Memphis Wildfire Insurance Lawyers
Protecting policyholders in Tennessee when natural disasters damage homes and businesses
Wildfires are becoming more common as summers get hotter and vegetation gets drier. Droughts are increasing, which also increases the risk of wildfires. While rare, when wildfires start, they can be very hard to stop. Wildfires can quickly destroy homes, businesses, and everything you've worked hard to acquire. At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, our lawyers help policyholders relocate and pay their essential expenses until their claim is resolved - and they can move back to their old location or into a new home or commercial building. We work to compensate you for all your damages, including the contents of your home, your personal possessions, and business interruption losses.
What should I do immediately after a wildfire occurs in Memphis?
At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we can help you with the practical issues you need to address in addition to the legal issues. Some of these practical steps include the following:
- Document the damage. To the extent the local Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, and federal officials grant permission, you should take pictures and/or videos of the visible damage – inside and outside. You should not enter your home or building structures if the building may be unsafe or the air may be unsafe to breathe.
- Get help from local officials. Ask the local officials (police, TEMA, FEMA, and others) what you can do to secure your property and reenter your property.
- Notify your insurance carrier (homeowners and commercial property). You should contact your insurance company and inform them that you have an insurance claim due to wildfires.
- Contact our experienced insurance dispute lawyers. We can explain what other practical steps you need to take, such as working with the insurance company and governmental authorities, and hiring professionals to examine the damage to the property. These professionals should also help determine what repairs are necessary and the timeline for repairs. We help with many other damage and valuation issues that we discuss in more detail below.
Your insurance company may arrange for a certified industrial hygienist to test your home for wildfire and smoke contamination. These professionals should take samples (surface and/or air) to test the safety of your home or commercial property.
Many standard insurance policies cover fire damage, but that does not mean your insurer will want to pay. If you believe that your insurance dispute is an act of bad faith by your insurer, you should seek legal counsel immediately.
Does my homeowner’s or commercial property policy cover wildfire damage?
Generally, most standard homeowners' and commercial property insurance policies cover fire damage, including wildfire damage, unless there is a specific exclusion for wildfires. It may help if you have a separate endorsement or a separate policy for wildfire damage.
Our Memphis wildfire lawyers will review whether any of your policies provide coverage.
What types of damage do wildfires cause?
Wildfires can quickly spiral out of control, destroying homes, offices, apartments, churches, and all other types of buildings. Sometimes, wildfires literally destroy entire communities in a very short time span. In addition to the destruction of buildings and damage to the environment, wildfires can destroy equipment, machines, business inventory, furniture, appliances, cars, trucks, landscaping, and the contents of your home, including your personal possessions.
The secondary damage from wildfires includes smoke damage, water damage, mold, utilities, and toxic damage to everything you own.
Wildfires can also cause significant harm to your health. Smoke and other chemical damage can cause respiratory disorders (including asthma and other breathing disorders), heart disorders, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders. The danger of health disorders is a leading reason why FEMA, TEMA, and other agencies help decide if and when you can move back into your home and what steps must be taken to ensure your safety and the safety of Memphis communities. These officials and local inspectors will need to review how to handle the utilities (including turning them off) until there’s a full evaluation of the wildfire damage.
The value of your home or business may be greatly diminished, even if your property is salvageable, because wildfires can destroy schools, hospitals, and everything that makes communities a nice place to live and work.
What types of insurance issues do you help resolve when wildfires happen?
At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we help policyholders with the full range of issues that must be addressed when filing a wildfire insurance claim. We can work to contest any insurance company’s efforts to deny or limit your claim. We also file claims if your insurance company negotiates in bad faith.
Some of the key issues we can address include the following:
Temporary expenses
It’s likely that you’ll need to relocate so you can live in a safe home or conduct your business from a safe location. We’ll work to obtain a partial distribution of your insurance proceeds so you can resume your life while the damage to your property is being reviewed and the work to repair or rebuild your property is completed. In addition to having a place to live, temporary expenses should include additional living costs (for example, the need to dine out more).
Repair, rebuild, or move
One of the key decisions that we can help you with is determining whether your property can be saved, whether it should be rebuilt, or whether the best solution is to permanently move to a new location. There are many issues, including structural safety, health concerns, and whether the cost of repairs is so high that rebuilding or moving makes better financial sense.
Business interruption expenses
Businesses will have costs to notify their clients and customers of their new location, obtain new equipment and furnishings, replace their inventory, and many other expenses at their new location. They can also have continuing expenses, including the mortgage at their original location, payroll costs, insurance expenses, information technology expenses, and many other expenses. Additionally, businesses will likely lose substantial profits, depending on the prior profit level.
At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we work with financial experts, marketing experts, and others to place a proper value on your business losses. Generally, your policy must include business interruption losses to obtain these temporary and permanent financial expenses and losses.
Valuing the damage
We work with construction companies, financial experts, appraisers, and other experts to determine the amount of proceeds you should receive. We also focus on the following valuation issues:
- As discussed above, whether you can make repairs, whether you should rebuild, or whether you should move.
- What valuation methods should be used? For example, whether you’re entitled to the actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost value (RCV) of your home and possessions or the cost to buy a new home and possessions.
- What materials should be used?
- Many other valuation issues.
Do you have a Memphis wildfire insurance lawyer near me?
Yes. We meet insurance claimants at our office, which is located at 6000 Poplar Ave, in Memphis, Tennessee. McWherter Scott & Bobbitt also consults with clients by phone and through online video. We also meet clients at their homes and businesses, when necessary, to view the full scope of the wildfire damage.
We can answer your questions and guide you through each step of the claims process.
Talk with our caring, accomplished Memphis insurance dispute lawyers now
Wildfires often cause devastating damage. At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we’ve earned the respect of former clients, insurance companies, and the legal community for our dedication to our clients, our detailed preparation, our persuasive advocacy, and our record of results. We fight to obtain all the insurance proceeds you deserve. Please call us or use our contact form today to schedule a consultation.
Our Memphis wildfire insurance lawyers also represent policyholders throughout Tennessee and in Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Missouri.