Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Colorado homeowners whose residences were destroyed in qualifying governor-declared wildfires received the minimum personal property payment offers required under state law.
When a wildfire destroys a home, families may lose furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances, and other belongings. Preparing a detailed inventory of every lost item can be difficult or impossible. For qualifying total losses involving owner-occupied homes in governor-declared wildfire disasters, Colorado law generally requires insurers to offer at least 65% of the personal property coverage limit without first requiring a written inventory.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether insurers failed to make these required offers, demanded complete inventories before offering payment, or offered less than the applicable minimum percentage, potentially delaying financial assistance to wildfire survivors.
Homeowners May Have Experienced:
- Being required to submit a complete inventory before receiving a personal property payment offer;
- Receiving an offer below 65% of the applicable contents coverage limit;
- Experiencing delays in receiving a minimum contents payment offer after a valid total loss was determined;
- Being told that every lost item had to be individually documented before an offer could be made;
- Receiving conflicting information about inventory-free payment rights; or
- Having difficulty obtaining the contents benefits available after a total-loss wildfire.
Potential Claims May Include:
- Failure to comply with Colorado’s minimum contents payment offer requirements;
- Improper conditioning of required offers on submission of a written inventory;
- Incorrect calculation of applicable minimum payment offers;
- Breach of applicable insurance obligations; or
- Other remedies available under Colorado insurance law.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You owned and occupied a home in Colorado;
- Your home was destroyed in a governor-declared wildfire disaster;
- You had personal property coverage under your homeowners policy;
- Your insurer determined that you had a valid total-loss claim;
- You were not offered at least 65% of the applicable contents limit without submitting a written inventory; or
- You have your policy declarations, claim correspondence, and payment records.
If you believe you experienced this issue, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call.