Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Washington homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed by wildfires received the full debris removal coverage promised under their homeowners insurance policies.
Following a covered wildfire, homeowners may face substantial expenses for demolishing damaged structures, removing burned materials, and preparing their properties for rebuilding. Many homeowners insurance policies provide debris removal coverage and may offer an additional allowance, often up to 5% of the dwelling coverage limit, when covered rebuilding and cleanup expenses exhaust the standard dwelling limit.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether insurers failed to provide qualifying homeowners with this additional debris removal coverage or incorrectly treated the extra allowance as already included within the basic dwelling limit.
Homeowners May Have Experienced:
- Paying substantial expenses to remove wildfire debris from their property;
- Having debris removal expenses deducted entirely from the dwelling coverage limit;
- Being denied additional debris removal coverage after exhausting their dwelling limit;
- Receiving less than the additional debris removal allowance promised by their policy;
- Having cleanup invoices excluded from an insurance settlement; or
- Being forced to pay qualifying cleanup expenses out of pocket.
Potential Claims May Include:
- Failure to provide additional contractual debris removal benefits;
- Incorrect calculation of homeowners insurance coverage limits;
- Breach of insurance contract;
- Improper denial or underpayment of covered cleanup expenses; or
- Violations of applicable insurance laws.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You owned a home insured in Washington;
- Your property was damaged or destroyed by a covered wildfire;
- Your claim exhausted the standard dwelling coverage limit;
- You incurred qualifying debris removal or cleanup expenses;
- Your policy provided an additional debris removal allowance that may not have been paid; or
- You have cleanup invoices, the policy’s debris removal provisions, and claim 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.