Ylla|Gosney of Tulsa helps fire victims take on unhelpful insurance providers when they try to limit or deny coverage. We help homeowners and other property owners file claims backed with documentation of the full extent of damage to earn the maximum recovery help possible. We also get aggressive on behalf of clients who have had their claims unfairly rejected. Contact us today to set up a free, no-obligation consultation to learn more.
Do I Need a Lawyer After My Property Suffers Fire Damage?
Not every fire victim will need a lawyer to get fair treatment from insurers. If the difference between what you feel you should get and what you receive in an insurance check is only a few hundred dollars, a lawyer may not be able to win you a significantly more.
However, when the damage is extensive and likely much more costly than an insurance adjuster’s estimate, it’s a good time to consult with a skilled Tulsa Fire Damage Claims Lawyer.
These are a few of the ways a skilled lawyer can help you earn much more for a fire damage claim and ease the burden on you:
- Accurately assess your damage and the cost to rebuild when an inexperienced or unfair insurance adjuster doesn’t value your losses correctly.
- Helping business owners calculate the damage to their properties and to the income those properties provided.
- Goes over your policy to determine what you’re really covered for and guarantee despite what a fire insurance company may claim.
- Go over any settlement offer you receive from insurers and reject it on your behalf and demand more if it isn’t enough.
- Handle the frustrating claims process while giving you more time to rebuild your life.
When your property is badly damaged or a complete loss, insurers should move quickly to help you and provide everything you need to rebuild your life. Unfortunately, adjusters usually go the other way and make things as hard as possible for you. They’ll make you wait and fight over every detail to limit the support you receive or even reject your claim completely, leaving you with nothing.
Sadly, two homeowners with similar damage won’t receive the same level of support. Your lawyer is a safeguard against this treatment and can often secure much more in recovery support for policyholders than you could win by filing a claim yourself.
What Types of Things Should Be Compensated After a Tulsa County Fire?
Homeowners and business owners who have their homes rendered unlivable by smoke damage or who lose their homes completely must quickly file claims. They must make a fire insurance company aware of every damage and hardship the fire has caused.
These damages must be supported by documentation and evidence, so that insurance adjusters can’t find loopholes in a policy as an excuse to leave policyholders high and dry.
Your Ylla|Gosney Insurance Claims Lawyer will be backing your claim up with strong evidence and with evaluations from fire damage experts if necessary.
Your lawyer will get aggressive to earn you these benefits and more:
- Full cost of replacing a home or business or the maximum in support promised in policy terms
- Full support to pay for home repairs
- Full support to replace all furniture, vehicles, keepsakes, and other possessions
- Full value to repair smoke, ash, and soot damage
- Cost to fix mold and mildew damage
- Cost to repair water damage
- Cost to repair damage caused by vandals and looters
- Cost of loss of property value
- Costs of living while unable to return to a burned structure
Frequently Asked Questions After a Tulsa Fire
How long can I wait to file a claim over a Tulsa house fire?
Victims will want to notify their insurers of a fire as soon as possible. Their policies will lay out how soon the insurance company wants to be alerted. Most policies say “immediate written notification.” Then victims are allowed to wait up to two years to actually file property damage claims in Oklahoma. However, you will want to act quickly. You’ll want to get the process underway while evidence and damage is still fresh. You’ll also want to file a claim as soon as you’re ready so you can hopefully receive compensation sooner.
How long should I wait to get a response and decision on my fire damage claim?
Oklahoma administrative code OAC 365:15 requires insurance providers to respond to a claim within a month of being notified. Then insurers are supposed to alert a property owner of a decision within 45 days of being provided with a “proof of loss.” These are guidelines and deadlines can be extended under certain circumstances. If you’ve been made to wait weeks beyond these time periods, you should contact a lawyer who can put pressure on insurers to stop stalling.
How long do most fire damage claims take to settle?
When claims are filed correctly and there’s no dispute of the cause or the coverage involved, a claim might only take around 3 months to settle. A dispute over what it will take to repair a home or rebuild it can extend the wait, leaving victims out of their homes for six months, a year, or more. A skilled attorney can help victims avoid these lengthy waits by filing claims with the proper documentation and evidence. A lawyer also represents the threat of a lawsuit. Insurance companies will want to avoid the cost and bad publicity of going before a judge and jury. Insurers can be motivated to provide a fair settlement offer when you have a lawyer who is prepared to take the matter to court.
Contact a Tulsa Fire Damage Insurance Claims Lawyer
If you have major damage and are worried about getting full support when you file your claim, contact Ylla|Gosney for a free case consultation. You should also speak to a lawyer if you’ve been underpaid for your fire damages or if your claim has already been unfairly rejected.
There’s no obligation for this free case review. We will sit down with any victim in Tulsa and help them sort out their best options. A consultation is an easy way to determine if you should be expecting more for your claim than you originally thought and how to hold an insurer fully responsible.
If you require our help to earn what you’ll need to rebuild, you won’t need any money to hire a Ylla|Gosney attorney. We don’t get paid unless we win your claim for you. Then our fee comes out of the support an insurer is forced to pay to you.
