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Don't Be In The Dark About Our Legal System

Hello, I'm Karla Mitchell. Going through a legal case can be very expensive and challenging. I won't go into details, but I recently underwent my own legal battle that lasted several years. It is finally over and I successfully received a settlement, but I had to spend so much time studying law in order to play my role in my own court case. While I found a great attorney at one point, I felt completely lost initially and I don't want anyone else to experience the same thing. So I decided to create this blog for those who would like to know more about law.

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Don't Be In The Dark About Our Legal System

How A Plaintiff Should Prepare For Insurance Litigation

by Andrew Martin

Insurance litigation calls for a lot of preparation. If you're getting ready to sue, there are four things you'll want to do before you sit down with an insurance litigation attorney.

Find the Policy

Many insurance law cases center on what the terms were in the policy. These can get painfully technical, even by the standards of a lawyer. Insurers may decide to reject claims for distinctions that are mind-numbing, such as the difference between the damage to a building coming from a storm or flood.

While that fine distinction can seem perplexing to the average person, it matters. It stands a good chance of being the insurer's main defense. The law demands specificity. An insurance litigation attorney will want to see the policy details so they can decide whether there are grounds to sue.

Copies, Copies, and More Copies

The majority of these kinds of cases are heavy with documentation. You'll need to preserve the original versions of many of the documents, and that means you'll want to make lots of copies. In addition to the current policy paperwork, make copies of all correspondence you receive from the insurance company. Likewise, lock and then store copies of all digital communications like texts and emails on a cloud-based system to ensure you don't lose them. When in doubt, make copies. An insurance litigation attorney would rather have more paperwork than they need as opposed to not finding something critical.

Ask the Insurer for Explanations in Writing

If you don't currently have a written letter explaining why the insurance company rejected your claim or opted for a lower settlement offer, ask them to send you one. You'll need this so your lawyer can make a comparison between the logic in the letter and your insurance policy. Also, ask for the contact information for the claims adjuster and anyone else who rendered the decision. Make sure to have all names and addresses spelled out fully so there aren't any problems making contact down the road.

Secure Evidence

If you don't currently have the evidence from the initial claim in a safe spot, remedy that problem now. You should have a filing cabinet or safe to store photographs of items from the claim. If there is physical evidence still in its damaged condition, you should secure that, too. Collect any official reports there might be from police or fire departments and secure those, also.

Reach out to a lawyer like one at Berg Plummer Johnson & Raval, LLP, to learn more about insurance litigation. 

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