Want to know what really happens to even a knowledgeable policyholder following his own hail loss? Join me today @2 EST as attorneys Drew Houghton and Micah Cartwright discuss hail damage claims and policyholder rights. The special part of this session will be Drew’s experiences with his own hail damage claim to his home.
While many Arizonans welcome monsoons bringing relief from the summer heat, these summer thunderstorms threaten severe damage to property in its path.
Continue Reading Arizona Monsoon Season Thundering Across Grand Canyon State
Hailstorms are on the rise in hail-prone states and policyholders must be prepared in case their home or business is damaged. According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, there were approximately 4,600 reported hail incidents across the country with the largest spikes occurring from April to July.
Continue Reading Hailstorm Checklist Just in Time For Peak Hail Season
Adjusters, contractors, and those with an avid interest in weather can provide a very important public and community service—hail spotting. HailTrace founder and CEO Derik Kline mentioned during our Tuesday @2 With Chip Merlin, which you can watch above, that he is a “hail spotter.” He suggested that others could provide a very important public service by taking the quick course and easy to pass test to become an official “hail spotter” with the National Weather Service.
Continue Reading Hail Spotters Provide an Important Public Service —HailTrace Founder Encourages Hail Spotting
Drew Houghton made his wife and dogs stay in the inner bathroom of his Oklahoma City home last week as a tornadic hailstorm was bearing down on them. He then did something stupid—he left this safer place and started taking a video of the hailstorm event with his cell phone. On the video, you can hear the rumble of the storm sounding like a freight train with bullets of hailstones smashing through his windows and pounding on his house’s roof and walls.
Continue Reading Hail Damage Attorney Suffers Hail Damage—Learn From a Hail Damage Expert on Tuesday @2 With Chip Merlin and Drew Houghton
Insurance companies owe their insureds a duty to fully and fairly investigate a property loss, which includes a comprehensive inspection to identify all damages associated to the claim. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters will sometimes utilize an “any port in the storm” style reason to deny a claim; the adjuster cannot point to a specific tangible basis for denial, instead relying on a hypothetical justification. In that situation, the adjuster’s denial stands in paradox to the insurer’s duty to investigate a claim.
Continue Reading Claim Denial Reason: Did the Insurance Company Show Their Work?
Drew Houghton will join me tomorrow afternoon for Tuesday at 2 With Chip Merlin regarding the Practical Considerations When Evaluating Hail Loss Claims. Drew Houghton heads up our Oklahoma City Office and was a big part of our move to new offices in Oklahoma City last year, as I noted in Grand Opening of Merlin Law Group’s Oklahoma City Office.
Continue Reading Practical Considerations When Investigating Hail Loss Claims to Be Discussed at Tuesday At 2 With Chip Merlin
Nearly two years ago, Albuquerque was struck by one of the largest hailstorms in its recent history. With the two-year anniversary of the July 2018 hailstorm quickly approaching, policyholders in New Mexico should be mindful to review their insurance policies for time limit considerations that could prevent them from pursuing delayed or denied insurance benefits for damages from the hailstorm.
Continue Reading New Mexico Allows an Insurance Policy to Reduce the Statutory Period to File a Lawsuit
Hail prone areas may result in multiple storms which damage a roof. Not too many policyholders are climbing up on their roofs to measure exactly how much hail damage is done after a hail storm occurs. But their insurance companies must be expecting them to do so based on a recent case involving Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Company.1
Continue Reading Which Hailstorm Damaged Your Roof? The Time of Hail Damage Is Often Disputed
In my last blog post, I wrote about the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Windridge of Naperville Condominium Association v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company.1
Continue Reading Does An Insurer Act In “Bad Faith” If It Denies Coverage For A Hail Loss Based On Its Retained Engineer Defining Hail Damage As Functional Damage?