Tag: Hail Damage

Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit

Ohio Condominium Owners Association Files Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit

Posted by Jeff Raizner on

Raizner Law has filed a hail damage insurance lawsuit on behalf of an Ohio condominium owners association against Allstate Insurance Company after its insurance claim was wrongfully denied.

The property consists of 13 condominium buildings with approximately 140 units. On May 30, 2015, a wind and hailstorm swept through the area and pelted the property with hail one-inch in diameter. The wind and hail caused substantial damage to the property, including damage to the siding, roof structures, and HVAC units. Our client reported the hailstorm damage to Allstate and asked that the cost of repairs be covered pursuant to the policy.

In response to the claim, Allstate assigned the claim to a claims representative located in Irving, Texas. In turn, the claims representative engaged the help of an engineering firm to evaluate the damage. The investigation of the property only lasted approximately one hour and no investigation of the roof was conducted. The engineering firm was not hired to investigate the damages, but rather the exact date the damage occurred to determine whether or not the damage occurred during the coverage period. The engineering firm relied on “observation reports” from “storm spotters” throughout the United States, which are “not official records” but were “summarized and eventually reported by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).” However, the engineering firm did not provide any of those “observation reports,” records, or other NCDC data in support of its conclusions.

Based solely on these observation reports, Allstate denied the insurance claim alleging the damage occurred outside of the coverage period. Allstate did not provide any supporting documentation for its conclusion.

Allstate Violated Ohio Insurance Law

Ohio law requires Allstate to act in good faith in handling and paying the claims of its insured. The requirement to act in good faith includes both the duty to investigate in good faith and provide a reasonable justification for denial. Allstate failed to exercise good faith in the processing of a claim.

Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuits

Policyholders that regularly pay their premium deserve full coverage pursuant to their policies. Insurance companies that wrongfully deny valid claims need to be held accountable for their actions. If your insurance company has wrongfully denied your condominium owners association insurance claim, contact Raizner Law today for a free consultation to discuss your case.

Arlington Insurance Lawyers

Arlington, Texas Hotel Owner Files Hail Damage Claim Lawsuit

Posted by Jeff Raizner on

Raizner Law has filed a hail damage claim lawsuit on behalf of an Arlington, Texas hotel owner against Zurich American Insurance Company after its hail damage claim was wrongfully denied under Texas law.

Our client operates a four-story hotel located on 54,537 square feet of land with 45,340 square feet of interior space. In May 2016, our Texas hotel owner client discovered extensive hail damage to the property from a hail storm that swept through Arlington. Substantial portions of the property’s roof, windows, and interiors sustained damage. The plaintiff promptly filed a claim with Zurich, alerting them to the extensive damages and asking that the cost of repairs be covered pursuant to the policy.

Zurich’s retained adjuster performed a cursory investigation of the property in April 2017 and prepared an estimate for payment to the plaintiff. The adjuster documented a minimal amount of damage, and then issued an underpayment based on its own faulty estimates.

In part, due to the significant underpayment, in July 2017, the plaintiff engaged a public adjuster to represent its interests. It was only after the plaintiff notified Zurich that it had hired a public adjuster that Zurich retained also a third-party company to perform an investigation of the property. The third-party determined the damages were the result of “long-term deterioration of the seals,” and recommended an additional, sub-standard payment.

Zurich’s claims-handling process omitted a wealth of facts, physical evidence, obvious damages, and meteorological data supporting the plaintiff’s claim. Zurich unreasonably determined the damage “was the result of long-term deterioration,” ignoring significant evidence to the contrary. The third-party report simply rubber-stamped the underpayment Zurich previously authorized.

Zurich Violated The Texas Insurance Code

Our client alleges Zurich violated numerous aspects of the Texas Insurance Code, including failing to attempt to effectuate the prompt, fair, and equitable settlement of a claim, failure to adopt and implement reasonable standards for prompt investigation of the claim, and misrepresentation of the policy under which it affords coverage to the plaintiff.

Arlington Insurance Lawyers

Policyholders deserve full protection under their policies. Many insurance companies prey upon uninformed policyholders unaware of their legal rights. If your insurance company is denying your claim or misrepresenting the terms of your policy, contact the Arlington insurance lawyers at Raizner Law today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

Hail Damage Insurance Denials

Dallas Property Owners Facing Bad Faith Insurance Denials

Posted by Jeff Raizner on

The Dallas-Fort Worth Area is no stranger to storms. The region is often at the center of large thunderstorms, including regular hailstorms. Even though this area regularly receives extreme weather, little could have prepared Dallas for the hailstorm that swept through the city last June. For many commercial property owners, delayed, underpaid, or outright denied insurance claims remain a constant reminder of the storm.

In the early morning hours of June 6, 2018, a severe thunderstorm swept through the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. The storm split right over Collin County, Texas, and the westernmost cell moved south-southwestward. The cell dropped large hail stones from southeast Denton County into northwest Dallas County and eastern Tarrant County until it finally reached Arlington, Texas. The storm was so loud that many Dallas-Fort Worth residents mistook the pounding hail for intruders or gunshots.

While some areas only saw hail the size of half an inch in diameter, hail the size of tennis balls was reported just east of Arlington. Overall, an estimated 20,000 structures were damaged in the storm. Unfortunately for property owners, insurance companies are utilizing a variety of bad faith tactics to reduce or completely deny valid claims.

Hail Damage Insurance Denials

Anytime there is a natural disaster or extreme weather event, insurance companies stand to lose a lot of money. Insurance companies are first and foremost a business, so when faced with large-scale disasters, they do anything they can to limit payouts. Some of the bad faith tactics insurance companies use to wrongfully deny valid property damage claims include:

  • Blaming the damage on inadequate maintenance
  • Wrongly claiming the amount of damage is less than the deductible
  • Misinterpreting the policy to claim the damage isn’t covered when in fact it is

What Property Owners Can Do

If you regularly pay your premium, you deserve full coverage under your policy. If your insurance company is delaying, underpaying, or outright denying your claim, Raizner Law can help. Our experienced insurance lawyers take on large insurance companies to get our clients what they are rightfully owed under their policies. If you suffered damage during the Dallas hail storm and your claim has been denied, contact us today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

hail damage insurance lawsuit

Raizner Law Files Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit On Behalf of Dallas Motel Owner

Posted by Jeff Raizner on

Raizner Law has filed a hail damage insurance lawsuit on behalf of a Dallas, Texas motel owner against United Specialty Insurance Company, Strata Claims Management, LLC, and Engle Martin & Associates, LLC.

April 2017 Hail Storm

On April 25, 2017, a hail storm swept through Dallas, Texas. The hail storm caused severe damage to the property, including damage to the roof, HVAC system, exterior, and interior of the property. Immediately upon discovering the damage, the plaintiff filed an insurance claim with United Specialty alerting them to the damage. In response to the catastrophe claim, United Specialty assigned adjusters, consultants, and agents to the plaintiff’s file that were inadequate and improperly trained. More specifically, United assigned the plaintiff’s claim to Strata for adjustment, and Strata in turn assigned the claim to an employee to adjust the damages. Strata then assigned the plaintiff’s claim to Engle Martin as independent adjusters, who assigned an employee to handle adjusting the claims.

United Specialty, with ultimate decision-making authority and acting on its own accord and through its agents Strata, Engle Martin, and their employees, failed to conform to proper claim settlement practices in Texas, failed to properly supervise its designated representatives, and unreasonably denied and delayed full and fair claim payment. Specifically, Strata, Engle Martin, and their employees failed to perform a thorough investigation of the claim. Engle Martin’s employee inspected the property on June 26, 2017, and performed a cursory, substandard inspection. On July 5, 2017, this employee prepared an estimate of covered damages that grossly undervalued what should be covered and paid under the policy.

Upon reviewing the gross undervaluation of the damage, the plaintiff hired its own licensed public adjuster to evaluate the claim. It was only after learning the plaintiff had hired a public adjuster that the defendants decided to retain an engineering firm to inspect the property. The engineering firm performed a “Window Damage Evaluation Report,” dated August 21, 2017. This report found “none of the windows have sustained any wind or hail impact-related damage” and that condensation was due to “seal failure” consistent with “age-related deterioration of the windows.” In short, the engineering firm’s report was an unreasonable and pretextual rubber-stamp of the unreasonable investigation made and underpayment already found by Strata and Engle Martin.

Unfortunately, the defendants have delayed payment for the plaintiff’s necessary and covered property repairs under the insurance policy. Given the repeated delays of payment, the plaintiff has been subjected to significant economic impact, worry, distress, and continuing economic and physical damage. Because of the delays, denials, and underpayment, the plaintiff has been unable to make necessary repairs to the property, which has resulted in further damages, including additional interior and roof damage, among others.

United Specialty Acted In Bad Faith

Our client alleges United Specialty acted in bad faith and cites numerous violations of the Texas Insurance Code, including refusal to pay a claim without conducting a reasonable investigation, misrepresentation of an insurance policy under which it affords property coverage to the policyholder, and knowingly committing the foregoing acts with actual knowledge of the falsity, unfairness, or deception of the foregoing acts.

Get Help With Your Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit

Policyholders deserve full protection under their policies. Many insurance companies prey upon uninformed policyholders who are unaware of their legal rights. If your insurance company is denying your claim or misrepresenting the terms of your policy, contact the hail damage insurance lawyers at Raizner Law today for a free consultation to get help with your hail damage insurance lawsuit.

Hail Damage Insurance Claim

Raizner Law Files Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit On Behalf of Apartment Complex Owner

Posted by Jeff Raizner on

Raizner Law has filed a hail damage insurance lawsuit on behalf of a Texas apartment complex owner against Houston Casualty Company, QBE Insurance Corporation, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company, Hiscox Incorporated, Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company, Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, Internal Insurance Company of Hanover SE, Alterra Excess & Surplus Insurance Company, Interstate Fire & Casualty Company, RSUI Indemnity Company, and Engle Martin and Associates (collectively “the insurers”).

Two Hail Storms Damage Apartment Complex

On December 27, 2015 and again on May 10, 2016, a hail storm swept through Hurst, Texas and caused significant damage to the plaintiff’s property. The hail storm caused extensive damage to the apartment complex’s roof that was so extensive large sections of shingles were missing from the roof systems. In response to the damage, the plaintiff has made numerous repairs to the roof and tarped large sections of the roof to mitigate damages. Unfortunately, the interior damages continue because of roof leaks due to the insurers’ low ball estimate and failure to pay the claim.

Upon discovering the damage, the plaintiff filed an insurance claim with the insurers. In response to the claim, the insurers assigned the claim to Engle Martin who in turn assigned the claim to internal adjusters. The adjusters were improperly trained and failed to perform a thorough investigation of the claim, spending an inadequate amount of time inspecting the plaintiff’s property. The damages the adjuster included in the report were grossly undervalued and did not allow for adequate funds to cover the cost of repairs for all damages sustained. The adjusters failed to perform any of the industry standard tests for hail and wind damage during their inspections. For example, the adjusters neither conducted test squares nor did the adjusters perform brittleness tests.

As a result of the mishandling of the plaintiff’s claim, the plaintiff has experienced a delay in fully repairing the property, which has caused additional damages. To this date, the plaintiff has yet to receive the full payment it is entitled to under its policy. The majority of the apartment units at the property continue to leak from the wind and hail damaged roofs. The adjusters handling the claim refused to consider any interior damages when conducting their inspection of the property, failing to inspect the interior of the apartment complex.

Violating Texas Insurance Law

The insurers and the third party adjusting firm handling the claim violated numerous sections of the Texas Insurance Code. Our client alleges they failed to perform to a prompt, fair, and equitable settlement of a claim, misrepresented the policy under which they afford property coverage to the plaintiff, and denied a claim without conducting a reasonable investigation.

Get Help With Your Hail Damage Insurance Claim

At Raizner Law, our insurance attorneys believe that if you pay regularly pay your premiums, you deserve full protection under your policy. We know all of the bad faith tactics insurance companies employ to avoid paying out on claims and we can help you obtain complete compensation. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your hail damage insurance claim.

Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit

Raizner Law Files Bad Faith Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit On Behalf of Commercial Property Owner

Posted by Jeff Raizner on

Raizner Law has filed a bad faith insurance lawsuit on behalf of a Laredo, Texas commercial building owner against United Fire & Casualty Company after its hail damage insurance claim was wrongfully denied under Texas law.

May 2017 Hailstorm

The plaintiff owns and operates three commercial properties in Webb County, Texas. On May 21, 2017, a wind and hail storm ripped through Laredo and Webb County, causing significant damage to the plaintiff’s buildings. As a result of the hail and windstorm, the properties were substantially damaged. Sizeable portions of the properties’ roofs were compromised by hail and wind. As a result of the roof damages, the properties also sustained interior damages.

Immediately upon discovering the damages, the plaintiff filed an insurance claim with United Fire and asked that the cost of repairs be covered pursuant to its policies. United Fire’s claims-handling process resulted in a wrongful denial that omitted a wealth of facts, physical evidence, obvious hail and wind damages, and meteorological data supporting the plaintiff’s claims. United Fire unreasonably pinned the loss on anything but the hail and wind, an action designed to save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to the properties and the businesses.

United Fire assigned two claims adjusters to adjust the claim who were unqualified and incapable of adequately assessing the damages to these types of commercial properties. These adjusters were also the source of many delays throughout the claims process. United Fire and its adjusters took months to even inspect the properties or attempt to assess the damages. United Fire continued to delay the claim resolution and did not provide the insured with answers to its repeated requests for information about its pending claims.

United Fire ultimately denied the claims on March 20, 2018, despite the fact that wind and hail damages were obvious and that liability under the policy was reasonably clear. Their conclusions, denials, and refusal to acknowledge or pay the claim were based on an outcome-oriented investigation aimed at denying the plaintiff’s claims from the outset. United Fire, its adjusters, and consultants ignored obvious catastrophic hail and wind damage to the properties and refused to consider that hail and wind were actually the source of obvious damages. The claims adjustment process was unnecessarily complicated, disorganized, and conducted behind closed doors until United Fire ultimately wrongfully refused to compensate its insured for any of the obvious covered damages under the policy.

United Fire & Casualty Company Violated Texas Law

To this day, United Fire has refused to pay for any covered damages under the policy. United Fire violated numerous sections of the Texas Insurance Code, including failure to effectuate the prompt, fair, and equitable settlement of a claim and failure to provide promptly a reasonable explanation for the denial of a claim. Our client also alleges United Fire violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

Get Help With Your Hail Damage Insurance Lawsuit

If your insurance company has delayed, underpaid, or outright denied your hail damage claim, the experienced insurance lawyers at Raizner Law can help with you with your hail damage insurance lawsuit. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to see how we can help with your hail damage insurance lawsuit.