Good Fences And Not So Good Neighbors: Property Law 101

4 Courses Of Action You Can Take If Your Homeowners Insurance Company Denies Your Claim After A Storm

30 July 2015 by Hunter Moore

If your homeowners insurance company denies your claim after a storm damages your house, you don't just have to suck it up and deal with the bill. Here are four courses of action that you can take against your homeowners insurance company:

Appeal The Claim Through Your Insurance Company

The first thing you can do is appeal your claim through your insurance company. People run insurance companies, and sometimes, people make mistakes. Your insurance company will assign a new adjustor to look at your claim and determine if they should have filled it. 

Go Through A Mediation Process With Your Insurance Company

You can also ask to go through a mediation process with your insurance company. During this process, you and your insurance company will both hire outside adjustors who will examine your claim. Both adjustors will then make a recommendation on if they feel that your insurance company should have paid your claim, and for how much. If the two adjustors cannot come to an agreement, a third outside party will be brought in. Once two of the three adjustors reach an agreement, you and your insurance company will be bound to honor that agreement. 

Report The Wrongly Denied Claim To Your State Insurance Board

If you don't want to deal directly with your insurance company, you can file a claim with your state board of insurance based on your belief that your insurance company wrongly denied your homeowner's claim. 

Your state board of insurance will investigate the claim. If they rule that your insurance company wrongfully denied your claim, your insurance company will be required to honor that judgement and pay your claim. Depending on the rules in your state, your insurance company may also have to pay a fee or face a sanction for wrongfully denying your claim. 

Hire An Attorney To Sue Your Insurance Company

Finally, you can hire an attorney who studies and specializes in insurance law. An attorney with experience in insurance law will know all the loopholes that your insurance company may put through. Your attorney can review your homeowner's claim and see if there are grounds to sue. 

Generally, insurance law attorneys will sue if they determine that your insurance company committed a breach of contract or acted in bad faith. Your attorney can sue for breach of contract if they determine that you were only trying to obtain access to the benefits that were promised to you in your homeowner's insurance policy for storm damage. If your claim is successful, your insurance company will have to pay your claim in full and may even have to pay your attorney's fee depending on the ruling. 

Your attorney can sue for bad faith if they determine that your insurance company falsely advertised their services or had negative intentions when denying your claim. If your attorney takes this course of action, you can recover damages beyond the scope of your claim. 

If you feel your insurance company wrongly denied your homeowner's insurance claim that you submitted after your house sustained storm damage, you do not just have to accept this judgment. You can take one of the courses of action outlined above. If you are not sure what course of action you should take first, contact an insurance attorney. An insurance attorney can provide you with guidance about which course of action is best suited for your particular situation. 

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