Common Home Insurance Questions

Property loss

Can I restore my property immediately?

Generally, if possible, you can temporarily fix to protect your property from further harm. Until an adjuster inspects the damage, do not make permanent repairs. Your policy includes the cost of temporary repairs, so save your material and labor receipts. When making temporary repairs, take pictures of the damage.

Will I accept multiple insurance company payments? Will I get insurers and FEMA payments?

Yes. You will need to file lawsuits for your windstorm, flood, and homeowner's policies depending on the type of damage your home has and where you live. Each policy covers various kinds of injury so that you might have payable claims under more than one insurance policy. You can also request FEMA assistance for non-insurance injury.

I got rental assistance from my home insurer. Will I still get those payments if I transfer to a FEMA trailer or accept other FEMA rental assistance?

Your insurer and FEMA can not collect duplicate rental assistance. However, after hitting the cap on what your homeowner's insurance would cover, you can get FEMA rental aid. You can also be eligible for other forms of extra living expenses under your homeowner's agreement. Review your insurance policy and consult with an experienced insurance agent.

Will my homeowner's policy protect my garage or shed?

Usually, well. The cumulative amount of coverage for all other structures is typically ten percent of your home insurance. Police may not protect other facilities such as portable buildings or buildings used for commercial purposes.

My house wasn't flooded by rising water, but the sewage line destroyed my home. Does my home owner's policy protect this?

It's up to your insurance contract. Such measures protect water or waste from outside the plumbing system that reaches by sewers or drains, while others do not.

I put my furniture and household products in the front yard to dry out. Then they're stolen. Can my homeowner's insurance compensate for the loss?

It's up to your policy. Many plans compensate for the resulting failure or attempted theft.

A wind blew my gate. Will my homeowners cover my fence loss.

If your policy offers wind coverage, you could have some fence protection. Fence compensation is generally limited to actual cash value, which is the expense of repairing with new equal material and price, minus depreciation.

My house flooded. Does my homeowner's policy cover floodwater mold damage?

Typically, no. If there is no flood coverage in the plan, any subsequent flood damage will not be protected under the policy.

Lodging, food loss, and FEMA assistance

My house was flooded, but I had no flood insurance. Should my homeowner insurer reject my application before I may qualify for FEMA assistance?

No. If you have flood damage and your homeowner's insurance doesn't cover flooding, you should immediately apply for assistance. FEMA confirms that the insurance application was rejected.

I have flood protection, so there are no extra living expenses. May I request FEMA assistance?

Yes. You may be eligible for FEMA support for your uninsured or underinsured expenses or serious needs, including temporary accommodation.

Will a homeowner's policy have extra living cost coverage?

If you can not stay at home for damage covered by your insurance, such as fire or hail damage, your homeowners or renters insurance can pay for a hotel or other temporary shelter. Check your policy for coverage limits. Many homeowners and tenants' plans don't compensate flood damage, so if you evacuate due to flooding, they won't reimburse expenses.

When should I start paying my additional living expenses?

Generally, compensation for extra living costs starts if a protected threat uninhabitable your house.

Will a homeowner's insurance policy offer extra coverage for a mandatory evacuation?

Depending on the scheme, contact the insurer.

There's a power outage in my town, and there's no utility in our house. Can my policy pay for a hotel once restore water and power?

Probably not. Policies usually only include consumption loss compensation if your home is uninhabitable due to harm from a peril protected by your insurance, and it does not have a power outage.

Food in my fridge spoiled when power was out. Will my homeowners' insurance pay the loss?

Many homeowner's plans include up to five hundred dollars to spoil refrigerated or frozen food if the power loss results from a peril covered by your policy.

Payments / Payments

I got an insurance company check, but I'm not happy with the number. I expect to file a lawsuit demanding additional funds. Can I pay the bill?

You should contact an experienced home insurance lawyer.

The check could be a partial repair charge. Additional funds should be released upon evidence that repairs have been made. If you're not happy after addressing your insurer's issues, you can file a complaint with the Texas Insurance Department. From our experience, TDI rarely does anything and typically sides with the insurance carrier.

From our experience, your best result is to hire a knowledgeable property loss attorney. For the most part, insurance loss claims are substantially underpaid by tens of thousands of dollars.

What's the difference between real cash value coverage and cost substitution coverage?

If you have real cash value coverage, the insurance will reimburse the expense of replacing with new products (or comparable items) minus depreciation and deductible.

If replacement costs cover you, the insurer will pay the real cash value up front and pay for the remainder of the replacement costs up to coverage limits when you complete the repair within the period stated in the contract. You're also the deductible liable.

Will the insured and mortgage firms be named on insurance checks?

Yes, if the mortgage company has an interest.

What if the mortgage company got the check?

\Within ten days of obtaining the check, the mortgage company must inform you what their conditions are to release funds. When you have ample documentation to prove you have fulfilled those conditions, the mortgage company has ten days to release the funds. You could have an interest if the mortgage company fails to comply with applicable law.

Harm to and by trees

The wind caused my tree to fall on my building, damaging my roof. Does my homeowner's policy cover my house damage and pay for tree removal from my property?

Perhaps. If your insurance offers wind coverage, you could have damage coverage. Policies can also include debris removal. Contact your insurer to see your policy.

My neighbor's tree fell and destroyed my roof. Will my neighbor's homeowners policy pay for home damage and tree removal?

Probably not. Your neighbor isn't liable for nature's act. However, if the tree was dead, your neighbor could be responsible for your home's loss. Unless the neighbor's policy pays for your injury, you can claim under your policy.

Would my homeowner's policy pay for downed trees loss and removal?

No. Wind does not cover trees, shrubs, plants, and lawns. Trees removal is also not protected as they did not fall on or damage protected land.

A tree fell on my roof during the storm, and rain entered my house. I see mold rising now. Am I covered?

Many homeowner's policies would cover property affected by rain that entered via the wind-induced opening. Many homeowners' policies exclude mold, but some policies will cover the resulting mold loss caused by water damage. Mold loss compensation will involve fixing or removing your damaged property. Most policies don't require mold remediation or monitoring.

Insurance adjusters

Should I hire a public insurance adjuster to file and help settle my insurance claim?

A public insurance adjuster is an option. Public insurance adjusters charge fees to help settle cases for insurance providers. The cost is typically a proportion of lawsuit settlement, which will arise from the payment.

Public adjusters typically cannot witness formal court proceedings since they are interested in your insurance claim. Also, they are not able to compel insurance companies to perform any specific duties.

Who decides the cause of harm, and who pays an expert if needed?

Usually, the insurance provider decides the cause of harm as the adjusters inspect and assess the loss. If an expert is required to determine the cause of the failure, the insurance company typically covers the bill. Of course, these experts are heavily sided with the insurance carrier.

You have the right to dispute the experts bought by the insurance carrier. You have the right to obtain unbiased and honest opinions by industry leaders. You have the right to hire an attorney to manage and fund your property insurance loss. You can call 833-7RIGHTS to learn further what rights you have.

Are there restrictions on public insurance adjuster compensation?

Yeah, the Public Insurance Adjuster fee does not exceed 10% of a premium settlement and must be disclosed in the Public Insurance Adjuster's written contract. Moreover, if a claim is settled within 72 hours of revealing the insurance provider's loss, the public insurance adjuster is only entitled to reasonable time and cost compensation.

Is a public insurance adjuster entitled to engage in restoring damaged property after settling?

No.

Should public insurance adjusters be licensed?

Yes, public insurance adjusters need Texas Insurance Department licensing.

Should I hire an experienced insurance attorney?

Yes. From our experience, property losses are severely underpaid. This is likely due to intentionally hiring uniformed insurance adjusters that are not highly skilled in evaluating insurance losses. It is also important to note that insurance carriers spend millions of dollars lobbying state representatives and appellant judges to get favorable laws passed and implemented.

In our experience, at least ten thousand dollars have been underpaid, eighty-five percent of the time.