Property Damage to Your Home or Business after Fires – You Can Pursue a Claim

Fires can completely ravage buildings and everything inside them. If your home or business was damaged due to a fire, you might have lost everything that you have ever worked for. Without a doubt, the loss is devastating. However, if you had insurance coverage that included losses associated with fire damage, you might be covered.

Have you filed a claim with your insurance company? Is your insurance company refusing to pay? Depending on the details surrounding the incident and your claim, you might benefit from having legal representation. After all, having the appropriate representation ensures that your claim is taken seriously by the insurance company.

If your insurance company is refusing to pay, you might have grounds to file an insurance bad faith claim. Even if your insurance company is somewhat cooperating, hiring a lawyer can help speed up the process. If you are interested in discussing your current situation with a property damage lawyer with experience handling bad faith claims, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance as soon as possible. You can trust the experts at Normandie Law Firm to provide you with the guidance that you need.

At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims – always representing the best interests of our clients. Our lawyers will fight arduously until your claim is successful and you are rightfully compensated. If you would like to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm, contact us today.

Some Causes of Fires in Homes or Businesses

Fires are unfortunately common in homes or businesses. A few of the common causes of fires are listed below:

• Accidental fires (leaving candles near curtains, for instance)
• Appliance malfunctions (overheating, for example)
• Electrical failures
• Weather conditions (lightning or wildfires)

Regardless of the specific cause of the fire that damaged your home or your business, your losses were likely significantly. Fortunately, all or some of your losses could be covered by your homeowner’s or business owner’s insurance policy.

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Is Fire Damage Covered by Your Insurance Policy?

Whether your home or business sustained property damage associated with a fire, your insurance might cover all or some of the losses. It is important that you review your insurance policy to better understand what is covered. Unfortunately, insurance policy language can be vague, allowing insurance companies to fill in certain holes as they see fit. Understanding your policy will ensure that your insurance company does not take advantage of you.

Typically, homeowner’s insurance provides the following coverages:

• Dwelling coverage (for the structure of the home in addition to any attached structures)
• Costs associated with living away from your home while your home is being repaired
• Detached structures (including detached garages, sheds, shacks, and fences, for instance)
• Personal property (including appliances, furniture, clothing, and other personal belongings)

It is important to note that homeowner’s insurance will not cover any damages arising from a claimant intentionally staring a fire in his or her home.

Typically, business property insurance provides the following coverages:

• Outdoor landscaping (such as fences and gates)
• Computers
• Furniture
• Inventory (i.e. any product that you sell)
• Tools and equipment essential for your business
• Personal property at your business

To ensure that you know whether the property damage to your home or business is covered by your insurance policy, you should review your policy immediately. If you are unsure of what is and is not covered, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance immediately. Our lawyers will help you better understand your coverage.

Understanding Insurance Bad Faith – You Could Sue the Insurance Company

Insurance companies have a duty towards their claimants; they must handle claims fairly and objectively to reach a conclusion and give out payouts if necessary. Every time an insurance company pays out claims, however, they lose money. Because of this, insurance companies often breach their duty of care and exercise bad faith. Some examples of insurance companies exercising bad faith include the following:

• Failing to answer or return calls
• Failing to respond to emails
• Failing to provide claimants with important information surrounding their claims
• Failing to investigate claims thoroughly
• Unjustly denying claims
• Giving claimants false information to discourage them and make them withdraw their claims

When insurance companies exercise bad faith, they are breaching their duty of care towards their claimants. This means that claimants could take legal action against insurance companies. That is, you could file a bad faith claim against your insurance company.

What Should Homeowners and Business Owners Do?

What should you do if your home or your business sustained property damage due to a fire? If your home sustained fire damage, you should follow a number of recommendations. Consider some of the steps listed below:

• If possible, take photos and record the fire (given that you are safely out of the property)
• Take photos of the property damage resulting from the fire
• Speak to witnesses (gather their contact information)
• Contact your insurance company, report the incident and the damage resulting from the incident
• Provide our insurance companies with the facts surrounding the incident and any additional information that they request

After filing a claim, claimants simply have to be patient while the insurance company investigates the situation and reaches a decision; if the claim is valid, the claimant will receive a payout. As explained above, however, insurance companies can exercise bad faith.

If your insurance company is exercising bad faith and failing to handle your claim dutifully, you could sue the insurance company. To prepare to pursue the bad faith claim against the insurance company, you should do the following:

• Keep records of all communication between you and the insurance company
• Gather all the evidence that you have surrounding the incident and the property damage to your home or business
• Gather all documents associated with your insurance policy
• Seek the assistance of a lawyer with experience dealing with insurance companies

If you are interested in learning more about the actions that you should take after your home or business sustained property damage, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. Our lawyers will guide you every step of the way.

File Within the Appropriate Deadline

Based on the details surrounding the incident and the property damage that your home or business sustained, you will likely have the right to pursue a claim. Even if your insurance company exercised bad faith, you could pursue a claim. Did you know that you could lose your right to sue if you fail to pursue your claim within the appropriate length of time? This is because all claims are subject to a statute of limitations. A statute of limitations establishes the total length of time that claimants have to pursue their claims. If claimants do not file their claims within the appropriate length of time, they could lose their right to sue.

What deadline applies to your claim? In California, the following deadlines apply:

• Property damage claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations
• Breach of contract claims (for insurance bad faith) are subject to a four-year statute of limitations

To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the specific statute of limitations that applies to your claim, you should speak with a lawyer at your earliest convenience. Our lawyers will evaluate your claim and help you gain an in-depth understanding of the specific statute of limitations that applies to your claim.

Contact Normandie Law Firm Today

If your home or business sustained property damage after a fire, you might have grounds to pursue a property damage claim against your insurance company. However, if your insurance company is refusing to cooperate and handle your claim appropriately, you could pursue a bad faith claim against the insurance company. Regardless of your specific situation, you should seek legal assistance immediately to ensure that you have the guidance and representation necessary to pursue your claim and reach a successful claim outcome. Would you like to discuss your fire property damage claim with the experts at our firm? If so, contact Normandie Law Firm immediately.

At Normandie Law Firm, we understand that the thought of finding legal representation can be dauting, specifically due to the costs that are typically associated with legal services. At our firm, we offer free legal services to facilitate the legal process for you and your family. Our free legal services include free consultations as well as free second opinions. During these free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer questions, address concerns, and essentially provide you with all the information that you might need to reach a successful claim outcome. Would you like to benefit from our free legal services? If so, do not hesitate to contact us immediately and request to speak with our lawyers.

At our firm, we offer a Zero-Fee guarantee; our Zero-Fee guarantee ensures that our clients will not be required to pay upfront legal fees for our legal services. In addition to our Zero-Fee guarantee, our firm offers a strict contingency structure. Because of our contingency structure, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after winning; if you do not win, you will simply not be required to pay anything for our legal services.

Are you ready to discuss your property damage claim with the experts at our firm? If so, contact us today.

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