In September of 2020, Oregon experienced particularly high winds and persistent dry weather sparked long-term wildfires throughout the state. The fires blazed for long periods, reaching many areas throughout Oregon. Throughout the wildfire season, over one million acres of land were burned, resulting in half a million people living in evacuation areas and over 40,000 individuals actually needing to evacuate. Thousands of homes, buildings and communities were destroyed by the fires, resultings in tons of people without places to live.

Rebuilding After Wildfires

Throughout the 2020 wildfire season, Oregon saw 14 major wildfires that resulted in the death of tens of people and tons of homes and businesses lost. Rebuilding after a wildfire requires a lot of money and time to get things back to where they were before the fire hit.

If a wildfire hits your property, you will want to file for an insurance claim immediately to help you rebuild after the damage. Once you’ve ensured you and your family are safe from the wildfire, and your home is safe to return to, take photos of the damage and detailed track of what was destroyed during the fire. Providing this, as well as maintaining an extensive record of your communication with your insurance agent and anyone handling your claim.

Bad Faith Insurance Claims

When wildfires hit, hundreds of people will reach out to their insurance agencies at once with claims to get coverage for their property’s damage. This will cause insurance agencies to be flooded with claims, making it difficult to respond to all of them in a reasonable amount of time, and leave plenty of room for error.

After consistently paying for your insurance month by month, and taking care to file a detailed claim, it can be frustrating to feel ignored or disregarded by your insurance provider. Following a natural disaster, it is common for insurance agencies to ignore claims and provide poor communication, as well as deny claims to reduce the amount of coverage money they have to give out all at once. Widespread natural disasters increase the likelihood of this happening, and can deeply affect your rebuilding process.

If you experience this difficulty with your insurance agency, know that this is unethical and can be punishable by law. Insurance lawyers understand the full extent of legal expectations from insurance providers, and can help you pursue them to get the coverage you need. Insurance attorneys have the expertise to handle your claim and ensure you get the money you deserve.

The law offices of Michael M. Raheb, P.A., have experienced Oregon insurance lawyers that understand the laws related to insurance claims and what constitutes a bad faith claim. These insurance lawyers are available to help you with any legal proceedings following these bad insurance experiences.