Is your property seriously damaged after a hurricane hit your area? It is hard enough to handle structural damage, disrupted operations, and repair costs without needing to interpret insurance policies, document your losses, or argue with insurers by yourself.
Instead of taking on the legal side of things all alone, why not contact Barcus Arenas, PLLC? For nearly two decades, our attorneys have helped people in situations similar to yours. Known as a client-focused boutique firm, we can serve as your hurricane damage lawyer in Shreveport.
We’re not afraid to take cases to trial, and we’re willing to go the distance to fight for your rights. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do as your insurance claims lawyer in Shreveport.
Your Insurance Policy Sets the Starting Point
After a hurricane, it is natural to focus on the physical damage first:
- The roof is damaged.
- Windows are broken.
- Water has entered the building.
- Repairs need to happen.
However, your hurricane damage claim in Shreveport is governed by the policy itself, and it determines the following matters in your case:
- Which losses are covered
- Which exclusions apply
- How losses are valued
- What conditions the policyholder must satisfy
- How disputes are handled
Your Policy May Explain How Disputes are Handled
Commercial policies can contain particularly important provisions concerning deductibles, exclusions, valuation, business interruption coverage, appraisal, and dispute resolution. Your hurricane damage attorney in Shreveport can review the entire policy on your behalf.
This is important to remember because an insurer’s position is not automatically the same as the policy’s actual meaning. For a substantial commercial claim, your attorney can also look at endorsements, schedules, declarations, exclusions, and other documents.
With the help of your hurricane damage attorneys in Shreveport, you can better understand the complete policy, giving the policyholder a clearer foundation for evaluating the insurer’s position.
For a free legal consultation with a hurricane damage lawyer serving Shreveport, call (800) 941-1041
Wind and Water Damage Can Raise Different Coverage Questions
Hurricanes often produce several kinds of damage all at once:
- High winds can damage roofs and exterior structures.
- Rain can enter through openings created during the storm.
- Flooding can create another set of insurance questions entirely.
The source of the damage is often a major detail in an insurance dispute. An insurer could contend that certain damage resulted from an excluded cause rather than a covered hurricane-related event. Determining whether that position is supported by the evidence requires more than looking at photographs of the finished damage.
Your hurricane attorney in Shreveport can work with engineers, contractors, meteorologists, adjusters, and other professionals. In doing so, they can establish how the damage occurred, evaluate the condition of the property, identify the exact weather conditions, and point to other evidence relevant to the claim.
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Louisiana Law Protects Policyholders During Claim Handling
Louisiana Revised Statutes § 22:1892 requires insurers to adjust claims fairly and promptly and to make reasonable efforts to settle claims. The statute addresses payment deadlines after satisfactory proof of loss. It provides penalties in qualifying circumstances when an insurer’s conduct is arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause. Those protections are helpful when:
- A policyholder feels that an insurer is dragging out a claim
- Insurers are refusing to conduct a reasonable investigation
- Insurance companies offer an amount that doesn’t reflect the covered losses
Louisiana law also identifies certain claims-handling practices that can violate an insurer’s duties. This addresses conduct like refusing to pay without a reasonable investigation based on available information. It accounts for instances where insurers fail to make a prompt, fair, and equitable settlement attempt when liability is reasonably clear.
Your hurricane claims lawyer in Shreveport can examine the insurer’s actions against these legal requirements. In response, they can determine whether the dispute involves more than an ordinary disagreement over the amount of damage.
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Catastrophic Losses Have Specific Payment Rules
When you work with our team, our hurricane lawyers in Shreveport will explain that Louisiana has additional provisions addressing catastrophic losses involving property. Under Louisiana Revised Statutes § 22:1892.2, these are the deadlines that apply to involved insurance companies:
- Insurers handling catastrophic losses involving residential immovable property: They generally have 60 days after receiving satisfactory written proof of loss to transmit payment of amounts due.
- Insurers handling catastrophic losses involving other immovable property: The statute provides insurers with a 90-day period, with a provision allowing additional time for certain commercial policies covering multiple locations when authorized by the insurance commissioner.
A hurricane claim involving a single residential structure and a claim involving multiple commercial buildings do not necessarily operate under identical rules. Your Shreveport hurricane damage attorneys can identify which provisions apply. From there, they can assess whether the insurer complied with its obligations.
Now, let’s say an insurer fails to meet an applicable statutory requirement under circumstances covered by the law. If that’s the case, then relevant penalties and attorney fees can become part of the legal analysis. The statute sets out specific requirements for those remedies, so the facts and claim history need to be examined carefully.
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For Legal Help From a Hurricane Damage Law Firm in Shreveport, Call Barcus Arenas, PLLC
If your property sustained damage caused by a hurricane, you deserve legal representation that accounts for the consequences of your losses. At Barcus Arenas, PLLC, we approach insurance disputes with that in mind.
Our Shreveport hurricane damage lawyers have built our firm around a collaborative relationship. We’re home to attorneys who share a commitment to the communities and policyholders we serve. In fact, our lawyers also participate in organizations connected to the insurance industry.
We actively work to shape the laws that affect our clients, and we take a serious approach without losing sight of the people behind each claim. Call us today for advice from lawyers who can make the legal issues understandable and take an aggressive position on your behalf.
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