Law Office of Rabih Hamawi, P.C. asks you to provide the following documents, if available: 1) A complete copy of your insurance policy; 2) The reservation of rights letter or denial letter from the insurance company; 3) Any and all correspondence to and from the insurance company, including emails, letters, text messages, audio recordings, photos, and videos; 4) Any estimates of damaged items to be replaced or repaired; and 5) A copy of the police report or fire department report.

Insurance policies require insureds to cooperate with the insurance company’s investigation, which may include giving a recorded statement. A recorded statement is a statement of an insured taken by a representative of the insurance company such as an insurance adjuster, a special investigator, or a cause and origin investigator. It is usually audio-recorded and may be taken either in person or by phone. During a recorded statement, an insured may request permission from the insurance company to also record on his or her phone or other electronic device the statement given. When an insurance company requests a recorded statement, it is highly recommended that you retain an attorney specializing in insurance law to represent you to protect your interests and to prepare you when giving a recorded statement.

If your home or business has been vandalized, broken into, or subjected to arson (meaning intentionally burned), under the conditions section of an insurance policy, you must immediately notify the police or other law enforcement officers if you suspect a crime has been committed. This is crucial, and most policies require you to notify the police right away.

Insurance policies allow insurance companies to take your examination under oath and request several documents that may be sensitive in nature. An examination under oath is usually conducted by the attorney for the insurance company who will likely ask you questions over the course of several hours in the presence of a court reporter. Sometimes, you may also be required to review the transcript after an examination under oath and sign it. If you refuse to appear for an examination under oath and refuse to produce the requested documents, the insurance company will likely deny your claim for failure to cooperate. If you are requested to attend an examination under oath, you must be represented by an attorney specializing in insurance law who can properly prepare you before the examination under oath, review the documents submitted, and attend the examination under oath with you.

If you didn’t read your insurance policy before, you must immediately read your insurance policy, which undoubtedly has many conditions that you must comply with after a loss. Some of these conditions require you to immediately notify your insurance company of the loss, mitigate your damages by taking steps to protect the property from further damage (regardless of whether you received any payment from the insurance company), and provide certain information and documentation to the insurance company. You are also required to timely submit to the insurance company a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss.

Under Michigan law, results of a polygraph or a lie detector test are usually inadmissible in a court proceeding. Further, under most insurance policies, an insured doesn’t have an explicit duty to take a polygraph or a lie detector test. When an insurance company requests a polygraph or a lie detector test, it is highly critical that you retain an attorney specializing in insurance law to advise you on whether to give one.

Generally, yes. Under the insurance policy and Michigan law, you have a duty to cooperate with the insurance company’s investigation and provide all of the requested documents. If you willfully refuse to provide these documents, the insurance company may use your refusal as a basis to deny your insurance claim.

Additional Living Expenses is an amount that an insurance company will pay you after an insurance claim if you are unable to live in your home. A frequent misunderstanding is that people think the insurance company will cover all the increased expenses, and that is usually not the case. You must review your policy to know what the insurance company will pay. The general rule is that the insurance company will only pay for the reasonable increase in your living expenses. Meaning, if there is any increase after a claim and that increase is reasonable, then they will pay for it.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of your claim, an investigation may last between two months and one year.

Generally, Michigan law doesn’t permit an insured to sue an insurance company or to recover additional damages for pain and suffering, humiliation, discrimination, or intentional infliction of emotional distress related to the filing of a property insurance claim.

Before an insurer may indemnify an insured for his or her insured losses, under most property insurance policies, an insured has a duty to immediately notify the police and file a police report if a crime may have been committed.

Although some property insurance policies may include a longer time period, generally, an insured has one year after the date of the claim denial to sue his or her insurance company. In calculating this period, Michigan law provides that the time is tolled (doesn’t count or isn’t included) from “the time the insured notifies the insurer of the loss until the insurer formally denies liability.” MCL 500.2833(q).

Under the Conditions section of most property insurance policies, the insurer has the right to demand that the insured submit to an examination under oath (EUO), which is usually a grueling process where the insurance company may interrogate the insured about anything pertaining to his or her life. Some of these questions may be personal, intrusive, or even irrelevant to the insurance claim at issue. Usually, an insurance company will request that the insured submit a long list of documents before the EUO. It is highly advisable that an insured doesn’t appear for an EUO unrepresented. It’s crucial for an insured to have an attorney who specializes in fire, property damage, and insurance-coverage cases to represent and prepare him or her for the EUO, to explain the process, to review the documents submitted, and go over sample questions of what the insured should expect.

Some insureds may ask, "Hey, it's been a couple of days or a couple of weeks, and the insurance company hasn't paid my claim yet. Can I file a lawsuit right away?" The answer is no. Before you file a lawsuit, most policies state that you should comply with all of the policy conditions, which include timely submitting a sworn statement in proof of loss, perhaps submitting to an examination under oath, or taking complying with other policy conditions before filing a lawsuit.

As a general rule, the insured has a duty to cooperate with the insurance company and produce any potential witnesses. But the question is, can you produce somebody that you have no control over? The simple answer is no. You are not obligated to produce that person, but you are obligated to cooperate and try to convince that person to talk to the insurance company, if possible.

An Examination Under Oath is similar to a deposition, but it is conducted under the terms and conditions of your insurance policy. During the examination, you are required to answer questions, typically in front of a court reporter, and these questions are usually asked by the insurance company’s lawyer. An insurance attorney can help you prepare for an examination under oath by providing sample questions and guiding you on how to answer questions honestly and truthfully. He or she may also be able to gather and review any documents that the insurance company requires you to submit.

A Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss is a document that you submit after a claim, and you complete under oath, making it essential that all information you provide is truthful and honest. You should never speculate or guess when completing a sworn statement in proof of loss. Generally, it is due 60 days after the date of loss, but some policies may have longer time periods.

Business Income, also known as Business Interruption coverage, is crucial for all business owners. If you have a commercial property policy that includes coverage for business interruption due to a fire, water damage, or any other covered cause of loss, this part of the policy may pay you for any lost net income during the period that you are unable to operate your business.

Depreciation Holdback refers to a situation where, if you have a claim and the insurance company determines your replacement cost, they may not pay you the full replacement cost upfront. Instead, they typically pay you the actual cash value of your damages, which is the replacement cost minus depreciation. Once you repair the property or replace your contents, then the insurance company will pay you the depreciation holdback, but only if you spent all the money that they initially paid you, and if you complete the repair or replacement within the time period listed in the policy.

A common question I receive is, "My insurance company has denied my claim; what should I do?" Some may wonder if they should appeal the decision or write to the insurance company again. In my experience, after your insurance claim has been denied, the best next step is to file a lawsuit and hire a lawyer who specializes in insurance law.

It’s advisable to hire a lawyer as early as possible in the insurance claim process. But if your claim is denied and you decide to pursue it further, the next step should be to hire a lawyer who specializes in insurance law so you can take legal action against the insurance company.