and fair manner after a natural disaster. Unfortunately, this is often not the way things work in the insurance industry, and commercial property insurance disputes commonly remain unsettled for several years. Whether it’s a major commercial lines insurer, a surplus lines carrier not directly licensed in a particular state, a Lloyds entity or other insurance group, our hurricane insurance claim attorneys understand the goals, tactics, and methods that the insurance industry employs in the handling of hurricane damage insurance claims. Here in Texas and across the United States, we handle a full range of insurance disputes, including many for small and medium-sized businesses pursuing fair settlements after suffering severe property damage caused by a hurricane.

Commercial hurricane insurance claims are often focused on:

• Whether repair or replacement of the commercial property is appropriate

• The cause of the loss and whether it is covered under the insurance policy

• The cost of commercial property repairs

• The loss of value of the investment or the loss of business income caused by the commercial property damage

• The estimated value of business equipment or other insured items destroyed by the storm

• The replacement cost of the commercial property if the building was damaged beyond repair

• Extent of business interruption due to direct physical loss, and the degree of temporary lost income

• Whether any reasonable and necessary expenses were incurred to prevent or minimize a shutdown

• What period of restoration applies when the covered damage is, or reasonably could have been, repaired, or when the business resumes operations at a new permanent location

For most, one of the most difficult aspects of considering whether to even make an insurance claim is determining whether the damage exceeds the deductible. This requires a careful assessment of the extent of the damage and the cost of repairs or replacement. In some cases, policyholders may find that the cost of repairs is lower than their deductible, not making it financially viable to file a claim.

However, it's essential to consider the long-term implications of not filing a claim, such as being unprepared for future disasters or worse—being legally barred from pursuing your claim at some point. The rationale is simple: when roofs are subject to multiple storm occurrences over a period of time, the legal burden to segregate out which damages were caused by a particular storm falls on the policyholder, NOT the insurance company. Texas law requires that an insured prove which storm caused the damages they are claiming to the exclusion of other storms. So if your commercial property may have been damaged, it is extremely important to have a trusted contractor or other expert inspect to identify damages. We work with some of the best forensic experts in the country, and routinely assist commercial policyholders determine the extent of their covered loss from hurricanes.

Insurance companies will often try to pay out as little as possible, significantly underestimating the extent of losses, or misrepresenting the cause of the loss. Other times insurers will delay or deny legitimate hurricane damage insurance claims with the hope policyholders will eventually give up their fight. Insurance policyholders do have legal recourse, however. Commercial property owners can protect their investments by contacting a proven commercial hurricane property lawyer for hurricane insurance claim.

Our experienced attorneys have a strong grasp of insurance law and various types of insurance coverage, enabling us to build strong cases for trial or negotiation on behalf of our clients. We are prepared to handle insurance lawsuits arising out of:

• Commercial property policies

• Commercial package policies covering a portfolio of properties

• Property Owners and Home Owners Association coverages

• Business interruption loss coverage and claims

• Policies covering churches

The Lundquist Law Firm has experience resolving hurricane property insurance claims with the following carriers:

Choose a Law Firm with Experience Handling Commercial Property Hurricane Damage Insurance Claims

The ownership and management of real estate can be complicated, and an insurance dispute involving damage to commercial properties is highly specialized. Our attorneys have developed a national reputation handling commercial property disputes involving a variety of types of properties, each of which have unique characteristics that need to be evaluated during an insurance lawsuit. Our experience includes:

• School districts of all sizes throughout Texas

• Apartment complexes and other multi-family properties

• Office buildings of all sizes

• Churches and other houses of worship

• Hotel and motel properties

• Retail and strip centers

• Industrial buildings

• Gas stations and convenience stores

• Homeowners and Property Owners Associations

A commercial property insurance dispute requires in-depth investigation and the specialized, technical knowledge that comes from experience. Lundquist Law Firm has represented business owners, church and association boards, investment trusts and other commercial property owners throughout the nation against virtually every major insurance carrier.

All of our attorneys previously defended carriers in these exact types of disputes. Unlike most firms, this is all we do—our entire practice is dedicated to helping policyholders get the just compensation they deserve for their properties following storms. Indeed, for over 20 years, we have helped policyholders with their hurricane damage insurance claims, collecting almost $320 million in confidential settlements from carriers for our clients. Additionally, as a smaller firm, we offer greater attention to detail and a hands-on approach. No matter how solid your claim, insurance companies will always look to protect themselves and try to avoid paying you what you are owed. We are a nationally recognized bad faith insurance litigation law firm that is familiar with the tactics insurance companies often use to deny claims. Our attorneys counter with successful strategies, including hiring professional roofing inspectors and engineers to fully inspect the nature of the damage to find clear, physical evidence of property damage covered under the specific terms of your policy. This allows us to have a detailed, comprehensive estimate of the real damage to your property and how much we should seek in claim compensation on your behalf. Our use of professional experts, contractors, and engineers sets us apart from other insurance litigation firms. We approach each case as though it is going to trial, not just settlement, appraisal or mediation.

Want your lawyers to have a proven track record? Since 2017, in addition to our co-counsel, we are the only law firm 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. The final judgment was entered by the judge for over $4.200,000, which TopVerdict determined to be the #1 Texas verdict against any insurance company in 2020.  On October 3, 2024, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals affirmed our state court judgment and rejected all the carrier’s arguments.

What You Can Expect from Lundquist Law Firm

You pay for insurance to be protected in the event of a disaster, and an experienced commercial property damage lawyer will fight to ensure insurance works the way it should. When the insurer acts in bad faith, it pays to have an advocate on your side. We will fully review your insurance coverage, determine policy compliance issues, develop an insurance claim management strategy, complete detailed valuations of building, equipment and inventory losses, formulate business interruption models, assemble comprehensive claim presentations with expert reports and, if necessary, proceed to litigation against the insurance carrier.

Our law firm is one of the few in the country that has successfully pursued bad faith claims against insurance companies, and we are uniquely prepared to fight on your behalf to recover the insurance proceeds you’re entitled to. We work on a contingency-fee basis, which means you owe us nothing if we are unsuccessful. And we handle hurricane claims prior to litigation at a significantly reduced contingency fee. We also front the case expenses necessary to combat the insurance company in litigation. We promise to aggressively pursue your rights under the insurance policy if your hurricane insurance claim was delayed, underpaid, or denied. Of note, 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%.*

To learn more about the legal assistance we can provide on your hurricane insurance claim, give us a call at (346) 704-5295, or send us a detailed email using the Contact Us below.