Serving Monroe County, Miami-Dade, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Lee County, and Collier County

Our Boca Raton attorneys represent insurance policyholders in claims against their property insurance companies and all insurance claims cases.

Unfortunately, many insurance companies create loopholes in policies in an attempt to avoid having to pay for damages to your property. When insurance companies are acting inappropriately, they need to be held responsible for unethical behavior.

At times, some policyholders may have disputes against their insurers for failing to pay sufficiently for a claim, or even failing to pay at all.

We Handle All Types of Property Insurance and Homeowner Claims

Tropical storms and hurricanes are the biggest threats to homes and property in South Florida. Every year, thousands of homes are damaged during hurricane season (typically from summer through fall).

There are other reasons why you might need to seek assistance from your property insurance provider. Vandals and burglars can leave you without precious possessions you’ve owned for a long time. You should be able to depend on your property insurance to help you recover the loss of both valuable and invaluable objects lost or stolen in a burglary.

We handle all types of insurance cases, including but not limited to:

  • Damage from tropical storms, hurricanes, fires, and floods
  • Paying what your claim is truly worth
  • Residential Property Claims
  • Commercial Property Claims
  • Claim Presentation
  • Coverage Dispute
  • Sinkhole Claims
  • Appeals
  • Agent Negligence

With more than 40 years of combined experience, our skilled attorneys work one-on-one with our clients in Boca Raton and throughout Florida to ensure that insurance companies uphold their contracts and treat policyholders fairly.

At the law firm of Balkan, Patterson & Charbonnet, we represent clients during the entire claims process, including in mediation and pre-trial settlement discussions, in claim presentation, and insurance claim litigation and appeals.

Damage from Irma? We Expertly Handle Hurricane Claims

From June to November, your Florida property could be damaged or destroyed by a hurricane.

Your insurance policy exists to protect your home and your property against these kinds of disasters. When your policy fails to support you financially in the wake of a hurricane, you need help from experienced board-certified attorneys with a track record of success.

Here are among the most common storms that South Florida residents experience resulting in damage to their homes and property.

TROPICAL STORMS

Tropical storms are large coastal storms with winds under 74 miles per hour. While often not strong enough to inflict the same level of damage as a hurricane, homes can become damaged or destroyed from flooding or fallen trees and power lines.

CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE STORMS

When hurricane winds remain between 74 and 96 miles per hour, the storm qualifies as a category one hurricane. Category 1 hurricanes are powerful enough to destroy your roof, uproot trees, and damage power lines/poles.

CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE STORMS

Hurricane winds between 96 and 111 miles per hour are considered category two. Flooding and winds are strong enough to cause mild structural damage to your home and property.

CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE STORMS

Category three hurricanes register winds between 111 and 131 miles per hour. Category 3 hurricanes can destroy manufactured homes and uproot large trees with healthy root systems. Waves from category 3 hurricanes increase the chance of flooding in and around your home.

CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE STORMS

Once winds exceed 131 miles per hour, it is very difficult for trees and power lines/poles to remain intact. Even homes with solid foundations can experience irreparable structural damage. Category 4 hurricanes remain so until they surpass wind speeds of 155 miles per hour.

The most recent Hurricane Irma was a category 4 storm. It caused enormous damage to property, and was responsible for the deaths of 134 people across Florida, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and other neighboring Caribbean islands.

CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE STORMS

The last category 5 hurricane to strike Florida was Hurricane Andrew in 1992. These are the most dangerous tropical storms in the world. Homes of all kinds and materials can completely disappear against the pounding of wind, water, and flying objects.

We Are Your South Florida Homeowners Advocates

As a Florida homeowner, you probably know that many things can go wrong with your home, from roof leaks and floods to plumbing problems and damage from natural disasters.

BEING A HOMEOWNER IN SOUTH FLORIDA

In South Florida, we have a high number of homes damaged from tropical storms, hurricanes, flooding, and fires because of the nature of our environment.

When these events occur, they can cause more than just financial problems: the stress and emotional toll of damage to your home, or in some cases, losing your home, and dealing with insurance companies is considerable.

Your home is more than the place you live. It is where you’ve made memories with your family, raised your children, and keep the items that are most precious to you. When an insurance company neglects to pay the full amount of your insurance claim, or fails to pay at all, the consequences are even more severe to homeowners.

How to Know If Your Property Insurance Company is Acting Inappropriately

Some insurance companies have no intention of abiding by your policy standards or expectations. They may have deceived you into purchasing their policy without informing you how your new policy opens you to total loss after an accident or natural disaster.

Here are some of the ways that insurance companies demonstrate that they do not intend to assist you in the wake of the tragic loss of personal property.

  1. They overwhelm you with jargon and complexity. Keeping you confused about the technical aspects of your policy is a power move intended to hold you hostage to your lack of expert knowledge.
  2. They avoid your calls. Agents and adjusters know why you want to talk to them. When they are trying to “run out the clock” and force you to give up on your claim, they simply go dark.
  3. They arrive at bogus reasons to deny your claim. While your insurance company can deny your claim if they have a good reason, they cannot simply make up ridiculous reasons why your claim cannot be compensated.
  4. They never stop asking for more information. Insurance companies acting without your best interests in mind will drown you in red tape. They will always need you to send more documents or redo a critical form. You could end up accommodating their requests for years before they ever offer you any kind of compensation.
  5. When they pay, they under pay by thousands. These companies hope that you will be thankful for getting any compensation at all, and this is unethical.

Holding Property Insurance Companies Accountable

It is our job to help you recover the damages that are owed to you, and it is our job to work with your insurance company. These are roles that we take very seriously.

Navigating the paperwork and red tape involved in insurance claims cases can be overwhelming and difficult, but we are here to help. Some examples of cases we have successfully resolved for other clients include:

  • Damages to roofs caused by storms
  • Damages to pool deck/outdoor living area caused by improper plumbing
  • Damages caused by water supply-line ruptures
  • Damages caused by leaking roofs.
  • Damaged flooring

Call us today to speak with an attorney about assistance with your insurance company. For more information on what to do if you believe you’ve been denied proper insurance coverage or if your insurance company has denied a claim, please contact us for a free consultation at www.balkanpatterson.com.

The main office of Florida trial attorneys Balkan, Patterson & Charbonnet is located in Boca Raton, Florida, with a satellite office in Hollywood, Florida. They represent insurance claim, personal injury, auto accident, defective products, and consumer fraud clients throughout South Florida, including all of Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, Parkland, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Broward County and throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.balkanpatterson.com.