Top Talent Counts
Choosing the right insurance claim lawyer can determine whether or not you get the insurance settlement you deserve
The thunderstorm that blew through your town a few weeks ago was a real whopper. Trees were down in your yard. Shingles got blown off the roof. At the height of the heavy rain, a dark and ugly seepage stain appeared on the ceiling, indicating a bad roof leak.
After the storm, you called your insurance company to report the damage. An insurance adjuster came out to take a look, and that’s when things went south in a hurry. The adjuster claimed that the water damage was not caused by the thunderstorm, but by a preexisting leak. You did everything by the book, or so you thought, and yet you still have a blue tarp strapped to your roof.
Your friends tell you to call an insurance claim lawyer, but you don’t know the first thing about how to find one. When I first started practicing law in the mid-1980s, hardly anyone specialized in representing clients in disputes with their insurance companies regarding property damage claims. Few attorneys in more common areas of the law even advertised back then, but flash forward to the present and everything has obviously changed. You can find attorneys virtually anywhere—TV, radio, online, billboards, you name it!
Avoid flashy ads that promise you the moon. Instead, go online and search under “property insurance claim attorneys” in your state. Focus on law firms with clear ties to state and national associations that indicate a leadership role in representing clients with property claims disputes with big insurance. If the attorney is passionate about what he or she does for a living, chances are you’ll receive the level of dedication and knowledge you’ll need to win your case.
Prior experience in representing big insurance companies is a real plus. If the attorney has worked on the other side of the desk, then he or she will know exactly how the insurance company thinks about its methods of settling claims. I started out representing insurance companies after I graduated from law school in the early 1980s, and I quickly realized how under represented policyholders really were. When I started Merlin Law Group, it was specifically to help policyholders navigate the treacherous waters of filing property damage claims with their insurance companies.
As you narrow your search, look for evidence that the attorney has represented cases like yours before. Longevity is important. Likewise, the law firm should have a track record of litigating complex property insurance disputes, and it should have the support staff to bolster the attorney’s efforts in court.
If you take the time to do your homework, you can rest easy knowing that you found the right attorney to represent you as you fight big insurance for the money that’s rightfully yours. Don’t be intimidated. Knowledge is power. Put it to use in your legal case, and you’ll likely get the results you want.