What comes to mind when someone mentions a fire? If you are like most people, you immediately think of flames burning through land and structures. Without a doubt, fires are associated with images of fiery infernos. In California, wildfires are devastating and worsen year after year. Countless acres of land and structures burn to a crisp; however, fires can cause destruction other than flames and burn damage. The cities surrounding the fire are likely to be affected by the aftermath of fires—such as smoke and ash.
Was your property affected by smoke and ash? Your property might have been spared by the ravenous fire; however, it could have been severely affected by smoke and ash. If your home or any of your property sustained smoke and ash damage, you might have grounds to file a smoke and ash claim against your insurance company.
If so, you should seek legal assistance as soon as possible. If you are interested in filing or learning more about your right to pursue a smoke and ash damage lawsuit, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the attorneys at Normandie Law Firm as soon as possible. The attorneys at Normandie Law Firm have the expertise necessary to successfully handle your smoke and ash claim and help you recover the compensation to which you are entitled. If you would like to benefit from our legal services, do not hesitate to contact Normandie Law Firm today.
About the Camp Fire
Early November 2018 saw the start of one of the deadliest—and most destructive—wildfires ever recorded in the history of California. The Camp Fire has blazed through at least 113,000 acres, more than 6,400 homes, and 260 commercial structures. The fire has, unfortunately, claimed the life of at least 29 people; however, approximately 200 people are still unaccounted for. The fire has affected all of the following areas: Yankee Hill, Butte Valley, Helltown, Forest Ranch, Concow, Chico, Butte Creek Canyon, Stirling City, Oroville, Inskip, Magalia, and Paradise.
Did the structure of your home survive the Camp Fire? You might have recently been allowed to return to your home after mandatory evacuations; you might have found your home standing tall but with some visible damage. If your home or any of your property sustained smoke and ash damage, you must seek legal assistance as soon as possible—as you might be eligible to recover compensation for the harm that you suffered.
The Property Damaged Caused By Smoke and Ash
Without a doubt, fires—such as the devastating Camp Fire—could burn thousands of structures to the ground. However, even homes that were not engulfed in flames could sustain extensive damage—damage that could prevent homeowners from being able to live in their own property. Smoke and ash after a nearby fire could severely affect your property, resulting in expensive cleanup costs and, sometimes, total loss of some of your property.
Smoke and ash damage could affect all of the following:
- Outdoor areas
- Personal belongings
- Plumbing
- Ventilation systems
- Walls, ceilings, and windows
- Water filtration systems
Smoke and ash damage is often clear due to its specific appearance—usually dark stains or layers of small particles. If you have even the slightest concerns about any of your property being affected by smoke and ash, it is essential that your property is evaluated by professionals. If you are interested in pursuing a smoke and ash damage claim, it is essential that you seek legal assistance.
Filing a Claim against Your Insurance Provider
Consider the following. Your home has sustained smoke and ash damage, which accounts for many thousands of dollars. You contact your homeowners’ insurance company to file a smoke and ash claim. The insurance company sends a representative to evaluate the damage to your home and, within a few weeks, you are compensated. Ideally, the process of filing a claim would be quick and hassle-free.
When you signed up for insurance coverage and consistently paid your insurance premium, you might have figured that the insurance company would be quick to compensate you after a claim. Your insurance coverage, like most standard property coverage, likely includes damage caused by fire. Based on your coverage, you might be eligible to receive various types of compensation such as reimbursement for professional cleaning expenses, replacement of personal property, and temporary relocation costs.
Without a doubt, you expect to be able to reap these benefits after being affected by such a traumatic event—such as a wildfire. However, rather than providing you with the compensation that you deserve, insurance companies could make it very difficult for you to move forward from such a devastating event. Sadly, it is very likely that you encounter difficulties when you try to file a claim with your insurance company; therefore, you will need the legal assistance of a specialized smoke and ash attorney.
Complications Surrounding Smoke and Ash Claims
Most people believe that they are guaranteed compensation simply for paying their insurance premiums. However, insurance companies have the power to deny claims. Some of the common reasons for insurance companies to deny claims include all of the following:
- Reaching the conclusion that the damage sustained is not extensive enough
- Reaching the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to prove the validity of the claim
- Reaching the conclusion that the claim is false
- Reaching the conclusion that the damage claimed occurred in an unrelated incident.
- Reaching the conclusion that the damage was a result of an intentional incident.
Without a doubt, insurance companies can deny claims for a number of reasons. In some cases, the reason for their failure to approve a claim is unknown. Insurance companies can complicate the process without immediately denying the claim.
What could insurance companies do to make it difficult to recover compensation after filing a claim? Unfortunately, insurance companies could both significantly delay the process or offer an unreasonably low compensation amount. If your claim is valid, the insurance company could give you the runaround—or significantly delay the process—in attempts to giving you no choice but to stop pursuing the claim. Insurance companies are also likely to make unreasonable settlement offers, which claimants accept because they think that is all they could recover.
Why would a delayed process make you stop pursuing a claim? Why would you accept a ridiculously low settlement offer? Regrettably, many claimants fall for these insurance tricks. When dealing with insurance companies, you must always remember the following: insurance companies lose money when they pay you; they want to find a way to pay you little to nothing for your claim. Whether you simply stop pursuing the claim after many months of struggling with the insurance company or you accept the first offer you receive because you are tired of waiting around for a better offer, the insurance company is essential cheating you out of the compensation that you deserve.
What could you do to prevent your insurance company from unjustly taking advantage of your situation? Insurance companies are more likely to try to resort to trickery when claimants are pursuing their claims independently, without legal assistance. So, what could you do? You could hire an attorney and ensure that you have the legal representation necessary to pursue your claim against the insurance company.
How Could Hiring an Attorney Help Your Claim?
As mentioned above, insurance companies often feel at liberty to take advantage of claimants’ misinformation in order to pay little to nothing for their claims. Claimants without legal representation often do not have all the information that they need to pursue a successful claim against an insurance company. Because of that, they are easy targets and insurance companies do whatever they could do to avoid paying them a just settlement amount within a reasonable timeframe. When you hire an attorney to handle your smoke and ash claim, you will have someone aggressively fighting for your right to recover the compensation that you deserve. An attorney experienced in smoke and ash claims will have the expertise necessary to negotiate with insurance companies, follow-up as needed, and urge insurance companies to make an acceptable settlement offer. Although it is possible to reach a successful outcome without legal representation, the likelihood of doing so significantly increases when you have the assistance of a knowledgeable lawyer.
Key Steps to Pursuing a Smoke and Ash Claim
Without a doubt, hiring an attorney is an essential step to pursuing a successful smoke and ash claim against your insurance company. However, there are a few things that you should do as soon as possible to prepare to pursue your claim. You should do all of the following:
- Take pictures of the damage as soon as it comes to your attention.
- Contact your insurance company to notify them of your damage.
- Keep records of all your losses/damages and their approximate monetary worth.
- Gather documents that prove the value of your belongings (e.g. receipts, bank statements, credit card statements).
- Keep records of the costs associated with cleaning up the damage.
For more information about what you could do to prepare to file your smoke and ash damage claim against your insurance company, do not hesitate to contact our law firm as soon as possible.
The Lawyers at Normandie Law Firm
Without a doubt, the Camp Fire blazed through countless structures and damaged many others without burning them to the ground. If your property was damaged by smoke and ash, you might have the right to pursue a smoke and ash damage lawsuit against your homeowners’ insurance company. If you are interested in pursuing a claim against your insurance company after your property was damaged by the smoke and ash created by the Camp Fire in Northern California, do not hesitate to contact the lawyers at Normandie Law Firm as soon as possible.
Through our free consultations and free second opinions, you will have access to our attorneys’ expertise without ever having to worry about upfront legal fees. Our free legal services are available as part of our Zero-Fee guarantee. You will never have to worry about expensive legal fees. Our firm is also based on contingency; therefore, you will not be required to pay anything until you win. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay us anything. For more information about pursuing your smoke and ash damage claim after the Camp Fire, do not hesitate to contact the lawyers at Normandie Law Firm as soon as possible.
