Heavy rains, tropical storms, broken pipes, and many other events can lead to flooding in a church, and the policyholders in charge of these places of worship need to act quickly. Water and flood damage can worsen rapidly if care isn’t taken to start the cleanup early, but the early choices policyholders make in reaction to a flood may not take the future insurance claim into account. Ultimately, it can be hard to make choices with the church’s financial future in mind when water is actively threatening precious church property, and it’s not unusual for church policyholders to make major mistakes in the panic.
Common Mistakes Church Policyholders Make After a Major Flooding Event
As you react to a flood in your church or place of worship, it’s important that you take steps to identify and avoid common mistakes, such as:
- Not taking action to limit problems. If you don’t stop the leak or remove excess water, church buildings and property can suffer even more damage—and it may be difficult to convince the insurance company to pay you for worsening damages that you ignored.
- Not adequately documenting damages before repairs are made. Although you do need to react quickly to flood waters and plumbing leaks, keep in mind that you also need to properly document the nature of the damages before the evidence is lost in repairs.
- Not getting help when troubles arise. Although many churches are able to successfully settle flood insurance claims on their own, some do run into confusion and long setbacks that jeopardize recovery. However, churches don’t have to give up when claims become complicated. An experienced policyholder attorney can be instrumental in helping churches surmount insurance difficulties following a flood.
Churches Can Fight for Their Policyholder Rights After Flood-Related Losses
While many churches rely on the generosity after a disaster, the costs of severe flooding can be overwhelming, and insurance companies may not be willing to be generous as they adjust flood claims. However, churches and religious facilities should be able to rely on the flood insurance they pay for each year—and they can fight for their policyholder rights with the help of experienced flood insurance claim lawyers. Connect with the Voss Law Firm by phone to discuss your flood insurance questions with an attorney who is skilled in negotiating and fighting for policyholder claims, or fill out the confidential contact form on this page to open the conversation.
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