Hurricane Irma is now a Cat 5 Hurricane. Meanwhile, nearly a year later, we are still intaking Hurricane Matthew claims from insureds who held out hope that their insurance company would do right by them. My recommendation is and will always be to have representation immediately. There is no reason why an insured should go unrepresented in the claims process. Look at it this way, the insurance company has its team of adjusters and engineers. Why should an insured not be on the same level playing field as the insurance company? In my experience, I have never handled a claim where the insurance company found all the covered damage and immediately paid an appropriate amount to restore a property to its pre-loss condition. After a claim, an insured should immediately seek legal representation to properly preserve and prepare the claim, which includes proper documentation (including differentiating conditions which existed pre v. post loss), analysis (including expert retention) and valuation (utilizing qualified experts) of the loss.
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