Insurance

Like many other questions that homeowners may have, whether mold damage is covered under a homeowner’s insurance policy is one that is often brought to the surface by many policyholders. Because mold is a trouble that surfaces a lot, this question is always coming to the light and asked by millions of homeowners every year.

While the simple answer to the question is “yes”, there are factors and elements that might be present where mold damage would not be covered for peril. Our knowledgeable Churchill public adjusters always emphasize the importance that homeowners have in becoming knowledgeable about their own insurance policies.

Just because your friend or family member might have a certain coverage under their policy, that does not mean that you have it as well. Becoming familiar with the details and provisions wrapped with each homeowner’s individual policy is critical, particularly if the homeowner intends on filing a claim for property damage.

The If’s and Don’ts with Mold Damage

While most cases of mold infestation will be covered under their basic homeowner’s insurance policy, there are certain situations where your insurance company will deny your claim. Some of those instances include:

• If mold was caused by a peril that is not covered under your policy. For example: if a flood consumed your home and mold developed, but you do not have flood coverage. Your insurance carrier would not cover the mold damage.
• If the mold was caused by an exclusion like ‘wear and tear’. Did your old pipes wear out and caused a leak that led to the development of mold?
• If the mold formed because you did not maintain your home as you should have. Even if you may be covered for mold damage under your policy, if you fail to maintain your home like regularly inspecting your pipes for leaks, or quickly drying a wet area, your insurance provider will not cover the mold damage.
• Was the mold caused because you failed to mitigate additional damage to your home? Let’s say a leak starts in your kitchen and you just let the water run without taking action to reduce the damage to your home, your insurance provider will not cover it.

Knowing all of these facts about whether mold would be covered under certain circumstances is important for homeowners. Having this knowledge can help homeowners once they have encountered mold in their homes.

Do You Need a Public Adjuster for Mold?

Many details are involved once mold damage has been claimed as a loss for a homeowner. Insurance companies can give homeowners a hard time during the process for peril, but Churchill professional public adjusters will ensure that they do not take advantage of their clients.

Any kind of loss that is experienced either in your business or home should use the help of a professional Miami Public Adjuster. At our firm, we take on your claim, and then we file it immediately to your insurance company and handle all matters related to your claim from that point on.

When considering filing a claim for property damage, the best decision you could make is hiring a skilled Miami, FL Public adjuster, versus trying to take on the claim yourself. As you read on, you will see the advice given by us as to why filing an insurance claim in a timely matter is crucial and needed for your case.

The Importance of Filing a Claim in a Timely Manner

Proving notice in a timely manner will determine the mood that the insurance company will have with you throughout the process. In fact, in your insurance policy, there is a section under “duties after loss” that specifically states that you must give prompt notice to the insurance company or their agents. These are some advantages that you will acquire from filing quickly:

• Your claim will be evaluated more quickly
• Your claim gets evaluated early on allowing for a more cooperative negotiation with your insurance company
• They cannot use “delayed claim” as an excuse to jeopardize your claim
• You will be among the first of policyholders who gets their claim handled if it was the result of a natural disaster

As you can tell from the above advantages, you will always be ahead of the insurance company by reporting your loss immediately to them. They will have nothing negative against you. The sad reality is that insurance companies are a business and want to make money. They will try everything in their power to make sure that they can use anything against you to provider you the least amount of compensation possible.

Don’t Let Yourself Become a Victim of the Insurance Company

Don’t let yourself become a victim of their games and give a call to a public adjuster in Miami that exerts professionalism, compassion, and determination. Remember, a public adjuster always hears you and takes your concerns into consideration.

If you have reached the point where you need to file a claim because your home has endured an extensive amount of damage from the water, then you will want to learn of the process it takes to file the claim, right? Essentially.

The disparity between a claim that is successful versus one that isn’t is how knowledgeable not only your public adjuster is, but yourself. You need to know how to defend yourself and understand the details of your policy if you intend on winning your claim.

One step is understanding the process of filing a claim. While our Miami Public adjusters take the case over for you, you also have a responsibility to study a little bit about your claim. As a homeowner, I would like to know what is going on with my claim. Below we will list specifications for the claim process so that you can further understand.

Processes of a Claim for Water Damage

This following information will provide you with the idea of what occurs after you have filed a claim for water damage with your insurance carrier:

1. Water damages will be assessed, and an estimate will be prepared by the insurer’s claims adjuster, known as “field scooping.”
2. Additional remediation may also be recommended by the adjuster
3. Estimates and assessments will be given to your insurance company
4. Your insurance company will come up with a settlement
5. A settlement will be presented to you
6. You will either agree to the settlement or decide to hire a Miami public adjuster

If you are unhappy with the results of your claim, you have a right as a homeowner to take your claim to a public adjuster. For the most part, insurance carriers want to profit and if you are not knowledgeable of the prices and what your coverage is, they may low-ball you and not offer you enough money to even repair half of the damage that your home suffered.

A claim can be lengthy. It can bring on many difficulties and cause you intense frustration, especially if you already have to deal with the losses that have been induced to your home. All of that stress, frustration, and hassle that you will face with your insurance company can be avoided if you simply call one of our great Public adjusters at our firm located in Miami. Their compassionate nature will show you how they care for your needs. We want to ensure that the least amount of out-of-pocket money is paid by you, enabling us to fight fiercely in protecting your properties value.

The way an insurance company defines physical loss to your property depends on the type of coverage that you have. A Miami public adjuster could answer that question in full if they are able to read your specific policy. In general, the physical loss to your property is defined if there is actual physical damage that has occurred to your home.

Because that may be outlined or not in your policy, you would first have to evaluate the conclusion that your insurance company came up with.

You would have to show the burden of proof that your loss falls under the policy’s clause because the physical loss may not be defined in your policy and that will pose a problem and bring about a discussion with your insurance company. Let the Miami firm of Public Adjusters handle the discussion with your insurance company.

What Happens When the Loss is not Physically Apparent?

Now, there will be times when the physical loss is not apparent to the naked eye, but that its usefulness has been deteriorated or damaged. How can that be proven? Perils that come from a fire can be physically seen, but if damage comes to the home within the structure where it is not visible, it may prove difficult to demonstrate.

This is a quote from a court that held that a physical loss is: “distinct, demonstrable, physical alteration” of the property.4 Moreover, “some external force must have acted upon the insured property to cause a physical change in the condition of the property, i.e., it must have been ‘damaged’ within the common understanding of that term.”5

In other words, even though the direct physical loss may not be clearly explained in your policy, you would have to show how there was a physical alteration on your property that would satisfy the requirement for this coverage.

As someone who is not experienced with claims and basic construction, this might be extremely difficult to prove by yourself. You should contact a public adjuster in Miami, FL that is experienced in the matter in Miami. They will be able to determine the direct physical loss and help prove it in a way that is understandable for your insurance company. Insurance policies for businesses and homes are complex because there are many variables tied to them.