North Bay fire victims should be aware of deadlines to sue their homeowner insurers
Deadlines for filing such a lawsuit against an agent, broker or insurance company can vary between one to two or more years after damage or destruction of insured property, depending on the contract and type of lawsuit, said
The timeline, however, can be put on hold while an insurance claim is being processed, essentially stopping the clock on the lawsuit deadline. The clock does not start again until the policyholder is notified by the insurance company of a final denial of the full amount of a claim.
The vast majority of
For example, homeowners in
"Fire victims have no need to panic about filing a lawsuit since the denial of coverage has not been sitting around for 12 months yet," said
Still, experts cautioned that fire victims should be sure to understand their policyholders' rights and contact their insurance companies, especially to fully understand deadlines required to provide proof of an insured loss, Bach said. United Policyholders has a page on its website that offers suggestions.
"Insurers will often be very vague when they close the claim," she said.
Policyholders should write to their insurers and provide their own timeline of the claims process as they understand it, Friedemann said.
That would place the onus on the insurance company to disagree with the deadline, he added, which could hold up in court if there ever is a dispute over it.
Those who claim their insurers committed fraud by underestimating the amount of property insurance they needed to rebuild their homes at current construction costs could have up to two years to sue their insurers, said
Some may opt not to sue, however, and could go through a mediation process with the state insurance department to try to get more compensation. So far, 508 policyholders suffering property damage during the 2017
The mediation process would be good for those who have a small shortfall in insurance coverage necessary to replace their homes, because a lawyer likely would not take such cases to court because the possible payouts would not be worth it, said
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