WIND DAMAGE
High speed winds can cause extensive damage to your home. Between 2013 – 2017, the average damage caused by wind and hail was $10,182.00. On average, between 2013 – 2017, wind and hail damage made up 30.44% of all property damage claims.
Wind damage attorneys
Surprisingly, these high-speed winds are not only produced by tornadoes and hurricanes , but they can also be produced by a regular thunderstorm. Wind damage is not commonly thought of as causing property damage, but damage from severe thunderstorm winds is more common than damage than tornadoes. According to the NSSL (National Sever Storms Laboratory), there are a variety of types of damaging winds formed by different thunderstorm processes, but thunderstorms produce some straight-line winds when the thunderstorm downdraft his the ground and flows outward. These wind speeds can reach up to 100 mph and create a destructive path for hundreds of miles. These winds cause damage when they reach 50 mph. This damage can include damage to the inside and outside of your house. High-speed winds can lead to various types of damages to your home. For example, winds can cause trees and branches to fall on and damage your home. Winds can cause flying projectiles to damage windows and roof shingles or tiles. High speed winds alone can damage windows and damage roof shingles or tiles.
Your home is your castle and should be treated as such. If your home has suffered wind damage, do not hesitate to call an expert. At Keller, Melchiorre & Walsh, we help guide our clients through the pitfalls of insurance claims and the lawsuits that follow.
ARE WIND DAMAGE CLAIMS COVERED BY YOUR HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE?
Yes, wind damage claims are usually covered by your homeowner’s insurance. Most homeowner’s insurance policies are all risk policies. This means that your homeowner’s insurance will cover the damage unless it is specifically excluded from coverage.
WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOUR HOME IS SUSTAINS WIND DAMAGE?
The first thing you need to make sure your family is safe. Once the windstorm subsides, assess the damage to your house. Take pictures of any damage to your house, including both the exterior and the interior. Also, take pictures of any damage to any personal property that was damaged.
Every homeowner’s insurance policy contains a clause that the insured is required to mitigate damages. This means that you must take measures to prevent additional damage. For example, if a windstorm blew out your window then you would be required to tarp or use some cover to prevent rain and water from future storms from entering your house and causing additional water damage and mold damage.
WHAT TYPE OF DAMAGE CAN WIND CAUSE?
Wind can cause windows to be blown out, trees and other objects to fall on your house causing damage, as well as roofs to be lifted and damaged.
HOW DO YOU KNOW A WIND CAUSED DAMAGE TO YOUR HOUSE?
In many cases it is obvious, such as blown out windows. In other cases, it is not immediately obvious. For example, wind causes roofs with shingles and tiles that are nailed down to lift. When the force of the wind is great enough, the shingles and tiles can lift and cause the nails securing them in place to be bent backwards. These lifts results in small gaps in the roof. These gaps create small leaks compromising the integrity of the entire roof. However, since these gaps are small, the water intrusion is very small and is not immediately visible or noticed. Read more about roof damage.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHETHER WIND CAUSED DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME?
As described above there are situations where the wind damage is obvious and others where you do not notice the damage immediately. It isn’t always safe to assume that your home was not damaged. In these situations, we have experts that can work backwards to determine the windstorm that damaged your home. Our experts have software that tracks all the storms in your particular zip code and the wind speeds that those storms produced. The NSSL (National Severe Storms Laboratory) classifies damaging winds as those that exceed 50 to 60 mph.
HOW MUCH DOES A WIND DAMAGE INSURANCE LAWYER COST?
Wind damage lawyers, like all property damage lawyers, work on a contingency fee basis. Additionally, we front the litigation costs of your case, which includes payment of filing fees, subpoena costs, depositions costs and expert costs. This means that you pay nothing until we make a recovery for you—commonly referred to as the no fee guarantee.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR A WIND DAMAGE CLAIM OR LAWSUIT?
First, you have will have to contact your insurance carrier and make a claim. Once you make a claim, the insurance carrier will generally want you to make a statement and send out an adjuster to inspect the damage. You must make your home available to be inspected. If you do not cooperate with the insurance carrier in this respect, they can deny your claim.
At Keller, Melchiorre & Walsh, we regularly handle property damage claims and can help guide you through this problematic process. Once the insurance company evaluates your claim, they will then send you a letter outlining the coverage that they believe your policy affords. The letter will either explain the amount they believe that the claim is worth or deny your coverage. In some situations, the insurance company will partially deny your claim issue a partial payment.
When you do not agree with the amount that the insurance carrier has offered to settle your claim you can file a lawsuit for a breach of contract claim. We regularly handle property damage claims and can evaluate your claim to determine if you are being treated fairly and the insurance company has properly offered your claim. Once a lawsuit is filed the litigation of your case generally ranges from between 12 to 18 months. However, usually a homeowner can cash any payments offered by an insurance carrier while litigation is pending. TALK TO AN ATTORNEY BEFORE YOU CASH ANY CHECK OR SIGN ANYTHING FROM THE INSURANCE CARRIER.
Call us at Keller, Melchiorre & Walsh, for a free strategy session and case evaluation of your wind damage case.