Reasons Why Homeowners’ Claims are Denied

As another hurricane season comes to a close, Florida homeowners are breathing a collective sigh of relief that their home made it through another year undamaged. But just because there wasn’t a hurricane, does not mean that some other major (or minor) catastrophe might not rear its ugly head in the near future and cause damage to your home. If disaster strikes, you have to be prepared to overcome the insurance company’s favorite response:

The damages for this loss are not covered by your policy.

Too often homeowners put off doing regular routine maintenance on their home, hoping that nothing bad happens to their home or that their insurance policy will provide coverage to repair the damage. The former is wishful thinking, while the latter is not always true. Insurance policies are designed primarily to cover those losses that occur suddenly and unexpectedly. But what happens if the damage is hidden behind a wall and the source of the damage goes on for weeks and months undetected? Chances are that the insurance company will attempt to deny the claim in whole or in part.

In Florida, homeowner policies are all-risk with limited exclusions type policies. Simply put, if the cause of loss is not specifically excluded, then the loss and the damages are covered under your policy; and it is these exclusions that are at the heart of the insurance company’s reason for denying the claim. Insurance companies rely on the fact that homeowners dont look at their policy with its 2,500 lines of terms and conditions and 300 lines of text that you must comply correctly with simply to get a settlement.

Too often, insurance claims are being denied because the homeowner failed to properly maintain his or her home or that the homeowner failed to discover the damage within a reasonable amount of time. By doing little things like having your roof inspected on a yearly basis, patching cracks in the exterior, caulking windows or something as simple as regularly looking into the cabinets under the sink to see if there is a water leak, can help to ensure that the insurance company cannot deny your claim on the basis of neglect, faulty workmanship or improper maintenance.

The dedicated homeowners insurance lawyers of Gordon & Partners will assist you in handling all your first party claims, addressing all coverage within your insurance policy. Your claim can be related to:

• Property damage
• Business interruption
• Extra expenses incurred as a result of a covered loss
• Pollutant cleanup and its remediation
• Increased cost of construction
• Personal property loss and replacement cost issues

Regardless of your claim, our main responsibility is to make sure that you are treated fairly by your insurance company.

If you need a skilled first party attorney, please contact Gordon & Partners, P.A. for a free, no obligation, and confidential consultation. At Gordon & Partners, we believe our system of justice works best when skilled attorneys that have the resources to fully prepare and try a case represent both sides. Please complete our online contact form or call us toll free at 1 (855) 722-2552.