EXPERT WITNESS ASSIGNMENT
Once property insurance claims enter the legal arena, one burden the insured often has is to further demonstrate their damages. This is often accomplished through the use of experts who are hired by our law firm to analyze the claim and provide an opinion of not only the scope of damages, but also the cause and value of those damages. While this may be a duplication of efforts at times, the engagement of highly regarded experts will often be the tipping point in settlement of suits. Our law firm has the secured the top experts in the nation who have performed a voluminous amount of expert work for many well know clients and have been integrally involved in helping to resolve losses upwards of millions of dollars. Our experts are retained to forensically reconstruct missing structures altogether, to evaluate scopes of damage, to evaluate values of damage to a structure and to assess losses of rental income based on property damages, as well as many other aspects.
LOSS CONSULTATION
The Voss Law Firm, P.C. offers no obligation initial consultations with our clients to determine if the loss situation is ripe for an attorney's involvement and whether the working relationship will be a good fit for both. This consultation involves a brief policy review and a fact finding session to determine the various dynamics of the claim.
INSURANCE POLICY INTERPRETATION
Insurance policy analysis is the foundation of any claim assessment. The policy is the contract between the insured and their insurance company and will define the obligations of each party. Analyzing the policy is the first phase of a successful adjustment and is the first step taken by this law firm when we consider a claim.
DAMAGE INVENTORY AND ESTIMATING
One of the most artful portions of presenting a damage claim is properly documenting the damages, estimating the cost of those damages and presenting the claimed items for payment. A proper itemization, proper photographic documentation and proper valuation is the key to receiving a fair and accurate claim settlement. Our retained experts do this for you, as part of the legal services provided to our clients.
REPLACEMENT ANALYSIS
Often times, a structure is missing altogether following a catastrophe. The key to resolving this type of loss is analyzing the replacement cost total. This is accomplished through an exhaustive forensic reconstruction of the structure on paper accompanied by an accurate analysis for the cost based on current market conditions. Our retained experts do this for you, as part of the legal services provided to our clients.
BUSINESS LOSS ASSESSMENT
At the time commercial losses occur, there is often times a concurrent cessation of revenues due to the inability of the business occupying the damaged structure to continue to function normally. Many insurance policies have coverage for loss of income under this circumstance as well as others. It is important to carefully document the time frames starting with the day the loss occurred until the time the business resumed normal operations and produced income consistent or equal to the amount of income the company would have maintained had the loss never occurred. This is an art form in itself and we work actively with retained forensic accountants to ensure the loss is properly evaluated.
DATA COMPILATION
Data related to the circumstances surrounding your particular loss is critical in order to evaluate how your loss occurred and what caused the loss. This data is particularly critical when dealing with natural disasters that involve multiple perils such as a hurricane or tornadoes mixed with hail and rainstorms that produce flooding. Data compilation is often comprised of engineering data and meteorological data. There are multiple other sources of data utilized to evaluate a claim and we commonly utilize these resources to ensure that your claim is effectively analyzed and ultimately resolved.
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE DETERMINATION
Many times, and especially following natural disasters damage exists to a property that is not readily visible or easily determined with the naked eye. While the structure may be standing it is likely that the structure has experienced extensive movement and racking. This phenomenon is very common following hurricanes and tornadoes and leads to long term exposure to damage that may not show up for several years or more. In many instances, the best way to reasonably evaluate the property for structural damage is through sound engineering. Licensed forensic engineers are often necessary to evaluate the damaged property in order to verify structural damage that may or may not be readily apparent. Our retained experts include engineers and do this type of work for you, as part of the legal services provided to our clients.
TEMPORARY LIVING EXPENSE ASSESSMENT
Most residential policies have a provision that will cover your additional living expenses should your primary residence become uninhabitable by a covered cause of loss. This can be a tricky coverage to navigate because the term “uninhabitable” means different things to different people. For a wheel chair bound person a home may be uninhabitable if a room is not accessible because they cannot access necessary living accommodations. For an average family though, uninhabitable usually means not having a place to cook food, a place to sleep or a bathroom. It is also important to note that coverage usually only applies when the cost is incurred and only when you expend costs to live that exceed your current level. Our legal services have been instrumental in getting our clients early temporary living expenses.
MONITORING INSPECTIONS BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY
Most policies today require that you allow the insurer to “inspect the property as many times as are reasonably necessary”. While there have been numerous interpretations of what “reasonable” is over the years, when you get down to it, most insurers have the right to access the property as needed to make a claim payment determination. This can become burdensome for the property owner who is a busy professional so part of the legal services we offer is the management of the above process. We will have our experts on site every single time the insurance company goes onto your property. Further, we make sure the insurance company limits their intrusion onto your property, thus limiting the number of times you have to give access to your carrier.
Insurance Claim Recovery Services Offered By The Voss Law Firm, P.C.
The Voss Law Firm, P.C. represents clients on a local, national and international basis. We proudly serve companies and individuals along the Gulf Coast and around the globe on a contingency fee basis. Our law firm collects nothing unless we recover on our client's behalf.