Can You Reopen A Property Insurance Claim?

Many property owners in Daytona Beach wrongly assume that once their insurance claim has been closed, they cannot reopen it in the future. Fortunately, that is not true. Even when a property insurance claim has been previously closed, there are still many valid reasons you may have for reopening it. In fact, reopening a claim may be critical to ensure you recover the full compensation you need to repair or replace your damaged property. However, you should speak to a Daytona Beach residential property damage lawyer before reopening any claim.

Why are Home Insurance Claims Closed? 

Before you can understand why you may have to reopen your insurance claim, you should first know why insurance companies close them in the first place. Your insurer will close your home insurance claim if they believe the process has been completed. For example, the following instances can result in an insurer closing the claim:

• Your claim was denied by the insurance company and you did not dispute it properly,
• You and the insurer have agreed that the claim was paid in full, and
• You have not provided the insurance company with the information they have requested to process your claim.

Why Reopen an Insurance Claim that is Closed? 

Just as there are many reasons to close an insurance claim, there are also many reasons to reopen one. The most common of these include:

• Additional damage is discovered: The damage to your home may not be immediately evident after a storm, accident, or natural disaster. For example, if your home was damaged by water, you may not discover the resulting mold until months after your original claim was closed. You may have also forgotten to list certain damage only to remember it later, requiring you to reopen your claim.
• The amount of reimbursement was inaccurate: Your insurance company may have made a mistake when they originally provided coverage. Maybe your policy states that you are covered for the replacement cost but your insurance company paid you for the actual cost value. Or, perhaps your insurer did not include a policy rider that resulted in an incorrect amount.
• Your claim was not closed properly: Your insurance company may have denied your claim when they should not have. This could be due to bad faith, which occurs when the insurance company knows they are improperly closing your claim but they do so anyway in an attempt to protect their bottom line. In other instances, a claim may not be closed properly due to a clerical mistake. The insurance company may not have given you an opportunity to respond before they closed your claim.

Our Residential Property Damage Lawyer in Daytona Beach Can Help You Reopen Your Claim 

Regardless of why your property damage claim was initially closed, you may still have a valid reason to reopen it. Doing so is not easy, though. At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Daytona Beach residential property damage lawyer can prove that our original claim should not have been closed and that it needs to be reopened so you obtain full coverage. Call or text us now at 386-252-5170 or chat with us online to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0624/Sections/0624.155.html