Category: Article

Victim of Burglary? Recover Money from Your Homeowner’s Insurance

Posted by C on October 16, 2016

Have you been a victim of burglary? Did you know that you can get compensated from your insurance company for the burglary? Following are steps to take when your house has been burglarized.

Desperate Burglary Victim — Desperate burglary victim finds broken window and empty money box after robbery

It is very important to document the damages done to the home as well as the losses caused by the burglaries. Homeowners should make a list of all their belongings which were stolen and gather receipts for them. Any photographs of the stolen items will also be helpful for the claim.

Make emergency repairs

Before receiving the money from the insurance company, it is important for homeowners to make any necessary emergency repairs, such as replacing broken glass, locks or doors. Homeowners should also save all of the receipts from the repairs and submit them to their insurance company for reimbursement.

What to expect from the insurance company

The recovery amount will be dictated by the insurance policy. For damaged property, most insurance policies will pay for the repairs or replacement of the property. Insurance companies often treat personal property that was stolen differently. Insurance companies will pay for the replacement cost value, which is the actual cash value minus depreciation.

Replacement cost value is what would be recouped if the items were sold today.

The offer amount will also be dictated by the policy limits. It is unlikely that damage to the home itself will reach the policy limits, however, with the personal property it might be different and the homeowner might reach the policy limit. There may also be lower limits for certain types of property. In many cases, coverage for jewelry losses are capped at $5,000 or less. This means that you cannot recover more than $5,000.00 for stolen jewelry.

In some cases, insurance providers drag their feet on paying out claims, or they make offers that are far less than what the homeowners should receive. A person whose home has been burglarized may want to schedule a free consultation with Grun & Associates with processing of the claim in order for the homeowner to recover what is owed on their policy.

Contact Grun & Associates

Sand Fire Insurance Claims: Get Legal Help / Santa Clarita Fire

Posted by C on August 4, 2016

A wildfire sweeping over 38,000 square feet of land, the 2016 Sand Fire Santa Clarita Wildfire, began in Santa Clarita, California. The fire has spread toxic smoke, ash, soot, and other fire byproducts throughout Southern California, seriously impacting air quality. A large number of California areas, cities and towns are affected by the Sand Fire, including Santa Clarita, the San Fernando Valley, Valencia, Sun Valley, Burbank, Castaic, Palmdale, Lake Hughes, La Crescenta, Glendale, Lake Elizabeth, La Canada Flintridge, North Hollywood, Pasadena, and most of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. The toxic byproducts produced by the fire can sink into the buildings of commercial and residential properties and the surrounding land, necessitating a thorough cleanup.

If you are a homeowner or a property owner impacted by the Sand Fire through soot and ash damage to your home or other real estate, you could be entitled to compensation through the insurance benefits provided under your homeowner or dwelling insurance policy.

Expert Legal Help for Sand Fire Claims
Our law firm, Grun & Associates experts in sand fire insurance claims. You can benefit from the knowledge and experience of a lawyer on your side when filing your claim and advocating for your interests. We can work with you, no matter your insurance company; some of the most popular homeowner policies include Mercury, State Farm, AAA, Allstate, Progressive, Wawanesa, Geico, USAA, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, The Hartford, Travelers, Fireman’s Fund, The Hanover, and other insurance companies.

If you and your home have been impacted by the Sand Fire, reach out today for legal advice. Call Grun & Associates at (818) 433-7742 to speak to one of our experienced legal team members.

Coverage for Sand Fire Damages
The vast majority of homeowners’ insurance and commercial insurance policies provide coverage for soot and ash damage, as well as other claims based on property smoke damage. Our firm can help you file your claim with your insurance company and ensure that one of our lawyers is present when the company comes to inspect your property for Sand Fire damage. If necessary, we can also arrange an alternate and independent expert inspection to verify the insurance company’s assessment.

Damages Caused by the Sand Fire
Homes throughout Southern California have suffered serious and often times permanent damages as a result of the wildfire. Toxic soot, ash, smoke, and other products of the fire can settle into the ground and into buildings. These fire byproducts can have long-term impacts on the health of you and your family if they are not properly mitigated.

Impacted Communities
Large swathes of Southern California have faced severe impacts to the land, the environment, and air quality due to the Sand Fire. You may have a claim for the compensation needed to address the soot and ash damage suffered by your home and property. We can help homeowners in all impacted cities and towns, who have an insurance policy with any company.

Do I need a Lawyer?
Our experienced law firm has helped many satisfied clients to handle insurance claims for property damage. In a complex and large matter like the Sand Fire, you could benefit from the help of a knowledgeable lawyer to navigate the insurance process and lead in the filing of your claim. Our firm can retain independent inspectors to examine your property and assess the potential value of your insurance claim. Once we have studied your specific circumstances and the damage to your property, we can work with you to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.

Whether you live in any of the impacted cities or towns, including Santa Clarita, La Canada Flintridge, Glendale, La Crescenta, Pasadena, Sunland, Sun Valley, Valencia, or much of Los Angeles, Grun & Associates can help to pursue your claim. Call our experienced legal team at (818) 433-7742.

Costs of Seeking Legal Help
If you work with Grun & Associates on your Sand Fire property damage claim, you’ll pay nothing up front. We’ll only get paid when you receive your compensation from the insurance company; our legal fee is a percentage of the payment made by the insurance company to you, and associated costs.

Call our law firm, Grun & Associates, at (818) 433-7742. We’ll provide a clear overview of the financial aspects of your Sand Fire property damage claim

Free Consultation
Use our online contact form or call Grun & Associates at (818) 433-7742 to find out more about seeking legal representation for the damage suffered by your property in the Sand Fire. We’ll keep your information completely confidential, and only contact you about your claim. We’ll be happy to provide a free consultation with our experienced legal team to learn more about your claim.

Filing An Insurance Claim After A Fire Damage

Posted by C on March 20, 2016

Every year wildfires cause major fire damage in Southern California. When this happens, insurance companies help victims of wildfires rebuild their homes. Even if a fire victim does not have all the required paperwork or information, they should still file a claim with their insurance. It’s important they start the insurance claim process as soon as possible.

When a home burns down, will the homeowner’s insurance company pay the cost of rebuilding it? A standard homeowners insurance policy in California will cover damage to a home caused by wind, lightning, water and fire. When a homeowner’s residence is completely destroyed by fire or if parts of the residence is damaged by fire, the insurance company should pay the cost for rebuilding the home or repairing any part of the home as a result of the fire damage.

Contents
The insurance company should also pay for the damage and any loss of clothing, furniture, appliances, tools, decorations and more. A homeowner can also be paid for the loss of certain structures on their property such as a tool shed or garage. The amount paid to the homeowner for such items will be determined by the limits of their insurance policy.

Claim Information
There are some standard information required by an insurance company to process a claim. Insurance companies will need to know the date of loss as well as the type of damage or loss, area of damage and more. A homeowner will have to provide an estimate for the damages to the home, list for the damaged contents and documentation for additional living expenses. A police report should also be provided.

Damage to the Landscape
The standard homeowner’s insurance policy does cover damage to plants, trees, shrubs and lawn on a homeowner’s property. Most insurers will pay 5% or less of the policy liability limits.

Temporary Housing
It is likely for a homeowner’s insurance policy to cover temporary housing expenses. This type of coverage will pay for the use of housing similar to the home that was damaged or destroyed. It will cover the time a house is being repaired or rebuilt. It may also cover for permanent relocation. These payments are not designed to cover for the homeowner’s lost earnings or wages.

Repair Documentation
A homeowner should maintain an accurate record of any expenses for repairs done to the home, this can include an estimate prepared by the contractor hired by the homeowner. Before starting the repairs, the insurance adjuster should inspect the damaged home.

Determining the Extent of the Loss
After a fire, a homeowner needs to make a list of what was damaged or destroyed. There are two types of lists a homeowner must provide. First is the contents list. This includes all the contents of the homeowner that was damaged from the fire. Second is an estimate of the dwelling prepared by the homeowner’s contractor which lists all the repairs needed to bring the house in a condition it was in before the fire. The estimate should be divided into categories such as entertainment room, kitchen, bedroom living room and more.

Legal Help
After filing a claim for fire damage with the insurance company, the insurance company may not pay the amount a homeowner is entitled to based on their insurance policy. When this happens, it is recommended to get the help of a legal professional. At Grun & Associates we have the knowledge and experience to help you recover the maximum coverage from your policy.

How To File A Claim For A Water Damage?

Posted by C on February 20, 2016

If you’ve experienced water damage in your home, the event can be stressful enough. So of course it is in your best interest to minimize this stress by taking the best approach to handle the aftermath of the damage. Here are five tips to make your water damage insurance claim more successful and less problematic.

Avoid Saying “Flood” or “Flooded” When Describing Your Damage
This tip is for the sake of playing it safe. No standard homeowners insurance policy covers floods, so you must protect yourself by making sure that you don’t describe any water damage as a flood or the consequence of a flood. Even if you do have an adjuster that uses common sense in understanding the damage description, a misunderstanding might take months to clarify and leaves you at a financial disadvantage.

Be Selective Of What You Clean Up
This tip is actually related to the previous one. If there’s clear evidence that your damage was caused by storm, leave everything in place if possible. However, this has to be balanced with the need to “mitigate the loss” to limit further damage. If in doubt, avoid any action that lead the insurer to question the true cause of the damage. If you have to repair something or move it, take photos as proof. This leads us into our next tip.

Take Plenty Of Photos
With smartphone technology, this is now easier than ever. Carefully document the content damages as well as your efforts to mitigate the loss. The insurance adjuster will likely take pictures as well, ultimately telling the whole story through the combination of photos. If the “after” photos of the water damage can be compared to “before” photos, you have a stronger case in the event that there’s a dispute over the conditions of the damaged content before the event.

Fully Document Any Involvement By Other Parties
If your water damage was caused by the actions of another person, be sure to document their vital information and what happened. Get their name, contact information, contractor license number, insurance company name and policy number, etc. If any vehicle caused the water flow or was damaged by it, get the license number and VIN number, if possible. If your water damage was caused by others, their insurance has the responsibility of paying for it, so you may get your deductible back from your insurance carrier.

Temporary Housing Expectations
Find out what your insurance company will pay for temporary housing and meals if you have to leave your home while it is being restored from damage. Do this either well in advance of the water damage or during your first call to your insurer’s claim department. This “loss of use” compensation is often capped at 20% of your total coverage, but make sure you get a firm number from your insurer so you know what to expect. Keep detailed records of your spending from the time of your evacuation to when you make the return home.

These tips will help you properly handle your water damage insurance situation in the best way possible. In addition to using the outlined tips and practicing good judgment you also want to have effective legal assistance. Grun & Associates is an experienced law firm that can help you get the money you’re owed from the insurance.

What To Do After a Car Accident?

Posted by C on February 10, 2016

The collision of 2 automobiles is a scary event, regardless of how fast the vehicles were traveling or how little damage has occurred. Immediately following an car accident, you are likely to experience elevated blood pressure and an overall sense of panic. But once the chaos clears, injuries have been assessed, and everyone involved has been safely moved out of the way, it is time to think about what important tidbits your auto insurance company is going to need from you in order to file a claim.

If you are ever involved in an auto accident, remember these 4 steps to make the claims process run smoother.

Don’t Forget to Take Notes

While the other driver is distracted with their own insurance concerns and locating their registration or insurance card, take the time to jot down some quick notes while the memory of the accident is still fresh in your mind. Take a deep breath before you begin, and then write things down exactly as you remember.

It may also be helpful to draw a diagram or pictures that you can refer back to later, in case you forget any details or need to dispute someone else’s comment about the car accident. Writing down notes immediately following the collision will prevent you from doubting yourself later, or forgetting what happened. Other important information to write down includes the name of the street where the accident occurred, including a nearby street number and cross-street if there is one nearby. Also write down the direction each driver was traveling, and any information from other witnesses as you can.

Car accident just happened — Car Accident

Take Photos

Take photos of the involved vehicles and the area in which the accident occurred, using your cell phone if necessary. Include the damage to the vehicles, or lack-there-of. As long as it is reasonably safe to do so, try snapping photos of each car at an angle from the wheels, so that one side of the car and either the front or rear is fully visible in the photo. Include close-up photos of any damage, as well as photos of the license plates. All of this will be helpful to your auto insurance company.

Swap Information

Immediately following the accident, request the other driver’s personal information, including their name and address, phone number, the name of their insurance company, and more. Don’t trust their word on this matter; ask to see their driver’s license, insurance, and registration card, and copy the information down directly for yourself to avoid being swindled. Take the time to compare any possible discrepancies.

Report the Accident to Your Auto Insurance Company

No matter how little damage appears to have occurred, always report a car accident to your auto insurance company. Some damages appear minimal at first glance, only to be discovered much worse upon official examination. Even in cases of small damage, claims should be filed because repair costs for something as simple as bumper damage will often exceed a low deductible. Additionally, some minor exterior damages can actually mean more significant and expensive underlying issues since cars are designed to bend and flex during accidents in order to absorb the impact and maximally protect its occupants.