Houston Hurricane Harvey Property Claim Attorney

After the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, you may be one of the many people in Houston who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Many have been faced with personal injuries, property damage, and the loss of their homes. After this kind of a disaster, relief efforts are in full force, working to help those in need, but there may be other opportunities for compensation through legal services.

The Houston attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm are here to help you file property damage claims, and fight to get you the money you need to get your home back in shape, reimburse you for injuries sustained during the disaster, and get you compensated for property losses. For a free consultation on your legal needs after Hurricane Harvey, call The Queenan Law firm today at (817) 476-1797.

Hurricane Harvey Property Damage Claims

Despite some news and political discussion to the contrary, there is no September 1 “deadline” to file for insurance claims based on Hurricane Harvey. Millions of affected Texans are still literally picking up the pieces of their homes and assessing damage, and may not be ready to start working on legal claims yet. This September 1 date is merely a change to how insurance claims work in Texas. Previously, if insurance providers stalled claims, Texas law would make them pay an 18% penalty for stalling the case. With the expected influx of millions of insurance claims, this law simply shrinks the penalty to 10%. However, this still means insurance companies may be forced to pay you additional money if they slow down any of your claims. This rule does not apply to some flood or hurricane insurance, which will still pay high penalties.

If you have lost your home to Hurricane Harvey, or if you were injured during the storm, you may be able to file insurance claims or take the appropriate hurricane companies to court over your injuries. Homeowners insurance is the most popular form of insurance for houses, but some Texans may also have separate insurance from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (or another hurricane insurance provider), or may even carry flood insurance (e.g. from the National Flood Insurance Program, a federal policy).

If you suffered property damage, you may be able to file an insurance claim to recover the cost of qualifying damage. This is very plan-specific, and the terms of your insurance policy dictate what you will be able to seek coverage for.

Alternatively, if you were injured at someone else’s home during Harvey, you may be able to sue their homeowners insurance for your injuries. If you were seeking shelter at someone else’s house or were passing through their yard or home during evacuations, you may have been injured on their property. Homeowners insurance works to compensate people injured on another person’s property, and you may be able to file claims for these types of injuries.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Hurricane Damage?

Hurricane and flood insurance are rarely purchased outside of high flood and high storm areas. Many Texas, unfortunately, do not carry insurance policies specifically for flood and windstorm damages. Depending on your specific policy, you may still be covered for some damages, including flood and wind damage.

If your homeowners insurance policy does cover wind-related damages, it may have a higher deductible for hurricane damage. Flood damage that is not covered by homeowners’ insurance usually refers to water that enters the home through flooding outside. However, if your house flooded because of covered damage to the roof, water damage may still be covered.

Suing for Hurricane Harvey Destruction

If you were evacuated from the path of the hurricane, and your house is severely damaged, you may not be able to return. Since many lawsuits are time-sensitive, this may be a challenge, but it is important to comply with orders from police and government officials about accessing damaged homes.

Additionally, with so much water damage, you may have lost important documents associated with your insurance, proof of residency, and other documents. While there may be recommendations that you keep important documents like this in a waterproof, fireproof safe, that advice is not going to help you now. What’s important is to keep or recover any forms of ID that you may have. Most lost documentation for insurance policies or proof of residency can be retrieved from websites or companies that manage your insurance and billing. As long as you can prove your identity, this should not be a problem. Do not risk your life or safety to retrieve documents from potentially unsafe locations.

Houston Attorney for Property Damage and Injury

If you or a loved one was injured or lost their home due to Hurricane Harvey, talk to an attorney today. You may have options to file claims with homeowners insurance, flood insurance, hurricane insurance, and other insurance providers to get compensation for your injuries and losses. Call Houston insurance claims attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm today for a free consultation on your claims at (817) 476-1797.