Category: Insurance Disputes

Utilizing the services of an experienced local appraiser is very important when you are purchasing commercial real estate. An appraiser’s job is to perform a market analysis on the property to arrive at its appraised value. This appraisal value reflects the property’s condition and the current market – all of which can help you make an informed buying or selling decision for the property.

In order to accurately assess the sales price of a commercial property, it’s vitally important to have a current commercial real estate appraisal performed. A significant difference between the sales price and appraised value may be cause for concern.

There are many reasons and benefits for having a commercial property appraised. Some of these are as follows:

Property insurance

Insurance companies that provide commercial property insurance coverage often require a value appraisal that supports the asset replacement cost of a property. The insurable features of the property are used in the valuation conducted by the appraiser. Items typically excluded from the insurance cost estimate can include basements, site improvements, and the underlying land, among other property features.

Selling commercial real estate

When an owner or investor wishes to sell commercial real estate, they often have a natural bias to believe that their property’s value is higher than it actually is. As well, the real estate agent who helps the real estate property owner sell a property may set the sale price too high, hoping to receive a bigger commission. Properties often sit on the market longer than they need to because of overpricing. On the other side of the coin, a property priced too low is often the result of inexperience and/or lack of knowledge about property values and selling property. It is for this reason that using a commercial real estate appraiser is highly recommended. An appraiser can provide an unbiased estimate of a property’s value based strictly on current market conditions.

Purchasing commercial real estate

When a buyer purchases real estate they are often looking for the best deal they can get. For the buyer, sometimes it is advantageous to obtain a confidential appraisal prior to entering into negotiation. With this appraisal in hand, the buyer can negotiate the sale price more effectively with the confidence he or she is not paying more than the property’s market value, at a minimum. A seller may obtain an appraisal as well. In some instances both the seller and buyer may agree to hire an appraiser in cooperation with each other and use the appraised value calculated by the appraiser to determine the sale price.

Tax disputes

At times, incorrect real estate assessments performed by local government authorities can occur due to volatile real estate market conditions. When property values fluctuate arbitrarily as a result, property owners can end up paying much higher property taxes than they should. A reliable local appraiser can provide a homeowner the appraisal they need for an appeal to their property’s assessment. This type of proof is helpful in making an appeal that will hopefully result in a reduction of the owner’s property taxes.

Mortgage underwriting

When you need to use funds from the refinancing of an existing loan or borrowed capital for a real estate purchase, your lender may require an appraisal of the property. The lender may require this in order to have confidence it can sell the asset for the loan amount if the borrower defaults on payments and the property is foreclosed upon.

Estate planning and settlement

For the relative of a deceased loved one, the estate settlement process can be a difficult. However, it is a necessary process when the loved one has held estate assets. Any real property that is part of an estate and requires an evaluation of market value must be valued by a competent real estate appraiser. This often includes having a forensic retrospective appraisal performed to establish the fair market value of the property. Estate planners, beneficiaries of the estate, executors, attorneys, trust administrators, court-appointed receivers, accountants, enrolled agents, partnership entities, and corporations can all utilize appraisals for estate planning purposes.

Have you been harmed through the failure of an insurance company to fulfill its insurance policy obligations? If so, the Gilbert Firm can fight vigorously on your behalf to help you receive prompt payment on your claim. We offer our services to residents of Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson, Knoxville, and throughout Tennessee. To set up a free, no obligation consultation about your claim with Jonathan Bobbitt, Clint Scott or Brandon McWherter, fill out our contact form or call us today at 888.996.9731.

California suffered the most devastating series of wildfires in its history during 2017. The losses are sobering in terms of human life and property loss. Regarding the latter, home and business owners who have incurred losses may be up for some challenges when it comes to obtaining a satisfactory insurance claim result.

As of mid-December, the losses from the wildfires had reached staggering numbers. More than 10,000 structures in the state had been destroyed by large-scale wildfires – a number exceeding the previous nine years combined. The fires were also responsible for the loss of 44 lives, which is greater than the last 10 years together.

Some of the wildfires of note that ravaged the state in 2017 include:

• The Cascade Fire in Yuba County. This wildfire took the lives of four people in the month of October, making it the 19^th deadliest on record.
• The Atlas Fire in Napa and Solano counties. This wildfire killed six people in October, making it the 13^th costliest fire in terms of human life on record.
• The Redwood Valley Fire in Mendocino County. Nine people were killed in October from this conflagration, establishing it as the 10^th deadliest fire on record.
• The Tubbs Fire. The wildfires that ravaged Sonoma and Napa counties caused significant destruction, taking the lives of 22 people and damaging or destroying over 5,600 homes. It stands as the third deadliest wildfire on record.
• The Thomas Fire. This momentous conflagration tore through Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, burning up over 281,000 acres – the equivalent of more than 440 square miles. In terms of size, it is the largest fire on record in California.

The fire erupted on December 4^th and was exacerbated by many days wind storms that accelerated the flames through some of California’s high class neighborhoods such as Montecito. Mandatory evacuations that were previously in place have now been lifted, as the fire’s presence has diminished significantly in cities such as Santa Barbara and Fillmore that once faced its impending destruction.

Why Tennessee policyholders should pay attention to California

The majority of insurance policies include fire damage. However, simply having fire damage included does not preclude some of the residential insurance claim (or commercial property claim) issues that can arise in the aftermath of tragedies such as the California wildfires.

For instance, if your home affected by the fire is located in a high-risk area, such as alongside a canyon, you may benefit from obtaining additional coverage.

Entire communities were devastated by the wildfires. This naturally forces replacement costs to rise due to market forces that increase the costs of labor and material.

In the aftermath of the California wildfires, insurance companies have accumulated billions of dollars in fire damage related claims. As a result, some insurance carriers have become more selective about the homes they choose to cover going forward.

Why was my insurance claim denied?

Insurance companies have no problem accepting high payments for the coverage they offer. However, some insurers put up a significant fight even against genuine claims. Fire is a type of disaster that causes extensive damage to structures in a number of different ways – these include burning, smoke damage, and charring. Long-lasting and sometimes irreversible damage can occur in the insulation, carpeting, HVAC system, and walls of a structure.

In addition to damage from the fire itself, water damage from firefighting efforts can result in the development of dangerous mold in certain areas of the structure if they are not properly dried.

Insurance companies, depending on the situation, may attempt to deny a claim by alleging the fire was a result of arson. Bad faith insurance disputes can arise even if policy coverage is not challenged. Issues such as cost to repair the structure, value of personal property and living expenses can trigger insurance disputes.

If an insurer has failed to pay out a claim on your behalf, or you are encountering bad faith insurance practices, the Tennessee insurance dispute attorneys at the Gilbert Firm are able to protect your rights in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Jackson. Call Clint Scott, Brandon McWherter, or Jonathan Bobbitt at 888-996-9731, or complete our contact form to set up a free consultation about your situation.

In order to ensure you are adequately protected in the wake of significant fire damage to your home or property, it is essential first and foremost to buy and maintain property insurance. Make sure that your policy provides protection for your various assets and that the coverage amounts are sufficient.

Secondly, be sure to keep your policy and endorsements, and any amendments, in a fireproof safe deposit box. If your insurance policy was destroyed in the fire, request a certified copy from your insurance agent or company immediately. You need to know what coverage you have and what you can make a claim for in order to receive everything to which you are entitled.

Don’t delay in reporting your claim. The sooner you can let your insurance company know about the fire, the better. Your policy may provide you with benefits that can help you live somewhere else while your home is either rebuilt or repaired, as well as pay for other living expenses. After you report your claim, write down your claim number and keep it in highly accessible location, along with the name and number of your adjuster.

Read your policy

After any fire loss, you should take time to read your policy. It’s important to know what your coverages are, as well as the limits of those coverages. Property insurance policies also often include time limits for many things, including:

• Submitting a proof of loss
• Recovering replacement cost
• The length of time living expenses are covered
• Suing the insurer

It’s important for you and your contractor to be aware of these items. If there are sections of your policy that you do not understand, do not be afraid to ask for an explanation. If you don’t understand, have a lawyer review it.

Know the type of adjuster who will assess your damage

Find out if the adjuster coming to your home to assess the damage is an independent adjuster hired by your insurer or an employee of the insurance company. If an independent adjuster, find out if the adjuster is authorized to make decisions about your claim and make payments as a third-party working for your insurance company.

Receipts and records

Expect to receive some pushback from your insurance company. If this happens, have documentation ready to assert your claim.  Keep receipts for everything you have to purchase after the fire. This paper trail can help you prove your claim for additional living expenses and your entitlement to other coverages.

It may also be a good idea to shoot a video of your home and its contents each year when your policy renews. This will help you document the items you own and their condition. Be sure to keep your video recordings and any photos you take in a fireproof safe deposit box. While such a video is normally required by an insurance policy, it can help during the claim process.

Create your own records and notes

Keep clear and understandable notes of your conversations with your claims adjuster. As well, record the events of your case as they transpire. It’s important to have your own record of what occurs during the claims process.

After the fire event, take photographs and/or videos of the damage before any repair work is done. Make a list of all damages and damaged items as a result of the fire and its aftermath. Do whatever is possible to minimize any secondary damage from occurring. Your insurance agent or adjuster are good people to ask about what steps can be taken to minimize additional damage.

In advance of talking to the adjuster, you may want to prepare by obtaining a repair estimate from a qualified contractor of your own choosing. Be sure to save receipts for any cleanup efforts, emergency repairs and associated costs you incur, even including the expenses of staying at a hotel temporarily. All this may fall under the additional living expenses portion of your policy.

Fight back as necessary

Don’t simply file your claim and sit back and wait for everything to happen. Follow-up and check in with your insurance company, adjuster, or agent regularly about the progress of your claim. Don’t accept a denial of your claim or even a small claim offer that is far below that to which you are entitled under your policy.

The Tennessee insurance dispute lawyers at the Gilbert Firm understand the complexities that sometimes occur with claims involving fire damage. If you are having trouble dealing with an insurance company and getting your claim approved, allow our team of experienced attorneys to help you obtain the compensation you are owed based on your policy. We are able to serve you in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson, Knoxville, and throughout Tennessee. To arrange a free consultation with Clint Scott, Brandon McWherter or Jonathan Bobbitt, call us at 888.996.9731 or fill out our contact form.

If your claim has been denied, the first thing you need to do is talk to a lawyer. Call us. We’d be happy to take a look at it.

Your claim can be denied for a variety of reasons, and there’s no way to know if the reason that’s been given is a legal one, unless you have a lawyer take a look at it. Perhaps your claim has been denied in a fire case because they’ve accused you of arson. Perhaps you’ve had a roof claim and they say that your roof was just old, and you don’t deserve a new roof. There’s so many types of losses and so many different bad reasons given to deny claims. It’s hard to give a general answer on, “What do you need to do next?” except for call someone who knows what they’re doing, let them explain their options to you, and we’d be happy to do that for you.

The Tennessee insurance dispute attorneys of the Gilbert Firm are proud to represent policyholders. To speak to an experienced insurance dispute attorney like Brandon McWherter, please call us 888.996.9731, or fill out our contact form. We have offices are based in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson, and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Insureds, or policyholders, get letters generally from an insurance company requesting that an examination under oath be taken. An insured has to appear for the examination under oath. There’s a cooperation clause contained within almost every policy of insurance that requires an insured, as part of his obligations under the policy, to cooperate in the investigation. So the insurance company can ask the insured to sit for an examination under oath multiple times. And it’s one of the, I guess, scariest parts of the claims process, when the insured or the policyholder has suffered a loss and they this letter – from a lawyer – asking for a whole lot of information to be brought, and for a date and time so that they can sit down and give the examination under oath.

The Gilbert Firm represents commercial and residential policyholders throughout Tennessee. To schedule a consultation time with Clint Scott, or to speak with a Tennessee insurance dispute lawyer in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson or Knoxville, please call 888.996.9731, or fill out our contact form.

You know, one of the scary things about being a policy holder, and knowing that that insurance claim, is out there is that sometimes an insurance claim can be doomed before you ever even make it. And we see that over and over again with insurance companies denying claims or causing claim questions because of what you put on your application. So the application process is very, very important.

The Gilbert Firm offers comprehensive representation on behalf of Tennessee policyholders. To learn more about our services, or to schedule a consultation with Tennessee insurance dispute lawyer Jonathan Bobbitt, please call 888.996.9731, or fill out our contact form. We maintain offices in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson and Knoxville, for your convenience.

One of the most common questions that we get is, “How do you charge for your time?” And that’s a fair question. If I was a consumer, I would want to know that too. We charge based on contingency fee, so we get a percentage of whatever we get for you. Sometimes it’s low, sometimes it’s high. It depends on the amount of the claim; it depends on the complexity of the case; it depends on when you call me. If I’m getting a claim before any claim decision has been made that’s moving along in the ordinary course and someone just needs help presenting their claim, then the contingency fee might be one number. If it comes after a denial and after partial payment has been made, and so we’re fighting about a smaller amount, and that portion is being denied, then it could be a totally different number. But that’s how we get paid, and we only get paid when you get paid.

At the Gilbert Firm, our insurance dispute attorneys help policyholders throughout Tennessee. To speak to an experienced insurance dispute attorney like Brandon McWherter, please call us 888.996.9731, or fill out our contact form. We have offices are based in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson, and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Contents coverage is found in both homeowners’ policies and commercial policies. In a commercial policy it’d be called business personal property. In a homeowner’s, claim we would simply call it contents or personal property. That is the items that the insured owns, that are not attached to the real estate, for which there’s a separate amount of coverage set out under the policy. So in your home, it would be your toaster, your clothes, your shoes, things of that nature. Let’s say in a commercial enterprise, a business, it’d be your computer system, maybe the merchandise that you had on your shelf to sell.

The Gilbert Firm represents policyholders throughout Tennessee. To schedule a consultation time with Clint Scott, or to speak with a Tennessee insurance dispute lawyer in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson or Knoxville, please call 888.996.9731, or fill out our contact form

When you visit a hotel, you probably expect to leave with the property you brought along with you. From valuable jewelry to expensive electronics, a hotel guest may have thousands of dollars in property during an average stay. When these items become damaged due to the negligence of the hotel, it can be extremely challenging to obtain compensation from the hotel’s insurance provider. Not only will they try to deny responsibility, but they may also use bad faith tactics to avoid or significantly lower your damage amount.

When are hotels liable

Under Tennessee law, hotels are not automatically liable for damage or loss of guest property during a stay. However, there are circumstances where a harmed guest may be able to recover compensation, including:

• Security negligence. Hotels have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonable safe and secure manner. This involves such tasks as ensuring that doors lock properly and monitoring access to guest hallways. If an establishment fails to implement adequate security measures and your property is stolen as a result, you may have a viable claim for compensation against the hotel.
• Premises liability. If damage to your property resulted from the negligence of the hotel staff, you may also be able to secure compensation. For example, if the hotel failed to fix a leaky pipe that later burst and flooded your room, you can recover compensation for any items that were damaged in the flood. This liability also includes such property defects as a faulty sprinkler system that fails to operate during a fire or a broken parking lot gate that damages your vehicle.
• Respondent superior. Hotels are also responsible for the bad acts of their employees. If a worker caused the loss or damage of your property, the hotel can be held financially responsible. For instance, if a maid steals your engagement ring from the room, a skilled lawyer will examine the hotel’s hiring and supervisory practices to determine whether a negligence claim is appropriate.

Holding hotel insurance companies accountable

When faced with property damage and loss as a hotel guest, it is not enough to obtain an acknowledgement, or even an apology, from hotel staff members. To successfully obtain compensation from the hotel’s insurance company, you must prove that your claim is valid. These companies are businesses and profit is their top priority. To that end, they will tirelessly work to deny your claim and avoid payment. They may engage in such bad faith tactics as:

• Refusing to fully investigate the details of your claim
• Only offering to pay partial value for your lost or damaged property
• Inaccurately applying language from the insurance policy
• Refusing to communicate or respond to your attempts to communicate

The challenges of dealing with an uncooperative insurance company can be difficult to overcome without assistance from a skilled Tennessee insurance dispute attorney. At the Gilbert Firm, we have spent years fighting against unfair insurance claims policies. Let Jonathan Bobbitt, Clint Scott and Brandon McWherter put their knowledge and experience to work for you. We have offices conveniently located in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson, and Knoxville. Call us today at 888-996-9731 or fill out our contact form for a professional review of your property damage case.

 

 

 

 

Contents coverage, also known as personal property coverage, is insurance for damage or loss to property within a home, apartment, condominium, office, or any building. If property is damaged due to fire, theft, or other causes, the policyholder is entitled to be paid for the amount of the damage to the property – provided the cause is covered by the terms of the policy. Although the coverage is usually of a “blanket” nature with a set limit, many policies also limit coverage for certain types of items, such as artwork, guns, etc. For valuable items like those, it is also often wise to schedule them, meaning that a separate rider is issued to cover those items and then the broader “blanket” policy is left with full limits to cover the remainder.

Contents coverage, depending on how the policy is worded, can also cover damage to items that are damaged when they are taken away from home or are located in outside structures such as gardens and sheds.

Common contents policy concerns

Some of the insurance issues that can be litigated on content policies are:

• The value of the damage. Damage can be valued either by the actual cash value of the item or the replacement value. Actual cash value is calculated by subtracting depreciation (due to age, condition, etc.) from an item’s replacement cost value. Replacement cost value policies typically only truly pay “replacement cost” when damaged items are actually replaced. In fact, until the items are replaced, most insurers are only obligated to pay “actual cash value.” However, some higher end policies offer guaranteed replacement cost coverage with no depreciation at all, even if the damaged items aren’t replaced. This coverage is hard to find and usually expensive, but is certainly something to be considered when shopping insurance.
• The amount of coverage. Coverage can be limited in several ways. The policy may cap the total amount the insurance company will pay for damage to contents. Typically, the amount of the coverage for homeowners is set at a percentage of the coverage on the structure, i.e., 50% or 75% of the structure coverage. However, this can be changed by request, so it is important to have a good handle on the value of your belongings. For a business, it is critical that your business personal property, equipment, and inventory are all appropriately insured. Further, if you are a tenant in a commercial property, your “tenant improvements” will be considered “business personal property” under most policies so you need to account for that as well when selecting your coverage limits.
• Perils covered. The policyholder should review with his/her agent what perils are covered:
  • Damage by fire, theft, accident, windstorms, flood, water, etc. are all common and it is critical that these perils be covered. Some policies are named-risk (meaning all perils are excluded except those that are specifically listed) and some cover all risks (meaning all perils are covered except those that are specifically excluded). All risk policies, also called broad form policies, are clearly superior and should be requested.
  • Consequential damages, such as damage to inventory due to humidity, cold, or heat, should be specifically identified
  • Separate insurance may be needed to cover damage of personal and business possessions due to flooding.

At the Gilbert Firm, our Tennessee insurance dispute attorneys hold insurance companies accountable to pay all the damages that are covered by your insurance policy. To learn if you have a claim, and to speak to an experienced insurance dispute attorney like Brandon McWherter, Clint Scott or Jonathan Bobbitt, please call us 888.996.9731, or fill out our contact form. We have offices are based in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Jackson, and Knoxville, Tennessee.