Insurance Claims
Every homeowner in Miami should have some sort of water damage protection as part of their homeowner’s insurance package. If not, they are simply asking for trouble seeing how often the city and most of Florida’s east coast is hit with torrential rain, flooding, and hurricanes. However, simply having water damage coverage is not enough; you need to know how to properly file a claim following water damage, or else you could be at odds with your insurance provider.
What to Do to File a Water Damage Claim
A reliable water damage claim begins before the water damage ever occurs. You will want to catalog your property that is susceptible to water damage – furniture, electronics, appliances, etc. – thoroughly and report on their condition. Photograph everything in plenty of detail as well. Ideally, you will have a digital photo album saved somewhere safe, like cloud storage, to show how things were before the water damage occurred.
You also need to photograph around your property as well. Start with the ground floor and take pictures of walls, corners, and ceilings in good condition. The goal is to be thorough enough to create a clear “before-after” presentation of your home should water damage strike. If you forgot to make such an album, start digging through photos and videos you took in your leisure that show parts of your home, such as a birthday party or holiday event. Anything that shows the water damage wasn’t always there.
Check Your Policy
You also need to know if you are even covered at all for the water damage that occurred. To the average person, water damage is water damage. To insurance companies, it is not so cut and dry.
There are several forms of water damage according to insurance policies:
- Hurricane water damage
- Flood water damage
- Burst pipes water damage
- Unpredictable water damage
In addition to proving that water has damaged your property, you will have to prove from where that water originated. If it was a burst pipe and you don’t have burst pipe coverage, for example, you might be out of luck; at the very least, you will be in for an uphill battle.
When you need help filing a water damage claim or understanding your policy, The Morgan Law Group P.A. can be your legal guide. Our insurance claim lawyers in Miami have 40+ years of shared legal experience handling complex insurance claim cases on behalf of our clients. Learn what we can do for you by contacting our firm today.
