5 Steps to Hurricane Preparedness
Channel: Roy Oppenheim
Date: 2022-10-01

Hi, this is Atty. Roy Oppenheim. On behalf of Oppenheim Law, we want to send our prayers to everyone that's currently going through an unprecedented event for the state of Florida, and that is in connection with Hurricane Ian. As we speak, Hurricane Ian is about to make landfall on the west coast of Florida and create a devastating path, something that we may not have seen since the days of Andrew. And in that context, we want to talk a little bit about those whose homes are destroyed or harmed by any damage, what they can do, and how we can try and help you.

So there are a number of things that you need to do immediately after the storm, and that is, of course, after your family and pets are safe. And that is, you should need to try and protect the damage to the extent that's possible. If the home is totally lost, obviously, you just need to take lots of pictures. But assuming that there's a roof that's gone or there's been enormous flooding, you need to try and mitigate that damage to the extent possible.

In the Quality Insurance Company, they may have services that will come out and try to reduce the moisture and get rid of some of the mold and pull out a lot of the bad furniture that is destroyed. So you have an obligation to try and protect what is left. So that's number one. Number two, you need to document the loss.

Pictures, pictures, pictures, up close, back, far, wide, different times of day in terms of lighting. Just get as many pictures. You can't have too many pictures to document the loss. Then, we need to review the policy. You need to review the policy, and you need to make sure that your insurance policy is covered. You need to decide, is it your wind policy, or is it your casualty policy, or is it both policies?

So we need to get the policies. You need to review the policies. And once you review the policy, you need to file a claim. The quicker you file a claim, the quicker you're going to be able to see some sort of compensation to get your life back on track. Many of the insurance companies will set up tents, and they will set up vehicles, motor homes so that you can file a claim in some particular area.

And so you need to do that as soon as possible. After you file the claim, we need to see what additional information is going to be required for the claim to be successful. If the claim is denied, it may be denied because you didn't provide enough information or because they are acting in bad faith, or they're trying to say that it was not wind but storm surge and that it's actually supposed to be on the flood policy and not the casualty policy, and it gets very complicated very, very quickly.

That is where we come in. We will assist you in appealing a claim. We will assist you in appealing a lowball claim. We have a team of lawyers that are ready to go with our firm, with other firms, working together to assist you so that you can get through what is going to be an unprecedented event. So the lawyers at Oppenheim Law, 24/7, are available for you right now to assist you in this process.

But first, you need to document...let's go again. You need to protect your property. Then, you need to document the loss. You need to then review the policy to make sure that it is the right policy for the right claim. You need to then file the claim, and then we come in, in particular, with an appeal to an adverse decision. Whether it's a lowball or it's a denial, we will be here to help you.

Roy Oppenheim, from the trenches. God bless all of you, and we wish you all the best. Godspeed.