After a storm, flood or fire in your Condominium or Home what’s next………..
We are all too familiar with the challenges of dealing with an approaching dangerous tropical storm or Hurricane, water flooding units and common areas or the most destructive and dangerous occurrence ….fire. We’ve learned to prepare as best we can – board up the windows, stock up on food and water, mop the floors and call expensive restoration companies.
But most of us never prepare for the disaster that often occurs AFTER a storm, flood or fire has come and gone – the fight to obtain a fair and sufficient settlement from the insurance company to cover your damages is an argues task.
Adjusters have a reputation for using three diversionary tactics to avoid paying you the full value of your claim:
1) If the adjuster can find any kind of loophole in your policy, they’ll flat-out deny the claim, sending you a message that your loss is simply not covered by the policy.
2) If they can’t deny the claim, they’ll try delaying processing your claim, reasoning that as time goes by, there’s a greater chance you’ll simply forget about the whole thing or get frustrated and give up or take a lesser amount to settle.
3) If those tactics don’t work, the adjuster will likely try to devalue your claim by fabricating some reason why you don’t qualify for the very coverage you’ve been paying for by citing “pre-existing conditions”.
A favorite devaluation tactic used by many insurance companies is shifting the burden of proof regarding your property condition. In these cases, the insurance company may require the Association or Homeowner to provide documentation regarding the condition of the property before the loss occurred. Meanwhile, the insurance company will generate a self-serving report that states that the property was not in good condition before your claim; essentially, they’ll claim that some or all of the damage to your property was pre-existing before the storm, flood or fire and therefore not covered by your insurance policy or must be depreciated. If this happens and you do not have sufficient documentation to the contrary, you will find yourself in a very compromised position fighting against very large companies.
Fortunately, there’s now a way to fight back and receive the claim settlement you are entitled to by having an “insurance policy” to protect you against your insurer, it’s called “StormCheck” from a prominent national home inspection company, HouseCheck an independent inspection and documentation company that memorializes the current condition of your property.
When Homeowners, Condominium Owners and Boards of Directors engage the StormCheck service, the true condition of the property is documented prior to any claim for loss due to storm, fire, flooding or other events. This deprives the insurance companies of one of their most lucrative tactics and puts “you” the insured back in control of claim negotiations.
Homeowners, Condominium Owners and Board of Directors are encouraged to obtain the power and peace of mind that StormCheck provides to individuals and Associations. After all, nobody can predict the future, but StormCheck now makes it possible to plan and have protection for whatever the future may bring.
For more information, visit StormCheck.net or call Gary Pyott (305) 588-7658 or Earl Takefman at (786) 757-0780.
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