When Nationwide Isn’t On Your Side
In October 2015, our client, a man in Collin County, Texas, was cooking in his kitchen when he suddenly found the room engulfed in flames.
Thankfully, he was able to get out safely and the fire was extinguished. But, not before smoke filled the home, worsening with every minute the air conditioner was on. It steadily filtered the dangerous gas through its ducts and pumped it back into the home, ruining everything in its wake.
In the aftermath of the fire and resulting smoke, our client immediately submitted a claim with his homeowner’s insurance company, Nationwide, requesting they pay for the damages as his policy promises.
Nationwide hired an adjuster to inspect our client’s home and assess the damage. The inspector alleged that damages to the home were minimal, and that simply cleaning the carpets and air conditioning ducts and replacing a few items that were near the fire’s origin — namely, a toaster oven, hand towel, beach towel, fire extinguisher and electric range — constituted sufficient coverage.
All totaled, the adjuster estimated that roughly $9,000 was enough to cover the repairs and replacements needed.
So, our client hired a public adjuster, who conducted an unbiased inspection and found a litany of damages that Nationwide’s adjuster had intentionally left off, resulting in more than $91,000 worth of damages to the home. Seeing that he was owed much more than Nationwide suggested (and, at the very least, was owed an entirely new air conditioning duct system according to his policy), the client promptly sought out Chad T. Wilson Law Firm to help him obtain the recovery he had, essentially, already paid for through the purchase of his insurance policy.
On Tuesday, July 19, 2016, the Chad T. Wilson Law Firm filed suit against Nationwide insurance company in Collin County, Texas for fraud, breach of contract, and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and Texas DTPA.
Through its adjuster, Nationwide conducted a substandard, improper and negligent inspection of the client’s home, which grossly undervalued the cost of repairs in its estimate and yielded an unrealistic amount to underpay coverage. Nationwide unreasonably adjusted our client’s claim, misrepresenting the cause of, scope of, and cost to repair damages to his property.
Because of Nationwide’s misrepresentations, our client was forced to hire an attorney to file a lawsuit for insurance benefits.
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.
