Louisiana Insurance Lawyer Blog

If a tree falls on your house or building because of Tropical Storm Lee, you should make a claim with your own insurance regardless of whether the tree was growing on your property or another person's property before the storm.

Fortunately, you should not have to pay a hurricane deductible since Tropical Storm Lee is not a hurricane. Make sure to take photographs of the tree before removing it from the home.

Furthermore, you should check for structural damage to your home as well as for any damage to your slab. Often times, a slab home will suffer cracks to the slab even to the opposite corner of the home.

If you have any trouble with your Tropical Storm Lee Insurance Claim or even need help hiring an engineer to detect structural damage, contact your storm lawyer, Charles E Lavis Jr

Tropical Storm Lee is expected to produce extensive rainfall. The National Weather Service National Hurricane Center advised at 1 p.m. today that

TROPICAL STORM LEE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 15 INCHES OVER SOUTHERN LOUISIANA...SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI...AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA THROUGH SUNDAY...WITH POSSIBLE ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 20 INCHES. THESE RAINS ARE EXPECTED TO CAUSE EXTENSIVE FLOODING...ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS.

Flooded Businesses and Homeowners should be advised that there are key steps to filing a National Flood Insurance Program flood insurance claim.

1. Contact your agent or insurance company to file a claim;


2. Separate damaged from undamaged property.


3. The insurance company's flood adjuster will need evidence of your structural and/or damaged content to assist in preparing his estimate. Take photograph of all damaged property (including any of the property you plan on throwing away). Take a photograph of the flood line and


4. Make an accurate list of all damaged content including date of purchase, cost and value before flood. If you have any receipts for the contents that were damaged, please save them.


5. Timely file your Proof of Loss form with your insurance company within 60 days of the flood.


6. If you are having trouble with your insurance company or have any questions about your insurance claim, contact your Louisiana Storm Insurance Lawyer.

While some longstanding State Farm policyholders may still have a fixed $500 deductible, most Gretna, LaPlace, New Orleans LaCombe, Slidell, Little Woods, Marrero and Bush Homeowners suffering structural damage due to the Spring Hail Storms and tornadoes will probably face a deductibles based upon a percentage of the structural policy limits instead of a fixed deductible of say $500.

Homeowners, be careful as you might be shortchanged when the homeowners insurance adjuster refuses to pay your loss because "the damage is less than the percentage deductible".

The adjuster may have overlooked hidden structural damage or mold or may have miscalculated the cost of repair. Or the adjuster may even go as far as to try improperly exlcude covered damage under a policy provision.

A Hale Damage Lawyer can assist you hiring professional to prove your claim, including engineers, mold and meteorological experts so that you can fully recover your damages, including your recoverable depreciation, debris removal costs and other damages.
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The Homeowners Insurer must pay the insured homeowners "a figure over which reasonable minds could not differ" within a timer period set by law or be subject to bad faith penalties.

If you have any questions or concerns about your Property Damage Claim call a Property Damage Claims Lawyer.

Louisiana Flood Insurance applicants should know The National Flood Insurance Program usually requires a 30-day waiting period, after applying and paying the premium, before the flood insurance policy becomes effective. However, there are exceptions:

1. There is no waiting period when flood insurance is required by a lender in connection with the making, increasing, extending or renewing of a loan. The policy will be effective at the date of the loan closing, as long as the application has been completed and the premium payment has been made at or before the closing date.
2. There is no waiting period when flood insurance is required by a lender after a mortgage portfolio review shows that the building is in a high-risk area. The policy will be effective upon the completion of the application and receipt of the premium payment by the insurer.
3. There is a one-day waiting period when a new policy or additional amounts of coverage are required by the lender during the 13-month period following certain map revisions. This applies when the map revision changes the structure's designation from a non-high-risk area to a high-risk area.

Speak with your flood insurance agent to see if you qualify for one of the exceptions.

If you have flood insurance and need help with your flood insurance claim, contact a Louisiana flood insurance lawyer.

Today, the US Army Corps of Engineers released a Doomsday Scenario 2" Floodmap that indicates flooding that may take place if the Corps does not open the Morganza Spillway.

The map shows extensive flooding would occur between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. As much as 30 feet of water would be found in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is expected to open the Morganza Spillway in the near future.

If you home or business is damaged by floodwater, contact a Louisiana Flood Insurance Attorney.

ProjectedLouisianaFloodMapSpring2011.pdf

This map has been completed using the best information available and is believed to be accurate; however, its preparation required many assumptions. Actual conditions during a flood event may vary from those assumed, so the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The limits of flooding shown should only be used as a guideline for emergency planning and response action. Actual areas inundated will depend on specific flooding conditions and may differ from the areas shown on the map. Information on this map is intended to permit state and local agencies to plan emergency evacuation and flood response actions.

Morgan City is faced with possible record flooding. If the Morganza Spillway is opened, Morgan City could face twelve feet of water exceeding the 10.53 record set in 1973. Heavy losses may be expected on the Atchafalaya River side of the levee in Morgan City.

Source:

National Weather Service Hydrolgic Outlook

Twenty Louisiana parishes have now declared a state of emergency to prepare for flooding, including:

• Ascension
• Assumption
• Avoyelles
• Catahoula
• Concordia
• East Baton Rouge
• East Carroll
• Iberia
• Iberville
• LaSalle
• Madison
• Pointe Coupee
• Saint James
• Saint Landry
• Saint. Martin
• Saint Mary
• Tensas
• Terrebonne
• West. Baton Rouge
• West Feliciana

The Mississippi River is expected to Crest as follows:

Baton Rouge (flood stage is 35 feet): projection is 47.5 feet on afternoon of 5/23.We are at flood stage right now in Baton Rouge - the levees here protect the city until 48 feet. The expected crest in Baton Rouge is around the level of the record flood of 1927 (48 feet).

Donaldsonville (flood state is 27 feet): projection is 36 feet on evening of 5/23. This is within about two feet of the top of the levee and ties the record level (1927).

Red River Landing (flood stage is 68 feet): projection is around 65.5 feet on morning of 5/23. This is more than four feet above the highest level on record.

Reserve (flood stage is 22 feet): projection is 25 feet on morning of 5/24. Within one foot of major flood stage and within one foot of the record level (1929 - 26 feet).

Tallulah (flood stage is 43 feet): projection is around 57.5 feet on the morning of 5/20. Rose more than a foot in the last 24 hours and is projected to rise a foot a day for the next six days.

Vidalia (flood stage is 48 feet): projection is around 64 feet on the morning of 5/22. Right now it is at 52 feet - has come up a foot in the last 24 hours, and will continue to go up about a foot a day.

Louisiana Insurance Laws are found primarily in Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 22. The laws are set forth as follows:

Continue reading "Where Are Louisiana Insurance Laws Found?" »

Colorado State University hurricane research team predicts a 72 percent chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. coastline in 2011 (the long-term average probability is 52 percent).

There is a 50 percent probability of a hurricane coming ashore in the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf coast and Florida panhandle region.

Source:

See The 2011 Colorado State University Report

HD HAIL DAMAGED VEHICLE

Indicates a motor vehicle has sustained cosmetic damages caused by hail and equivalent to seventy-five percent or more. Out-of-state titles reflecting water damage must also be shown on subsequent transactions. The hail damage code must be entered on the computer as "HD" which will brand the title "Hail Damaged". It will become a permanent part of that vehicles' history.

If you need help with your Gretna, Louisiana hail insurance claim, call a Hail Damage Insurance Lawyer.

Source:

FlagCodes and Flag definitions -062010.pdf

In a recent Louisiana Supreme Court case involvling defendant Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the Court ruled that filing of a Hurricane Katrina Insurance Class Action designated as a class action pursuant to LSA-C.C.P.art. 591, suspends prescription for all members of the putative class until the district court has ruled on the motion to certify the class. When notice is given, pursuant to LSA-C.C.P.art. 596, the suspended prescription period begins to run again.

Taranto v. Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.pdf

Homeowners suffering structural damage due to a Louisiana Tornado, Hurricane or Hail Damage often face a percentage based homeowner's insurance deductible instead of a fixed deductible of say $500 or $1,000. Often times, the homeowners is shortchanged when the insurer refuses to pay maintaining the damage is less than the percentage deductible.

For example, the homeowner's policy may have structural limits of $200,000 with a 5% policy deductible. In this case the insurance company adjuster may determine that the damage is only $9,500, less than the $10,000 deductible (5% of $200,000).

Often times the adjuster overlooks hidden structural damage and mold. Or perhaps the adjuster may maintain that the damaged home or business was not in the direct path of the storm and that the structural damage is unrelated to the storm. Engineering, mold and meteorological experts are often needed to prove these claims.

Furthermore, homeowner's insurers may fail to advance money for Additional Living Expenses, or fail to pay for Recoverable Depreciation, Debris Removal or Lost Profits due to a Business Interruption. Or the homeowners or business owner may haphazardly complete the content list.

If you have any questions or need help with your wind damage claim, contact an attorney that has handled hundreds of wind damage claims.

If an employee is injured in a Louisiana car wreck while in the course and scope of his employment, he has not only a claim against his employer's workers compensation insurer, but also has a third party claim against the other driver for that driver's fault.

What if the other driver is uninsured or underinsured? The injured employee may then make a claim against his own uninsured motorist policy or even against his employer's uninsured/underinsured motorist policy. However, the employer's uninsured motorist insurance carrier may be entitled to a credit for the amounts the injured employee received from the employer's workers' compensation insurer. See Bellard v. American Cent. Ins. Co., 980 So. 2d 654 - La: Supreme Court 2008

Recently, I've had several Louisiana Homeowners Insurance Claimants contact my office about their mortgage company holding onto their insurance money. Often times the person has a hurricane insurance claim, fire insurance claim or other homeowners claim and has completed repairs or has nearly completed repairs. For whatever reason the mortgage company is giving the homeowner the runaround on disbursing the money.

Although the mortgage company, as additional insured on the policy, has a right to make sure the repairs are made. Sometimes the mortgage company exceeds its authority. You can try to resolve this problem on your own by completing a complaint form with State of Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions. You can also call a Louisiana insurance dispute lawyer for assistance with this matter.