Homeowners Insurance Bad Faith & Property Insurance Attorneys

---

How Policyholders Can Respond to Wrongful Denials, Delays, Underpayment, and Unfair Claim Handling

Is your homeowners insurance company refusing to pay a covered property claim, taking too long to make a decision, or offering substantially less than the documented cost of your loss? You may have rights when an insurer wrongfully denies coverage, unreasonably delays payment, underpays a valid claim, fails to investigate property damage fairly, or misrepresents the coverage available under the policy. Working with an experienced bad faith insurance attorney can help you challenge unfair claim handling and pursue the insurance benefits and compensation that may be available to you.

Singleton Schreiber represents homeowners, property owners, businesses, and other policyholders in insurance recovery and bad faith disputes. Our attorneys take on insurance companies in matters involving homeowners insurance bad faith, property insurance claims, denied and delayed claims, lowball or underpaid losses, fire and wildfire damage, smoke and ash contamination, rebuilding costs, personal property, and Additional Living Expenses.

A disagreement with an insurer is not automatically bad faith. The legal question often turns on how the insurance company investigated the loss, interpreted the policy, evaluated the evidence, communicated with the policyholder, and supported its coverage or payment decision. An experienced property insurance attorney can review the claim record and determine whether the dispute involves a legitimate coverage disagreement, an underpayment problem, or potentially unreasonable insurance practices.

Homeowners should keep a complete record from the beginning of the claim. Preserve the policy, claim number, photographs and video, estimates, inspections, testing, inventories, receipts, coverage letters, payment records, and communications with every adjuster or insurer representative.

What Is Homeowners Insurance Bad Faith?

Insurance companies have an obligation to handle claims fairly and in good faith. A disagreement over an insurance claim does not automatically mean an insurer has acted in bad faith. However, an insurance company's conduct may raise concerns when it unreasonably fails to investigate, process, or pay a valid claim.

Examples of conduct that may be associated with a homeowners insurance bad faith dispute include:

• Wrongfully denying a homeowners insurance claim
• Unreasonably delaying an investigation or payment
• Underpaying a claim or making a lowball offer
• Failing to properly investigate property damage
• Misrepresenting policy terms or available coverage
• Relying on incomplete, biased, or flawed inspections
• Failing to adequately consider evidence of damage
• Repeatedly requesting information the homeowner has already provided
• Transferring a claim between multiple adjusters without meaningful progress
• Failing to clearly explain why coverage or payment is being denied

Homeowners do not need to determine for themselves whether an insurance company's conduct legally qualifies as bad faith before seeking help. Often, policyholders simply know that something is wrong: their claim was denied, payment is taking too long, or the insurance company is not offering enough to repair or rebuild their property.

Common Homeowners and Property Insurance Disputes

Property insurance disputes can arise after fires, wildfires, storms, water damage, smoke and ash contamination, and other covered losses.

In some cases, the insurance company may dispute whether the loss is covered at all. In others, the insurer may accept the claim but disagree with the homeowner about the extent of the damage, cost of repairs, appropriate remediation, value of damaged personal property, rebuilding expenses, or Additional Living Expenses.

For example, an insurer may provide a repair estimate that is significantly lower than a contractor's estimate or does not account for all of the damage to the property. An insurance company may also dispute whether damaged materials should be cleaned, repaired, or replaced.

These disagreements can leave homeowners trying to recover from a major property loss while simultaneously fighting with the company they expected to help them recover.

Denied, Delayed, and Underpaid Homeowners Insurance Claims

Three of the most common problems homeowners encounter are claim denials, unreasonable delays, and underpayment.

A denied homeowners insurance claim may involve a disagreement about coverage, the cause of the damage, an exclusion in the policy, or the insurance company's interpretation of the loss.

A delayed insurance claim can leave a homeowner waiting for an inspection, coverage decision, repair approval, or payment while expenses continue to accumulate.

An underpaid homeowners insurance claim can occur when the insurer accepts the claim but offers less than may be necessary to properly repair, replace, or rebuild damaged property.

Homeowners experiencing any of these issues may have options for challenging the insurance company's decision or handling of the claim.

Fire, Wildfire, Smoke and Ash Property Claims

Fire and wildfire losses can create particularly complicated homeowners insurance claims. A home does not have to burn to the ground to suffer significant property damage.

Wildfire smoke and ash can infiltrate HVAC systems, insulation, porous building materials, furnishings, and personal belongings. Determining the extent of contamination and the appropriate remediation may require evaluation and testing by qualified professionals, including industrial hygienists.

Disputes can arise when an insurance company minimizes smoke or ash contamination, relies on an inadequate inspection, disputes the appropriate testing or remediation, or offers to pay for cleaning when more extensive work may be necessary.

Fire and wildfire insurance claims may involve:

• Structural and partial property damage
• Repair and rebuilding costs
• Smoke and ash contamination
• Personal property and contents
• Temporary housing and Additional Living Expenses
• Coverage limits and underinsurance
• Delayed inspections or payments
• Disagreements over contractor estimates
• Denied or underpaid claims

Singleton Schreiber has experience helping policyholders affected by catastrophic wildfires and understands the complicated insurance issues homeowners may encounter throughout the recovery process.

Additional Living Expenses After Property Damage

When a covered loss makes a home unsafe or uninhabitable, a homeowners insurance policy may provide Additional Living Expense (ALE) coverage to help with certain increased costs while the policyholder is displaced.

Depending on the policy and circumstances, ALE coverage may help address temporary housing and other additional expenses associated with being unable to live at home.

This coverage can become especially important following a wildfire or major property loss when homeowners may be displaced for an extended period while inspections, remediation, repairs, or rebuilding take place.

Problems can arise when the underlying insurance claim is delayed while ALE benefits continue to be used or when the homeowner and insurance company disagree over which expenses are covered.

Homeowners should keep records of temporary housing and other additional expenses and retain communications with their insurer regarding ALE benefits.

Property Damage Inspections and Insurance Company Experts

Insurance companies may rely on adjusters, contractors, engineers, environmental consultants, industrial hygienists, and other professionals to evaluate property damage. Their findings can play a significant role in determining the scope of damage and how much an insurance company agrees to pay.

Homeowners should pay attention to whether an insurer's investigation addresses the full scope of the loss. This can be especially important after a wildfire, when smoke and ash contamination may extend beyond immediately visible damage.

A dispute may arise when an insurer relies on testing, an inspection, or an estimate that the homeowner believes does not accurately reflect the condition of the property.

Depending on the circumstances, a property insurance attorney may review the insurer's investigation, inspection reports, estimates, communications, and policy language to evaluate how the claim has been handled.

What Should You Do If You Are Having Problems With Your Homeowners Insurance Company?

If you believe your homeowners insurance company is not handling your property claim fairly, keeping thorough records can be important.

Consider keeping copies of:

• Your homeowners insurance policy and endorsements
• Claim numbers and claim-related documents
• Coverage and denial letters
• Emails, letters, and other communications with the insurance company
• Contractor, repair, and rebuilding estimates
• Inspection and testing reports
• Photographs and videos of the property damage
• Personal property and contents inventories
• Receipts for temporary housing and Additional Living Expenses
• Records of payments received from the insurance company

It can also be helpful to maintain a timeline of important communications, inspections, requests for information, adjuster changes, and payments throughout the claim.

When Should You Contact a Homeowners Insurance Attorney?

You may want to speak with a homeowners insurance attorney if your insurance company has denied your claim, significantly delayed its investigation or payment, offered substantially less than you believe is needed to address the damage, or is otherwise making it difficult to move your claim forward.

You should also consider seeking legal advice if your insurer requests an examination under oath, accuses you of fraud or causing the loss, hires an attorney in connection with your claim, or if you cannot get clear answers about your coverage or the status of your claim.

An experienced property insurance attorney can review the insurance policy, claim history, correspondence, estimates, and other documentation to evaluate the insurer's handling of the claim and explain the options that may be available.

Singleton Schreiber Fights for Policyholders

Recovering from serious damage to your home or property is difficult enough without having to fight your insurance company at the same time.

Singleton Schreiber's insurance recovery and bad faith attorneys represent homeowners and other policyholders in disputes with insurance companies. Our attorneys combine insurance knowledge, litigation experience, and fearless advocacy to hold insurers accountable when they fail to honor their obligations.

If your homeowners insurance claim has been denied, delayed, underpaid, or unfairly handled, contact Singleton Schreiber for a free case evaluation.

What a Bad Faith Insurance Attorney Can Do

A bad faith insurance attorney can review the complete policy and claim file, test the insurer's coverage position against the evidence, identify missing or unreasonable investigation, analyze payment and valuation disputes, preserve important deadlines, and pursue available insurance benefits and legal remedies when supported by the facts and governing law.