Texas hail damage insurance claims alone account for more than 20% of the national total. With Texas topping the list for total number of hail events nationwide, chances are you may have to file a hail damage claim in your life. Hail causes all sorts of damage to homes and property but it can be especially brutal to your roof. If your hail damage claim has been denied or you have been offered a fraction of what you deserve, you need an experienced attorney to pursue the damages you are entitled to.
Why You Need an Independent Inspection
- Hail damage can have lasting damaging effects. The extent of your hail damage may not always be immediately noticeable, especially to the untrained eye. Rust, rot, and roof leaks can form over time if the hail damage is left unrepaired.
- Insurance companies make their money by not paying out claims. They will do their best to deny your claim for any number of reasons. The common reaction following a damaging event is to contact the insurance company; they will then send someone to survey the damage. This is strongly discouraged. Inspectors sent by the insurance company have been directed to find the least-expensive solution to minimize the claim amount.
- You need your own value assessment. Our office can, at no charge, place you in contact with an independent inspector so that you may go in to your claim armed with more information. It is important to have an insurance expert on your side when filing a claim for hail damage – someone trained to look for and spot hail damage – if you want to increase the chances of your damage being covered.
Why Hail Damage Insurance Claims Are Denied
Claims are wrongfully denied all too often. Most of the time insurance carriers deny claims by taking the position that there is no actual damage, or that the damage caused was insignificant, keeping it below the deductible. They will label your claim as having “no structural damage” or claim the damage was “cosmetic only”. An insurance attorney will stop them from treating your claim with such disregard, and work to get the compensation you are fairly entitled to.
Even when insurance companies do pay out they will try to cut corners wherever possible to limit their expense. One of the common practices insurance companies use in hail damage claims is to replace individual roof shingles, rather than replacing the entire roof. Companies do this to keep claims under the deductible amount even when the policy states the entire roof should have been replaced!
El daño ocasionado por granizo genera más gastos
Los golpes rápidos y repetidos de las piedras de granizo debilitan los objetos que impactan. Este daño a menudo oculto debilita su integridad estructural, reduciendo la vida útil de su hogar y otros bienes.
Los golpes repetidos de granizo generan daños a largo plazo en:
- Asfalto, astillando la capa protectora.
- Techos, al debilitar el soporte y la integridad del techo.
- Metal, provocando fisuras microscópicas que provocan una corrosión prematura.
- Demás estructuras sujetas a impactos fuertes y repetidos.
El granizo provoca un efecto drástico en la vida útil de un techo. En el momento en el que usted quiera vender su propiedad, el inspector identificará cualquier daño existente causado por granizo y después notificará a los posibles compradores.
Testimoniales por casos de granizo
I definitely had a great experience and outcome. . . Will refer anyone I know to this firm!
"We really have to commend the job that Carla and Bryant did for us on our commercial roof case. After a denial from the insurance company, Carla and Bryant quickly assembled a team of experts, skillfully took and defended depositions, and finally forced the insurance company to capitulate after mediation. Five star service."
"On September 13th 2008, our Condominium Association, consisting of 40 individual units, was hammered by Hurricane Ike: roofs were blown off the buildings, trees fell and crushed our carports, and there was water damage to units that were left without roofs. Our insurance company estimated the damage just at $94,682 – which, coincidentally, was the deductible on our master policy for named storms with coverage of $1,000,000. This left our cash strapped community facing bankruptcy so we were forced to obtain a small business loan and pay for all the damages ourselves. For decades, our Home Owners Association (HOA) paid an insurance premium of $20,000 a year, yet we received no compensation from our insurance company for our catastrophic loss, I felt something was terribly wrong. I was certain that the insurance company was underestimating our loss, and taking advantage of us and preventing us from obtaining proper compensation to and prevent us from rebuilding our shattered community.
Our property was built in the 1960’s, so our community was already operating on a shoestring budget. To prevent from going bankrupt our HOA was forced to get a small business loan for $120,000 needed to repair the property and to stay afloat financially. Now our community was not only buried in hurricane debris, but we were also buried in terrible debt and struggling with funds to manage our largest investment, our homes.
I felt something was horribly wrong with this situation and I was determined to fight the insurance company. I discovered that Bryant Fitts and his law firm was one of the top rated in insurance law specialty. Mr. Fitts and his firm actually listened. He agreed to take on the insurance company and help our community get fair compensation for our loss.
It has been a long and winding road, but the expert team at the Fitts Law Firm patiently and professionally persisted in overcoming each obstacle that the insurance company put in our path. Our total compensation was more than double what the insurance company originally estimated. Much to our surprise, the vigilant team of attorneys also discovered misappropriation of insurance funds by our own property management company. This fight for fair compensation is not over, and, if it was not for Bryant Fitts and his vigilant team of legal experts, our little community near Bellaire, Texas, would be dead in the water. Like driftwood is at the mercy of the ocean, our community would have been at the mercy of the insurance company, but Bryant Fitts and his expert team of legal specialists helped us obtain the resources we needed to rebuild our little community and improve the quality of our lives.
You have my heartfelt appreciation, and gratitude all for believing in us and helping us."
“I want to thank you for all your efforts in my case… words cannot express my gratitude….Without you and your team, we would have received nothing and suffered a great injustice.”
“I received much more than I expected for my settlement. Thanks again!”
After interviewing several professionals, I was able to speak with Bryant Fitts who took my case and gave our family the promising results that we were looking for. Bryant and his firm worked very had for us and provided great customer service while diligently working on our claim. I am convinced that our case would not have been successful without Bryant’s hard work.
After several months of the run around by my insurance company, a friend of mine suggested that I contact an insurance attorney. I am very happy followed through and contacted this firm. As a result of the settlement, I was able to pay for all my storm related damage and I now have a new roof with a full warranty. I hope do not need to hire this firm again, but if I do, I will in a heartbeat.
La compañía de seguros pagará solo una reparación parcial. ¿Qué puedo hacer?
Si su compañía de seguros está tratando de ahorrar dinero reparando solo una parte del daño general y usted no está de acuerdo, aún cuenta con opciones. Se puede hacer una solicitud de compensación total a la compañía de seguros, pero requiere ser presentada por escrito. Las aseguradoras son notoriamente obstinadas; es extremadamente difícil lograr que cambien su postura una vez que han tomado una. Su abogado trabajará diligentemente para lograr que hagan precisamente eso.
Expertos independientes, techadores o contratistas pueden ayudar a influir en tomar una decisión a favor suyo. La mayoría de las veces, los propietarios deberán contratar a un abogado para obtener resultados favorables. Un abogado de seguros revisará la reclamación, las recomendaciones del ajustador y cualquier otra información para iniciar una acción contra incumplimiento de contrato o de mala fe por parte de la compañía de seguros.
El granizo lo daña prácticamente todo
Las piedras de granizo dañarán casi todo a su paso. El agua dura y congelada que cae del cielo puede ser devastadora. A pesar de este hecho obvio, las compañías de seguros tienden a catalogar rápidamente (y de manera bastante errónea) la mayoría de los impactos de granizo como «meramente cosméticos».
Hemos descubierto daños estructurales que fueron pasados por alto en muchas propiedades para nuestros clientes, incluyendo daños a:
- Ladrillos
- Vallas
- Revestimientos
- Puertas de garaje
- Acondicionadores de aire
- Ventanas y Mamparas
- Cubiertas de piscina
Si su propiedad ha sufrido daños debido a granizo y su compañía de seguros está tratando de negar o pagar injustamente su reclamación, usted deberá actuar rápido y contratar a un abogado con experiencia en daños a la propiedad en Houston. Comuníquese con el Bufete de Abogados Fitts hoy mismo para obtener una revisión gratuita y confidencial sobre el daño, póliza y reclamación. Le explicaremos las opciones disponibles con las que usted cuenta y le diremos cómo podemos proceder con su caso.
