Policyholders usually have faith that having property insurance comes with a certain level of financial security if their property is damaged. These damages could include, but are not limited to: water damage, mold damage, storm or hurricane damage, fire damage, structural damage, cast iron pipe failure, or damage due to environmental disaster. However, you should know that insurance companies usually do everything in their power to pay you as little compensation as possible.
If you have incurred damage to your residential or commercial property and have filed a property damage claim, you will want to make certain you are aware of a little-known clause in some insurance policy’s called the ‘Right to Repair’. Often, the ‘Right to Repair’ clause is hidden away in the fine print or veiled by complex legal statements in your insurance policy. But what exactly is Right to Repair and how does it affect the insured?
What is Right to Repair?
Typically, when a property claim is made, the property owner receives a payment to cover the cost of their losses, and then hires a contractor to make the repairs. However, with a right to repair clause, the process is the exact opposite. Under the provision known as ‘Right to Repair,’ the insurance company doesn’t provide you with a cash settlement. Rather the insurance company has the right to hire their own contractor to perform repairs on your damaged property. In this way, the insurance company can get away with paying their preferred contractor rather than paying you money. Importantly, the insurance company’s contractor works for the insurance company- not you and as such you do not have the same oversight and control over the quality of the work performed or if they take shortcuts to repair your property. This lack of direct control makes it challenging to communicate your concerns regarding the quality of work being done to your property. Many property damage attorneys will tell you that the ‘right to repair’ clause enables the insurance company to perform cheap repairs, substandard work, and hence not put you in the same pre loss condition. Essentially, a right to repair clause gives the insurer total control over your claim & repair.
How Does Right to Repair Affect the Insured?
What this essentially means is that the property owner is not allowed to hire their own contractor and perform the repairs themselves. Under Florida Law, Right to Repair provisions are completely legal and insurance companies like to claim that the ‘right to repair’ clause helps to curb contractor abuse – but often that is just a subterfuge for their real purpose of having such a clause Many times the insurance company prefers to not invoke the right to repair clause due to the amount of work and obligation it puts on them & instead looks to leverage the clause to pay out a less than fair settlement to homeowners. Homeowners need to understand that they should never accept a settlement that is anything less than fair.
The fact that insurance companies often veil the right to repair clause behind legal jargon in the policy means that they do not want policyholders to become aware of these provisions
If a homeowner in an attempt to mitigate the damage quickly hires their own contractor to make the repairs. this Right to Repair” language enables the insurer to use all kinds of insurance tactics to give the homeowner lowball offers or even outright deny their insurance claim.
Consumer Law Office – Handling Property Insurance Disputes From Start to Settlement
If you enter into a dispute with your insurance company over the insurer’s invocation of the Right to Repair Clause in your insurance policy, highly experienced and aggressive Property Damage Attorneys at the Consumer Law Office are here to advocate on your behalf and ensure that you receive the compensation you are entitled to.
While insurance companies can be sued over the improper invocation of Right to Repair provisions, which would apply in the case that the insurer made no effort to make the policyholder aware of these provisions beforehand, oftentimes the insurance company may file a lawsuit against the insured for refusing to comply with provisions stated in their policy.
For this reason, you should always have your insurance policy reviewed by a property damage attorney so that they can make you aware of various provisions and help you understand which of your rights are protected and which aren’t. The Florida Property Damage Attorneys at Consumer Law Office can take the time to review your insurance policy and property damage claim for you and interpret them to understand the full measure of damages available to you.
Consumer law Office is a client-centric law firm that is committed to delivering excellent customer service. Your Property Damage Attorneys will fight aggressively on behalf of our residential and commercial policyholders, contractors, mitigation companies, and public adjusters, to produce maximum recovery results from insurance companies through the firm’s deep understanding of insurance law, cutting edge technology, and proactive approach to litigation. For more information, visit https://consumerlawoffice.com/ or Contact us by phone at: 305-940-0924
