Make Your Claim

Working With Your Insurance Company

It is expected that after a hurricane, law firms would be inundated with people who are unhappy with their insurance companies. Most likely these people put in a claim to collect for the damages sustained to their homes; but the amount they received was not a satisfactory amount to cover their losses.

But, the difficulty with insurance companies is not only related to claims associated with natural disasters. “The bottom line is insurance companies like to save money, and the less they pay out, the more can go to the bottom line,” said Todd Stabinski, a managing partner in the Miami-based law firm Stabinski & Funt PA.

For Ziva Allen, it was extremely difficult to get her insurance company to pay for the damages to her home. In Allen’s master bathroom, there was a leak; but she couldn’t figure out where the water damage was coming from. All she knew was that the leak caused the hardwood floors in her living room to get discolored from water damage. When she contacted her insurance company to put in a claim, an adjuster was sent out to evaluate the situation. But when he couldn’t find the cause of the problem, Allen’s claim was denied.

Even after a plumber uncovered that it was a failed shower pan; and Allen immediately contacted her insurance company, the claim was again denied. Not knowing where to turn, Allen hired a public adjuster to assess the situation and to speak to the insurance company about her claim.

But when the public adjuster found the insurance company uncooperative, he suggested Allen get an attorney. Allen contacted Dan Caine an attorney in the law firm Stabinski & Funt, P.A. The first thing he told her was that the insurance company shouldn’t have left her hanging when it couldn’t figure out where the leak was coming from.

According to Caine, it is the insurance company’s job to find out the cause of the problem. The process of getting the insurance company to settle took a lot of time through depositions, mediation and ultimately securing a trial date. But right before the trial was to begin, the insurance company agreed to a settlement.

“With the help of my attorney, I got more than double what I would have taken as a settlement,” said Allen. In addition, Allen did not have to pay any of the attorney’s fees as Caine negotiated that settlement directly with the insurance company.

“The only way to get the insurance company to do the right thing and pay for my damages was to litigate, and you need an attorney to do this on your behalf,” said Allen. “The truth is if I didn’t file the suit, I would have been left with the insurance company denying my claim and me having to pay for all of the repairs which would have been very expensive.”

Florida law allows a policy-holder to file a lawsuit against its insurance company for up to five years after the date of loss. In the case of Hurricane Wilma, the deadline to file suit is October 24, 2010. If the damage sustained is from Hurricane Katrina, the deadline to file suit is August 23, 2010.