Critical First Steps

The first call you make to an insurance company will set the tone on how much they will payout. The agents you speak with are trained to make you unknowingly admit facts that may not be true, but are designed to limit your payout.

It’s easier to convince an insurance company of your claim during your first meeting with their adjuster, instead of forcing them to change their mind later, causing the adjuster to lose face with the insurance company. For this reason, I charge a lower fee if I am retained before you file a claim with the insurance company.

Water Damage

Water damage is one of the most difficult claims to prove. Insurance companies often hide specific illogical definitions in your policies that trick ordinary people into unknowingly denying the claim! A word to the wise, never use the word “leak” when reporting your claim.

These companies justify limiting claims by not mold damage.  However, if a policy excludes mold damage it doesn’t mean the insurance company gets to automatically deny the claim for the rest of the water damage.

Unfortunately, based on my experience, even for relatively low claim amounts, the insurance company is going to deny the claim based on their unfair definitions because they know individuals will be hesitant to sue.

Fire Damage

As a Santa Barbara native, I wanted to help my community recover from the Thomas fire in 2017 and the nearby Woosley fire in 2018. I stepped up to volunteering services immediately after the fire and helped multiple survivors on their path to recovery.

Unless the state declares your fire a national emergency, insurance companies have little incentive to help you out. Ironically, it’s people who suffered “minor” damage in the sense of smoke or partial structure loss that face with the most resistance from insurance companies. The insurance companies always undervalue your property and sets unrealistic barriers to claim smoke damage.

For any type of insurance claim, especially fire claims, the best preventive work you can do is document all your belongs to help streamline your claim process. In the event you are required to evacuate, I suggest going through your home and taking a video of everything inside to assist you later on with claiming damages for your personal belongings and property. Make sure the video includes all furniture, electronic equipment, clothing,  jewelry, etc.

We charge a flat rate of 15% contingency fee for all fire claims if we are retained before you file a claim with the insurance company.