Jackson Insurance Lawyers for Hail-Related Damage
Strong advocacy when hailstorms damage homes and businesses throughout the Southeast and Midwest
Over $250 million recovered for policyholders
Hail damage can destroy roofs and homes. Damaged roofs can cause water to enter or leak into your home. Damaged roofs can cause heat, cold air, insects, and other dangers to enter your home, making life rough or unbearable. At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we file claims for policyholders when hailstorms cause damage. Our Jackson insurance dispute lawyers help home and commercial property owners obtain advances to move until their property can be fixed. We work with a full range of building professionals. We demand timely payment of the damage to your building and personal property based on the terms of your insurance contract.
Significant case results
- $290,000+. We obtained this sum for a condominium association that suffered hail and wind damage.
- $287,500. We obtained this supplemental amount for a condominium owners’ association that suffered hail damage.
- $185,000. McWherter Scott & Bobbitt helped a church recover more than $185,000 for damage to the church’s roof due to hail.
How can we help?
- Why can hail happen in warm climates like Mississippi?
- What damage can hail cause to homes and businesses?
- What types of hail insurance disputes do you handle in Jackson, Mississippi?
- How do you fight to obtain all the insurance proceeds I deserve?
- Do you have a Jackson, MS, hail insurance lawyer near me?
Why can hail happen in warm climates like Mississippi?
Hail can cause severe property damage even though Mississippi’s climate is fairly warm year-round. There is no requirement that the temperature on the ground be below freezing for hail to occur. According to the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, hail is composed of “solid ice that forms inside thunderstorm updrafts.”
Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze. Hailstones then grow by colliding with liquid water drops that freeze onto the hailstone’s surface. The hail falls when the thunderstorm's updraft can no longer support the weight of the hailstone, which can occur if the stone becomes large enough or the updraft weakens. At very high altitudes, the air is cold enough (below -40°F) that all liquid water will have frozen into ice, and hailstones need liquid water to grow to an appreciable size.
Hail that is driven by wind can “tear up siding on houses, break windows and blow into houses, break side windows on cars, and cause severe injury and/or death to people and animals.”
What damage can hail cause to homes and businesses?
Often, the roof of your property will have the most damage when hailstorms happen. The hail can damage shingles, dent metal roofs, and affect the ability of your roof to hold the hail or any accompanying water. Hail can break tiles made of slate or concrete. Hail can also damage your windows, downspouts, gutters, air conditioning units, fences, chimneys, vents, landscaping, and other parts of your property.
The NOAA evaluates the size of hail as follows:
- Pea = 1/4 inch diameter
- Mothball = 1/2 inch diameter
- Penny = 3/4 inch diameter
- Nickel = 7/8 inch
- Quarter = 1 inch — hail quarter size or larger is considered severe
- Ping-Pong Ball = 1 1/2 inch
- Golf Ball = 1 3/4 inches
- Tennis Ball = 2 1/2 inches
- Baseball = 2 3/4 inches
- Tea cup = 3 inches
- Softball = 4 inches
- Grapefruit = 4 1/2 inches
What types of hail insurance disputes do you handle in Jackson, Mississippi?
At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we handle the following types of insurance disputes on your behalf.
- Policy coverage. We review the terms of your homeowner’s insurance, commercial insurance, and any other insurance you have to show if you’re insured. Generally, homeowners’ insurance and commercial property insurance do cover hail damage.
- The need to relocate. Our Jackson, Mississippi hail damage insurance lawyers work with roofing experts and other experts to verify that your roof cannot protect you and your family from the rain, heat, and cold. We explain to the insurance carrier that you need to move until your roof (and other parts of your home or business) can be fixed or a new roof can be installed. Our insurance dispute lawyers negotiate advances so that you and your family can move to an apartment or another location. We also negotiate the cost of new clothes, food, and necessities depending on what possessions you can/cannot take with you.
- Damage assessment. We work with qualified and experienced roofing experts (for all types of roofs, for all types of buildings) who can evaluate the cost to fully repair or replace your roof. Our Jackson, Mississippi hail damage lawyers also work with experts who can place a value on the cost to fix or replace the damage to all other parts of your home and all of your personal possessions. These experts may also evaluate the time the contractors will need to make the necessary repairs or to replace your roof.
- Business interruption expenses. We help commercial property owners who have business interruption insurance fully evaluate all of their relocation costs and all of their business losses when roof damage requires weeks or months to place their roof and property in the same condition as it was before the hail damage.
How do you fight to obtain all the insurance proceeds I deserve?
At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we move quickly to ensure that you receive the advances you need to relocate and resume your life or your business.
In addition to working with roofing experts and other damage experts, we work with experts who can appraise the damage to your appliances, furniture, inventory, equipment, and personal possessions. Our lawyers seek to show that if your property can’t be fixed, you’re entitled to the cost to replace any damaged items – as compared to the cash (fair market) value of these items. Usually, the cost to replace possessions is much more than their cash value.
We also:
- Notify your insurance carrier of your claim if you have not already done so.
- Review the reports and estimates of the contractors who work for your insurance carrier.
- Anticipate and contest the defenses the insurance carrier will assert to try to deny or reduce your claim. These defenses may include arguing that exclusions apply, that the hail damage is just cosmetic, that the cost to make the repairs is lower than your experts claim, that the value of your roof should be depreciated, and other defenses.
We also contest bad-faith negotiating efforts by the insurance company to force you to accept a low settlement offer.
Do you have a Jackson, MS, hail insurance lawyer near me?
Yes. Our office is located at 4780 I-55 N, Suite 100, in Jackson, Mississippi. McWherter Scott & Bobbitt consults with policyholders by phone and through video discussions. We take steps to review your hail damage in person or through the people we work with.
We can calmly and clearly guide you through each stage of your insurance claim.
Contact our Jackson hail insurance dispute attorneys now
At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we work aggressively to help you obtain temporary insurance payments so you can relocate if you need to and so you can stop any further damage. We’ve helped many clients like you repair their homes and businesses and start living their lives again in a condition that is comparable to the way it was before the hailstorm. Call us or use our contact form to schedule an appointment.
Our Jackson insurance dispute lawyers also represent policyholders throughout Mississippi and in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Arkansas.