Don’t Make These Hurricane Insurance Claims Mistakes
If your area is no stranger to storms and hurricanes, you may already be familiar with insurance claims regarding your commercial building. In the past, a claim you filed may or may not have been successful. Hurricane insurance claims don’t always end up the way business owners think they should, even though they made sure to have hurricane insurance specifically in place. Why is that?
There are a number of hurricane insurance claims mistakes that could jeopardize getting the funds you need to repair your commercial building and offset losses. Here, those mistakes will be discussed.
Don’t Rely On the Insurance Adjuster
Your insurance company will likely send an adjuster to review the damages that occurred to your commercial building. You do not have to accept their services. Rather, protect your best interests, and hire a public adjuster. More on that shortly.
The Insurance Claims Process Should Not Be Navigated Alone
Particularly if your insurance company tries to tell you that the damages to your commercial building are not covered, you may well appreciate the services of an attorney who deals in such matters. Hopefully, an out-of-court and agreeable settlement can be reached. If not, it may have to go to litigation before you can get your losses and damages covered.
Initial Settlements Don’t Have To Be Accepted
Particularly if you feel the settlement offered by your insurance company is too low, or if they have denied your claim, this is not something you have to take lying down. The first offer is exactly that – their attempt at an initial offer. You do not have to accept it. Nor should you, if it’s inappropriate.
All too often, the full extent of the damage to a commercial building is not properly assessed. By hiring a public adjuster who has your best interests at heart, you stand a better chance of avoiding this problem. The adjuster sent by your insurance company may try to underplay the damages or insist they already existed. It’s important to have before and after pictures and videos whenever possible to use as proof of damage sustained in a particular incident.
Do Not Hesitate to Notify Your Insurance Company
There’s a time limit to everything. Insurance companies love to tell their clients they waited too long to file their claim. Do so in expedited fashion! There’s no time like the present to notify your insurance company that a hurricane or some other disaster has befallen your commercial property. Do not hesitate! Time is of the essence for a number of reasons.
Damaged Items Should Not Be Thrown Away
While a natural disaster, or some other type of incident, may have ruined property, until the entire scene has been assessed and an adjuster has looked over everything (and pictures and videos have been taken), don’t throw anything away!
In fact, don’t make any permanent restorations until the entire scene has been assessed. It could derail your claim.
Contact Stone Claims When a Hurricane or Other Natural Disaster Strikes Your Business
If your commercial property was damaged by some type of natural disaster, there’s no time like the present to start the ball rolling on an insurance claim. Rather than relying on the insurance company adjusters, contact us at Stone Claims. The reason for this is expressly stated in our motto: Insurance adjusters work for insurance companies. We work for you. We fight for fairness.
We stand ready, 24/7, to be of assistance with your commercial property damage insurance claim adjustment. The professionals your insurance company sends will have the well-being of that company in mind – not yours. That’s an important aspect to remember when it comes to commercial property damage and the claims that must be filed following it.
Stone Claims is licensed and operates in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana, Georgia, Delaware, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.
For a free claim review, please contact us at 1-800-892-1116. You can email us at office@stoneclaims.com if you like. Or you can use our convenient online form. Fill it out, send it in, and we’ll get back to you.