• Prior to contacting your insurance company (i.e. New Claim) – This is generally best for you, since we are able to offer you the most benefit by overseeing the entire claim process on your behalf (assisting to minimize any delays and maximize the valuation of your claim).  In addition, we will retain our own expert to be present during the actual engineering borings to confirm that they are being conducted properly as well as insure that we have our own ‘raw data’ in the event the findings are not as you would have expected.  By being involved early, we can help prevent the insurance company representative from taking a negative position with regard to your claim – which will help expedite the ultimate processing of your claim as well as help maximize the valuation of your claim.

• During a pending claim with your insurance company (i.e. Pending Claim) – Even though you have already reported your claim to your insurance company, we can evaluate the situation and take it over from virtually any point in the claim process (before the actual engineering testing has taken place; after the engineering testing has taken place but before you receive the final results from the engineering firm, after you receive the final results the engineering firm or either before or after you have received an offer to settle from your insurance company).  Again – the sooner the better (for the reasons outlined in the preceding paragraph).  No matter what – you have virtually nothing to lose by retaining us to help maximize the valuation of your pending claim with your insurance company.

• After your claim has been denied by your insurance company (i.e. Denied Claim) – If your insurance company has denied your claim and you still believe that the physical damages to your home, commercial building or investment real estate property may be the result of sinkhole activity, we will have your engineering results reviewed by our own engineering expert at our expense.  Many times our engineering expert will point out flaws and/or deficiencies in the engineering reports that were provided to you by your insurance company and we can convince your insurance company to change their mind and treat your claim as a ‘confirmed’ sinkhole claim.  Other times we have no choice but to file a lawsuit against your insurance company if they are not willing to change their mind amicably (based upon the written documentation that we provide to them).  Of course, if our engineering expert agrees with the findings contained in your engineering report, we will review your insurance policy to ascertain if your damages could be covered by some other portion of the policy (i.e. perhaps collapse loss, for example).  Again – in this scenario – you have absolutely nothing to lose and all to gain by retaining us to assist you in your denied claim.

• After your claim has already been paid – we can reopen a previous claim (i.e. Reopen Previous Claim) – Even though you had already accepted a previous settlement from your insurance company, we may be able to reopen your claim if you were not compensated fairly and reasonably for the damages you had sustained or you are presenting experiencing worsening of previous damages or new damages (which is indicative that payment and/or repair process that was recommended was not adequate or proper).  Generally speaking, you have five (5) years from the date of loss (most often this is the date you reported the claim to your insurance company).  Furthermore, if your insurance company did not follow strict guidelines in evaluating and paying your claim in a prompt manner, they may be subject to a potential “Bad Faith” lawsuit, which may provide you with additional compensation beyond that listed in your insurance policy.

What We Can Do To Help You

Depending upon the date of your lose, in most counties your homeowner’s insurance or commercial property insurance carrier must provide coverage for damage to your home, commercial business or real estate investment property caused by sinkhole.  Due to the severe weather that Florida has experienced over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in sinkhole related activity.  Most sinkholes are not of the dramatic, television news variety, but rather develop slowly over a longer period of time.

If you have a good faith belief that you have a sinkhole at your property, your insurance company has a statutory and fiduciary duty to promptly and properly investigate this sinkhole loss.  They first make an initial inspection at your property and if the adjuster believes that the damages noted could possibly be caused by a sinkhole, then they must conduct additional engineering testing by a qualified and licensed geo-technical engineer.

There are many potential hazards in dealing with your insurance company, several of which include delaying the evaluation of your claim, denying you the fair market value you deserve in a settlement or even denying coverage for your claim.  Your insurance company oftentimes only retains experts whom they believe will not find sinkhole activity and instead find that your damages were caused by something other than a subterranean sinkhole (therefore denying your claim).  In other cases the investigations conducted by an engineering firm retained by your insurance company may be inadequate or incomplete and therefore resulting in flawed results.  Finally, many insurance companies recommend sub-standard repair methods to minimize the settlement or repair costs of your sinkhole loss.  Your insurance policy alone is not enough to guarantee you coverage or a fair representation from your insurance carrier.

The Law Offices of Joseph A. Porcelli, P.A. has represented numerous homeowners in disputes with their insurance company with regard to sinkhole related damage, quite possibly even someone in your neighborhood.  Most people do not have the experience of resolving a sinkhole claim with their insurance company and are at a decided disadvantage vis-à-vis their insurance company.  Our years of experience in assisting policyholders helps level the playing field to your benefit.  Our goal is to maximize the valuation of your claim as expeditiously as possible.

How You Pay For Our Legal Services

Sample Sinkhole Settlements

Non-litigated sinkhole claim $300,190.00
Non-litigated sinkhole claim $280,000.00

We offer a FREE Same Day Consultation and we always accept Sinkhole cases on Contingency Fee Basis. Putting it in another way, if we do not obtain a recovery on your behalf, you will owe us NOTHING in legal fees nor do you have to reimburse us for your costs / expenses of our legal representation.  Furthermore, if your insurance company did not follow strict guidelines in evaluating and paying your claim, they may be subject to a potential “Bad Faith” lawsuit, which may provide you with additional compensation beyond that listed in your insurance policy.  In summary, you have nothing to lose and all to gain if you retain us to assist you in your sinkhole claim.  Call Us Today – Toll Free at 877-LAW-9191 or submit the FREE case evaluation form.