Our clients, a couple whose home was damaged in a severe storm, recently filed a lawsuit against Centauri Specialty Insurance Corporation and its adjuster. Centauri conducted a substandard and improper inspection of our clients’ property. They grossly undervalued the cost of repairs and deliberately yielded an unrealistic amount to underpay for coverage.

September 11, 2016 Storm

On September 11, 2016, a wind and hailstorm blew through Fort Bend County, tearing through neighborhoods as it went. Our clients’ Sugar Land home sustained extensive damage to the roof and exterior, as well as interior water damage. After the storm, they promptly submitted a claim to Centauri, hoping their insurance company would help them repair their home.

Centauri Specialty Insurance Corporation Home Insurance Claim

Centauri assigned one of its adjusters to inspect the property and adjust the claim. The adjuster knowingly conducted a subpar investigation, refusing full coverage. After applying the deductible, our clients had zero recovery necessary to make repairs to their home.

The third-party expert hired after the insurance company’s negligent inspection found a litany of damages that Centauri’s adjuster conveniently left out or undervalued in his estimate.

The third party adjuster estimated the real damage to our clients’ home at nearly $47,900.

Centauri’s adjuster intentionally undervalued our clients’ claims in order to maintain his job. He misrepresented the amount of damage, hoping our clients would simply rely on his expertise and fraudulent estimate as a true representation of the property’s damages.

Centauri Insurance Corporation’s fraud forced our clients to retain an attorney, just so they could get their roof repaired. On February 21, 2017, the Chad T. Wilson Law Firm filed suit, on behalf of our clients, against Centauri Insurance Corporation. The firm is suing for fraud, breach of contract, negligence, gross negligence, negligent hiring, and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas DTPA.

Houston Property Insurance Lawyers

If your homeowner insurance carrier has denied your insurance claim, we can help. The experienced property insurance attorneys at Chad T. Wilson Law Firm have represented more than 1,000 clients in cases against insurance companies and aggressively protect the rights of insurance policyholders. Our consultations are free, and you owe us nothing until we win your case. Contact us today to see how we can help.

Nationwide Denies Harris County Couple Insurance After Storm

A Houston couple recently sued Nationwide after the insurance company conducted an improper inspection of our clients’ storm-damaged property. They grossly undervalued the cost of repairs and deliberately yielded an unrealistic amount to underpay coverage.

March 23, 2016 Storm

On March 23, 2016, a wind and hailstorm blew through Harris County, tearing through neighborhoods as it went. Our clients’ Houston home sustained extensive damage to the roof, exterior and interior. After the storm, they promptly submitted a claim to Nationwide, hoping the insurance company would help them repair their home.

Nationwide Lloyds Insurance Company Home Insurance Claim

Nationwide assigned one of its adjusters to inspect the property and adjust the claim. The adjuster knowingly conducted a subpar investigation, refusing full coverage. This left our clients without recovery necessary to make repairs to their home.

The third-party expert hired after the insurance company’s negligent inspection found a litany of damages that Nationwide’s adjuster conveniently left out or undervalued in his estimate.

The third party adjuster estimated the real damage to our clients’ home at $21,300.

Nationwide’s adjuster intentionally undervalued our clients’ claims in order to maintain his job. He misrepresented the amount of damage, hoping our clients would simply rely on his expertise and fraudulent estimate as a true representation of the property’s damages.

Nationwide’s fraud forced our clients to retain an attorney, just so they could get their roof repaired. On February 14, 2017, the Chad T. Wilson Law Firm filed suit, on behalf of our clients, against Nationwide Lloyds. The firm is suing for fraud, breach of contract and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas DTPA.

Houston Property Insurance Lawyers

If your homeowner insurance carrier has denied your insurance claim, we can help. The experienced property insurance attorneys at Chad T. Wilson Law Firm have represented more than 1,000 clients in cases against insurance companies and aggressively protect the rights of insurance policyholders. Our consultations are free, and you owe us nothing until we win your case. Contact us today to see how we can help.

How to Choose the Best Home Insurance for You

Choosing a Home Insurance Policy

From young to old, first-time to veteran home buyer, an alarming number of people don’t know how to choose a home insurance policy. Should you get an ACV or a RCV policy? Do you need flood insurance? Why are the premiums so different?

Yes, insurance policies can be confusing. They’re filled with legalese and abbreviations, and maybe just skimming them gives you a headache. But, as a homeowner, you need to be able to make an informed decision.

Here. Let us break it down for you.

Do I need an ACV or an RCV policy?

Our clients often share that they chose their insurance policy because it had a low deductible. They never realized that low rate meant they were getting an ACV policy, which insures your home for its components’ Actual Cash Value. That means if your roof is rated to last 20 years, and it’s 10 years old, you’re only insured for what the roof costs today. In other words, if that new roof cost you $10,000 ten years ago, you’re only insured for $5,000. And if you have, say a $2,500 deductible, you only have $2,500 to fix your roof. If you have an ACV policy, you are more than likely throwing your premiums away. You’ll want to make sure you have an RCV, or Replacement Cost Value, policy. In the example above, an RCV policy would have made sure you got the full $10,000, minus the policy deductible, to replace your roof.

What are the different types of property insurance coverages?

With most insurance companies, there are included and optional coverages. Dwelling coverage, contents coverage, property damage and personal liability come standard in most homeowners insurance policies. But, they don’t cover everything.

Dwelling coverage protects your home’s structure, i.e. the floors, walls, ceilings, attached structures and built-in appliances. It can also cover you against fire, hail, theft and vandalism, and get you the money to rebuild your home if necessary, not exceeding your policy limit.

Contents coverage protects, you guessed it, the contents of your home. From clothes to furniture, you can receive payments for the value of your home’s contents if they’re damaged in a covered incident. For example, if you have flood insurance, this coverage could help you replace the items damaged by a flood. While this coverage is included in your policy, the amount of coverage is, ultimately, up to you. When choosing the amount, really think about how much it would cost to replace all of your furniture, entertainment system, wardrobe, etc. You certainly don’t want too little coverage, but you also don’t want to pay for more than you need.

Personal liability protects you and your guests. This aspect of your policy can cover the medical, and other, costs if a guest is injured in your home.

Property damage coverage helps pay for the damages to your property that result from a covered incident.

Optional Home Insurance Coverages

Though most standard policies include the above coverages, they don’t cover everything you might need. The below coverages are, more or less, a la carte options for your home insurance policy.

We would venture to guess that most homeowners in South Texas and Louisiana are already looking at flood insurance after recent years. If you’re not, you should be. The past several years in both Houston and Baton Rouge, and their surrounding areas, have proved that living in a no-flood zone means nothing to Mother Nature. Flood insurance, usually backed by the federal government, is a separate policy insurance companies offer, so it’s usually not included in your homeowner’s policy. Getting flood insurance is always a good idea, unless you live in the desert.

Replacement cost plus and ordinance/law insurance are both options that allow you to rebuild your home after a total loss. If you’ve owned your home for many years or are worried about depreciation, replacement cost coverage might be a good option for you. Ordinance/law insurance helps people with older homes rebuild their houses to fit current building codes.

There are a plethora of policy coverage options including earthquake, structures, medical payments, sewer water backup and more. Even if you don’t think you need a certain option, like earthquake coverage, do your research before making a decision. When choosing how to protect your home, it’s important to understand exactly what you need and to be well-informed. There are more earthquakes in Texas than you probably realize.

Remember, if you ever have specific questions about your policy options, your insurance agent works for you. They are always available as a resources for clarification, explanation or statistics.

Texas Property Insurance Lawyers

If your homeowner insurance carrier has denied your insurance claim, we can help. The experienced property insurance attorneys at Chad T. Wilson Law Firm have represented more than 1,000 clients in cases against insurance companies and aggressively protect the rights of insurance policyholders. Our consultations are free, and you owe us nothing until your case is won. Contact us today to see how we can help.

Our client, a woman whose home was damaged in a severe storm, recently filed a lawsuit against Ark Royal Insurance Company and its adjuster. Ark Royal conducted a substandard and improper inspection of our client’s property. They grossly undervalued the cost of repairs and deliberately yielded an unrealistic amount to underpay for coverage.

August 1, 2016 Storm

On August 1, 2016, a wind and hailstorm blew through Harris County, tearing through neighborhoods as it went. Our client’s Cypress home sustained extensive damage to the exterior, as well as to the windows and air conditioning system. After the storm, she promptly submitted a claim to Ark, hoping her insurance company would help her repair her home.

Ark Royal Insurance Company Home Insurance Claim

Ark assigned one of its adjusters to inspect the property and adjust the claim. The adjuster knowingly conducted a subpar investigation, refusing coverage. This left our client with zero recovery necessary to make repairs to her home.

The third-party expert hired after the insurance company’s negligent inspection found a litany of damages that Ark’s adjuster conveniently left out or undervalued in his estimate.

The third party adjuster estimated the real damage to our client’s home at $35,500.

Ark’s adjuster intentionally undervalued our client’s claims in order to maintain his job. He misrepresented the amount of damage, hoping our client would simply rely on his expertise and fraudulent estimate as a true representation of the property’s damages.

Ark Royal Insurance Company’s fraud forced our client to retain an attorney, just so she could get her roof repaired. On January 30, 2017, the Chad T. Wilson Law Firm filed suit, on behalf of our client, against Liberty Insurance Corporation. The firm is suing for fraud, breach of contract and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas DTPA.

Houston Property Insurance Lawyers

If your homeowner insurance carrier has denied your insurance claim, we can help. The experienced property insurance attorneys at Chad T. Wilson Law Firm have represented more than 1,000 clients in cases against insurance companies and aggressively protect the rights of insurance policyholders. Our consultations are free, and you owe us nothing until we win your case. Contact us today to see how we can help.