Property Damage is at the root of all cases that American Property Loss Services handles
Property damage can come in a number of ways and from various sources. Some homeowner insurance claims can be from a single event such as a home fire, while others, as we recently witnessed with Hurricane Irene, can be more complex with wind damage and flooding.
It is important to have an experienced Public Adjuster on your side to provide you with adequate information to maximize your claim. We’re not talking about getting more than you deserve, we’re talking about getting the full benefit of the homeowner policy premium that you’ve been paying for years. All too many times, the insurance company’s claims adjuster has a heavy workload and can overlook small items, and even some large ones occasionally, that can add up to a major problem when it comes time to either repair or rebuild your damaged property.
An insurance company claim adjuster’s paycheck comes from the insurance company, so the insurance company claim adjuster has no real reason to do a lot of behind the scenes digging that may be crucial to your claim. For the same reason one doesn’t use the same lawyer as a spouse in a divorce, it just makes good sense to get your OWN advocate in a property loss claim.
Let’s look at some of the causes of property loss and where American Property Loss Services’ Public Adjusters can help you!
Perils, Property Loss Causes and Public Adjusters
A peril, as referred to in an insurance policy, is a cause of property loss, such as fire or theft. A homeowners policy typically provides coverage for the perils of fire, lightning, and extended coverage. Extended coverage includes coverage for the perils of windstorm, hail, explosion, riot, civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism, malicious mischief, theft, and breakage of glass. Learn more about each peril and how your homeowners insurance policy might handle it.
Hurricane Damage Insurance Claims
Hurricanes usually leave whole areas and regions devastated with property damage ranging from as simple as roof damage to as severe as complete loss of property. A hurricane is a powerful tropical storm that can produce violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains and floods. Whether you live on the Gulf Coast or in the Mid Atlantic, you’ll face a serious storm sometime soon.
Tornado Damage Insurance Claims
Violent storms that leave a swath of property damage and death behind them. Tornadoes occur most frequently in an area called “Tornado Alley,” a strip of land running from Texas north to Minnesota. However, tornadoes can occur in any state, with wind speeds reaching 200+ miles per hour.
Fire Damage Insurance Claims
Every year, thousands of homes suffer from fire, soot or smoke damage. Fire in its most common form can result in a blaze, which has the potential to cause physical damage through burning.
Lightning Damage Insurance Claims
Often the cause of fires or damage to electrical systems and other parts of a house, lightning is caused when storm clouds cool below a certain temperature, and positive and negative electrical charges in the clouds’ water vapor separate from top to bottom.
Wildfire Damage Insurance Claims
A wildfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire that occurs in the areas where woods and homes overlap. These are not single home fires, but larger firestorms that can threaten multiple homes, and typically burn many acres of forest.
Earthquake Damage Insurance Claims
An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the Earth that can cause damage to property from ground movement, fire, or even sprinkler leakage.
Flood Damage Insurance Claims
Devastating floods occur throughout the U.S. every year. Floods cause billions of dollars in property damage in the U.S. every year.
Hail Damage Insurance Claims
Hail is the result of water droplets that freeze and fall to the ground as chunks of ice, also called stones. The larger the stones, the more harm they can cause to people and property.
Power Outage
Power outages can occur in several ways—weather related, or not. The short-circuiting of electrical wiring, as in a lightning strike or a power overload, may interrupt electricity in your home. Water seeping onto electrical wires or into junction boxes, or falling tree limbs breaking a power line can also cause an outage. Food spoilage is an obvious type of loss due to power outages.
Vandalism/Other
Vandalism has different forms. One is graffiti, which could be in a form of written words or paintings made on the wall without the owner’s consent. Insurance policies also cover theft but there are a lot of limitations for such incident. Vacant homes have different coverage and more limitations than those which are occupied. Vacant homes have higher probabilities of being vandalized or robbed. You should inform your insurance company when you are planning to vacate your house, so that you will be able to discuss your options.