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The state of Louisiana is obviously no stranger to deadly and damaging hurricane events. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), Louisiana is hit by hurricanes at an alarming rate, coming in behind only Florida and Texas in the United States. The city of New Orleans has about a 40% chance of getting struck by a hurricane in any given year. Lafayette Parish has over 100 recorded dangerous wind events, including hurricanes, meaning that the Lafayette area is not immune to seeing such levels of destruction itself.
The damage that hurricanes bring to Louisiana can be devastating and heartbreaking. There is the obvious loss of life factor, but there is also the destabilization of the community and the destruction of personal property. While we hope that everyone will follow hurricane evacuation orders so that they can avoid risk to themselves and their families, there is nothing that can be done to 100% safeguard any home or building from high-force hurricane winds, flooding, and other damaging weather effects. That’s why it’s important to consider insurance that reflects the dangers of hurricane weather. But what happens when an insurance company denies a claim, undervalues an insurance claim, or even threatens to terminate insurance coverage following a hurricane incident? That’s when it’s time to consider taking strong legal action.
Landgrave Garcia Injury Attorneys is a law firm located in Lafayette, Louisiana, dedicated to protecting the legal rights of our clients with personal injury claims and in the complexities of hurricane damage claims. Our law firm prides itself on providing compassionate and empathetic legal services to our clients in desperate need of legal assistance. There are few things that could possibly be more frustrating or infuriating than an insurance company delaying or denying what you are rightfully owed following a hurricane. Such an act is unforgivable, and we will do everything within our legal power to hold insurance companies accountable for their bad faith practices and help you recover the compensatory damages that you are owed.
The highly skilled legal team of Landgrave Garcia Injury Attorneys offers prospective new clients a free, no-obligation case evaluation to discuss their case in more intimate detail. If you have any questions or concerns about your hurricane damage case, please contact our law firm to schedule your free case review today.
What Should You Do if You’ve Been Affected by a Hurricane?
Following a hurricane event, you will likely feel overwhelmed and panicked about everything you must do and put back together. Take a breath. The road ahead will be difficult, but we can help you through this.
In addition to cleaning up the debris left behind by the hurricane, you will need to carefully document the damages for proof of your hurricane damage insurance claim. This can be challenging, especially because of the emotional toll of documenting the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, but it is a necessary step in recovering compensation for your losses.
One of the first things you should do is attempt to mitigate any further damage from befalling your property. This could be accomplished by boarding up broken windows, applying tarps to broken roofs in order to prevent further water damage, and making other temporary repairs.
Document all hurricane damage to your personal items and real estate property with photography and video. Additionally, consider keeping a list to keep track of all the items and assets you owned that were damaged in the Louisiana hurricane. By keeping a list, you will be able to better comprehend the full extent of your losses and the value of your insurance claim. This list will also come in handy when negotiating with your insurance company provider.
Next, contact an attorney experienced with handling hurricane damage cases in the state of Louisiana. Our attorneys have years of legal experience representing clients in the complexities of hurricane insurance claims. We would be proud to provide you with valuable legal guidance as you pursue the compensation you are owed.
Remember while making temporary repairs to keep a collection of receipts listing the repairs and how much they cost. Additionally, don’t start making permanent repairs until an insurer has given you express permission to do so. Also, do not discard any destroyed personal items until an insurance claims adjuster has seen them.
If you are forced to reside in a hotel until your home is livable again, be sure to keep receipts of additional living expenses. This list of living expenses could be useful when negotiating with your insurance company and calculating benefits.
What Damage is Commonly Caused by Hurricanes in Louisiana?
Hurricanes of differing magnitudes can cause wildly different types of damage. When it comes to determining how badly the property may or may not be damaged, it sometimes comes down to the placement of the structure and apparent luck.
Hurricanes of the greatest magnitude can cause widespread damage, power outages, flooding, personal injuries, and death.
Common hurricane damages include the following:
- Boat damage.
- Broken windows.
- Car damage.
- Catastrophic loss of an entire structure.
- Collapsed garages.
- Damage from projectiles.
- Damage to walls, siding, gutters, and shingles.
- Destroyed or displaced detached sheds.
- Collapsed roofs.
- Fire damage.
- Flooding.
- Foundation damage.
- Hail damage.
- Loss of personal items in the home.
- Mold issues and moisture damage.
- Property damage to pools and landscaping.
- Uprooted and toppled trees.
- Water damage.
Does Homeowners’ Insurance Cover Hurricane Structural Damage in Louisiana?
Generally speaking, Louisiana homeowners’ insurance covers your home and personal property in the event of a loss. However, the amount it will reimburse you for any losses will depend upon your company, your insurance policy, and additional damages that need to be calculated into your claim. Homeowners’ insurance typically covers certain hurricane damages, like high winds, rain, and other consequences of a hurricane. However, there are limitations.
Louisiana homeowners’ insurance typically does not cover flooding or storm surges. To ensure that you have protection against flooding and storm surges, you will likely need to purchase additional insurance coverage to protect you against rising water levels.
What Are Common Tactics That Insurance Companies Use to Avoid Compensation to Home Insurance Policyholders?
Unfortunately, it’s fairly common for insurance companies to use bad faith tactics as a means of denying, delaying, or devaluing insurance claims following a Louisiana hurricane. Disputes may arise from home insurance claims, business property insurance claims, property depreciation, damaged contents of your home, and the distribution of your insurance payments.
Insurance company actions that could be considered bad faith include:
- Applying suspicious exclusions to your insurance policy coverage.
- Delays in providing insurance claims settlement checks.
- Denying insurance claims.
- Disregarding damaged personal items.
- Failure to communicate with insured policyholders.
- Failure to pay everything that is owed.
- Making unjustifiable delays in hurricane claim adjustments.
- Misrepresenting the terms and language of your insurance policy.
- Not beginning a lost adjustment in a timely manner.
- Unjustifiably undervaluing the amount of damage in a hurricane.
- Refusing to produce insurance reports.
- Requesting unnecessary information from the policyholder.
- Terminating insurance coverage.
- The refusal to reinspect damaged property upon the request of a policyholder.
What to Do if Your Hurricane Damage Claim is Denied?
If your insurance claim was denied or dramatically reduced following a natural disaster, you need the legal representation of experienced hurricane damage returns. Insurance providers may have a contract to look out for your interest, but they are mostly looking out for their bottom line and will do everything they can to save it a dollar.
As your legal representation, our hurricane damage lawyers, we’ll do everything within our legal power to ensure that insurance claim adjusters treat you and your claim with respect.
Has Your Insurer Undervalued Your Insurance Claim?
The most common issue that homeowners face following a hurricane in Louisiana is an underpaid claim.
Following a catastrophic weather event like a hurricane, insurance companies ask their insurance adjusters to visit and inspect multiple properties in a short amount of time. The insurance adjuster is not given much time at each property to inspect and evaluate before submitting their initial report to their insurance employers. As a result, many damaged assets may be omitted or dismissed from the initial damage estimate.
Most property owners elect to accept what is offered, but you can fight for what you deserve. As your hurricane damage attorneys, our legal team would take legal action in pursuit of full compensation for your damages and losses.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Experienced Hurricane Damage Attorneys Today
Our law firm has extensive experience representing clients with hurricane damage claims. As your hurricane damage lawyers, our legal staff will investigate your insurance claim, help build a case against the insurance company provider, identify any potential bad faith practices, and fight for everything that you are rightfully owed.
Landgrave Garcia Injury Attorneys offers free consultations to new clients interested in retaining our professional legal counsel. To learn more, please contact our Lafayette law office to schedule your free initial consultation today. 337-242-7604.