There are a lot of hurricanes in the Louisiana area, and with these hurricanes comes a lot of damage to property. Having the right insurance is very important, but you should also know how these claims work and how to settle claims. You want to have a pretty good grasp on this before you’re in the situation because everyone else affected by the hurricane will be trying to get their claims together, and your life will be hectic right after the event.
How to make a claim
When you’re ready to make hurricane claims, there are several questions you’ll want to ask your insurance company right away. First, ask whether the damage is covered in your policy and how long you have to make the claim. These first two things should be in your copy of the policy, but if you just went through a hurricane, it’s very possible that you can’t get to a paper copy.
You should also ask if your claim would exceed the deductible, and you’ll want to know how long it will take to complete the claim and whether or not you need to get quotes for the repairs.
Negotiations
When you’re working with insurance companies, know that negotiations are part of the process. Your insurance company might go to you with a number that accounts for repairs, but they might say that they only are going to pay you for basic materials even if you had higher quality materials that were damaged. There are numerous scenarios, so you always need to watch to make sure that the amounts that the insurance company is giving you matches up with how much the repairs will actually cost, including labor and materials.
When you’re in a hurricane, you want to already know some things about what you should expect from your insurance company with your policy. If you ever need help with settling your claim and making negotiations, or if your insurance company is non-compliant in an area where you believe that you should be getting coverage, feel free to call an experienced attorney.