Home & Property destruction Insurance Claims

Failure to Provide the Coverage You Counted on

People buy homeowners’ insurance mainly for peace of mind. They buy it because they want to know that if their home is destroyed by a fire or a natural disaster, they will have the financial resources needed to rebound from that event.

Unfortunately, many homeowners’ insurance companies seem to be far better at collecting premiums than they are at providing benefits to people with valid claims.

At Goldstein, Gellman, Melbostad, Harris & McSparran, we help families and individuals throughout Northern California obtain the homeowners’ insurance benefits they expected to receive from insurance industry giants such as All State, State Farm and AAA. To arrange for a free consultation, call us in San Francisco at 415.673.5600 or contact us online.

Basic Sources of Homeowners’ Insurance Disputes

In the early 1980s, our partner Lee Harris was a pioneer in the handling of homeowners’ insurance disputes involving natural disasters including mudslide and landslide damage. In the early 1990s this leadership extended to the handling of claims from the Oakland Hills fires. In the years and decades since, our experience and knowledge have expanded to include many other types of homeowners’ insurance claims. Some of the more common issues involved in this work include:

• Proof of loss requirements: Insurers generally require you to prove your losses with documentation. The problem is, their requirements are often confusing and they offer homeowners little guidance as to what they need to do. Our lawyers can help overcome this obstacle.
• Valuation: Once the loss has been documented, it is not uncommon for there to be disputes over the value of that loss. In some cases, this may be due to a simple mistake. In others, it may be a deliberate attempt to underpay the claim.
• Exclusion clauses: Insurers continue to strengthen their exclusion clauses for water damage, landslides, floods and other natural or non-natural events. If this applies in your case, our attorneys may be able to challenge the exclusion or find other sources of recovery.
• Failure to defend: Homeowner insurance companies generally have a duty to defend property owners against non-auto-related personal injury lawsuits. Failure to defend is a form of insurance bad faith.

Call us at 415.673.5600 or contact our San Francisco offices online to arrange for an initial consultation. We represent clients with insurance coverage disputes throughout Northern California, San Francisco, Marin, Walnut Creek, Oakland and San Jose

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