CAUSES OF PROPERTY DAMAGE

Floods and water damage encompass a large percentage of the claims handled by Hudson Douglas. Although most people think that they are the same thing (probably because water is involved in wash) they could not be more different. Floods come in from the outside due to rains, tidal surges, canal overflows or simple runoff. This damage likely requires a special flood policy (NFIP) and is not usually covered in an insurance policy. Your insurance company may try to tell you that your damage is not covered because it is flood damage but are often incorrect. Water damage comes from roof leaks, pipe bursts, broken pipes, condensation line problems or overflowing fixture (tubs, sinks toilets and the like). Your carrier may try to tell you that the damage is not covered because it was an ongoing problem or for some other reason. They may not want to properly repair all of the damge which has occurred and may want to just cover it up. Let us review your claim to ensure that you are getting the most out of the policy that you have.

Fire and smoke can make a claim very costly in moments. Fire of course consumes buildings and causes significant damage and because of the wiring and other types of items which are consumed in the fire produced smoke which causes very pervasive damage to personal contents items (especially to electronics). Smoke settles out of the air as soot and is frequently a catalyst for further damage even after the fire is extinguished. Today’s consumer electronics are not produced to be resistant to soot and can be further damaged by cleaning. Even hardened electronics which have hermetically sealed components may be damaged beyond repair without appearing to be. Let us help to ensure that you are properly compensated for your personal property under your insurance policy.

Policyholders find vandalism and theft particularly offensive as the loss often leaves them feeling violated. In addition, insurance carriers look first to see if the claim can be denied due to occupancy or other policy requirements. Make sure that a claims professional assists you in negotiating a vandalism or theft claim before the insurance company can deny you properly purchased benefits.

Hurricanes, tropical storms and earthquakes can be particularly troublesome due to the exclusion of some of these perils in common insurance policies. Storm surges and earthquakes may be excluded in a standard- policy but instances in which these excluded perils forces occur are often accompanied by covered perils. Insurance companies may seek to deny all coverage for a homeowners policy because a flood surge was involved in the loss even though a covered peril such as wind damage may have caused most of the damage. Make sure that you have a professional negotiator to help you interpret negotiate and settle you catastrophic storm claim as well as the conditions that your property sustained damages.

Wind and tornadoes can cause obvious superficial damage as well as hidden but significant structural damage. We have found that insurance companies are unlikely to investigate beyond the obvious and that we frequently discover significant hidden damage caused by damaging winds. Tornadoes, high winds and microbursts can exert huge forces which can also be localized. In some of our claims we have found that our clients homes were damaged to policy limits when their neighbors sustained little damage. Since you have paid for coverage on your home make sure that you know how badly your home is really damaged before your claim is settled.

Hail damage claims are fraught with coverage issues and are only complicated by engineers who churn out studies which bolster insurance company positions to deny coverage. You carrier may try to tell you that your home is not covered because the damage has not affected the functionality of your roofing. In addition, frequently insurance carriers will try to only replace small portions of your roof that they feel are damaged leaving you with an obviously patched roof in lieu of replacing the entire roof as your policy likely promises. Let a professional claims adjuster help to document and settle your hail damage loss.

Structural damage can occur to newly constructed buildings or buildings of considerable age as a result of exterior forces, such as a Car vs. building claim, snow or water load exceeding the building design strength, damaging winds, foundational issues, sinkholes, etc. Structural issues are complex as many times the extent of the damage goes far beyond what the eye can see. If your building has collapsed, partially collapsed or is still standing but wounded, Hudson Douglas’ public adjusters can decipher the facts and properly document and negotiate your covered structural damage claim.