Homeowners Insurance Issues

Florida is one of the most beautiful places to live, however Florida’s weather is no friend to your home. For most Floridians, homeowners insurance is a necessary and many times mandatory requirement. It is nice to have the assurance that if some unplanned natural event causes damage to your home, your homeowners insurance will bear the burden of the repair costs, not you. At least that is how it is supposed to work.

Homeowners insurance companies are just like any other company. Their main goal is to try to make a profit. With this in mind, these companies don’t always provide the homeowner with the necessary services or protections for which the homeowner has paid permiums. Both the Florida and Federal government have enacted statutes and laws to protect homeowners from insurance companies who improperly refuse to honor their obligations to the homeowner.

Homeowners insurance policies are often intricate and complicated. Many times the homeowner is unaware of what his or her policy actually covers or the rights the homeowner has under the policy. After 25 years of practice, the attorneys at The Russo Law Firm have assisted countless clients in their dispute and the negotiation of their insurance claims to insure that the clients are receiving the full insurance award they are entitled.

There are three methods a homeowner can take when disputing a homeowners insurance claim which are as follows:

The homeowner can try to dispute the claim his or her self.

This may be a successful avenue for the homeowner. Every homeowner is capable of doing their own research and obtaining the necessary knowledge to adequately dispute an improper insurance award. However, many homeowners have their own jobs, families and responsibilities to take care of and maintain and just don’t have the time to properly prepare themselves for such disputes.

The homeowner can hire a public adjuster.

There are many talented public adjusters who could adequately help the homeowner obtain a more satisfactory insurance award. However, public adjusters typically work on a contingency fee basis and thus when an insurance award is granted, 20% of that award would be distributed to the adjuster for the adjusters work. Additionally, because the adjuster is not licensed to practice law, if the negotiations come to an impasse, an attorney must then be hired to file suit.

The homeowner can hire an attorney.

The laws have set up an incentive for attorneys to assist people in homeowners insurance disputes. If the attorney is successful in disputing the insurance claim, the insurance company is required to pay the attorney’s fees and costs. Therefore, the homeowner bears no out of pocket expenses. At the Russo Law Firm, win or lose, the homeowner would never be required to pay any of the attorney’s fees. An additional plus to hiring an attorney over a public adjuster is that an Attorney is able to file suit if the negotiations reach an impasse. Typically an attorney will be able to secure the best award because the insurance company does not want to pay attorney’s fees or have to deal with the expenses associated with litigation.

The Attorneys at The Russo Law Firm would be more than happy to assist you in your homeowners insurance negotiations and dispute. Even if you intend to negotiate and dispute your claim on your own, feel free to contact this firm if you have any questions or concerns.