San Francisco Mudslide Damage Lawyer

San Francisco Mudslide Damage Attorney

Dealing with the fallout of a natural disaster can be catastrophic. Depending on what happened and how bad the damage was, you could be looking at significant changes in your life you were not prepared to deal with. It can be even worse when your insurance refuses to reimburse you for everything you’ve lost, leaving you to pick up the pieces on your own. While mudslides may not be as frequent as other disasters, a San Francisco mudslide damage lawyer can help fix things.

How Can a Mudslide Affect You?

A mudslide is a type of landslide in which a great deal of wet dirt, rocks, and other debris rapidly flow down a hill or mountain. It is usually triggered by significant rainfall, especially in California, and can cause a great deal of damage to everything it comes into contact with, including homes, cars, and individuals. In California, there may not be anybody to hold accountable for such a natural disaster, which is categorized as a land failure.

A mudslide has the power to completely destroy anything in its path. It can cause permanent devastation to your home, contaminate your water supply, affect road access for emergency services, and even cause you significant psychological distress. Sawyer & Labar LLP’s founding attorney Ivo Labar can help you figure out a strategy to seek reimbursement and hold bad-faith insurance companies accountable for refusing to help you when you need it the most.

Bad Faith Insurance

Bad faith insurance occurs when your insurance company uses unethical practices to try to get out of paying out your claim in the wake of a natural disaster or some other sort of situation in which you should be taken care of by insurance. When an insurance company refuses to pay out, the resulting chaos can turn an already terrible situation into an unbearable nightmare. You count on your insurance to have your back. When they don’t, it can make you question them.

When the insurance companies fail to be there for you, you need the help of an experienced property insurance claims lawyer on your side. When an insurance company goes out of its way to take unreasonable measures in an effort to deny your claim, it may no longer be a pragmatic response. It could be a bad-faith response. You should hold the company liable for refusing to help and causing you additional strife.

How Does an Insurance Company Act in Bad Faith?

Unfortunately, there are many different ways an insurance company can act in bad faith, and recognizing these behaviors may be good for your future case against them. If the insurance company engages in any of the following behaviors, it may not automatically mean they are going to act in bad faith, but it can be a sign:

• Denying your claim. First and foremost, your insurance company may be acting in bad faith if they simply deny your claim, even though you should be covered. Additionally, instead of outright denying your claim, they may make an insultingly low settlement offer.
• Refusing to investigate. What may constitute an act of bad faith is a refusal to investigate the claim in any way. There is no way the insurance company can understand what you’ve been through and provide an informed response if they never bother to look into your situation in the first place.
• Misrepresenting your policy. Perhaps the most damaging way that an insurance company can act in bad faith is by intentionally misrepresenting the language in your insurance policy or failing to disclose certain limitations present in that policy. All this does is give them a way to deny your coverage.

FAQs

Q: Does Insurance Cover Mudslide Damage?

A: Generally, most standard homeowner’s insurance coverage does not cover mudslide damage. Most homeowner’s insurance in California does not cover damage from earth movements like mudslides, landslides, and mudflows. If you are worried about damage from mudslides or other earth movements, you may want to purchase a Difference in Coverage (DIC) policy, though not all insurance companies offer them.

Q: How Much Is Mudslide Insurance in California?

A: Since most standard homeowner’s insurance coverage does not extend to mudslide damage, if you want that kind of coverage, you may have to pay for an additional Difference in Coverage (DIC) policy. However, many insurance providers won’t offer DIC policies since they are quite expensive and may only be available from large brokers. Everyone’s DIC policy is going to be different, so there is no sure way to determine how much mudslide insurance is in California.

Q: Who Is Liable for Mudslide Damage?

A: There is no way to tell who may be held liable for mudslide damage in California without first investigating the circumstances. Liability could fall under multiple parties, including the homeowners themselves. It could be with the property developers who altered the land, your neighbors if the mudslide began on their property, the previous homeowners who knew about the potential for mudslides but didn’t disclose it, and more. It ultimately depends on the situation.

Q: What Is the Difference Between a Landslide and a Mudslide?

A: The primary difference between a landslide and a mudslide is the material involved in the natural disaster. A landslide is the movement of rock, dirt, and other debris down a slope. A mudslide is very similar, but the materials involved are soaked in water and awfully soggy. Mudslides are generally triggered by intense rainfall or fast snowmelt, while landslides can happen in drier disasters like volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.

Reach Out to a Mudslide Damage Lawyer Today

It can be overwhelming and awfully terrifying to deal with the fallout of a mudslide, especially one that has caused significant damage to your home or your property. You might even be dealing with serious injuries because of it. When the insurance company refuses to help you, it can add insult to injury and make things feel much worse for you. The legal team at Sawyer & Labar LLP can help you seek legal action for bad faith insurance. Contact us for a consultation.