Homeowner’s insurance expert witnesses may write reports and testify on insurance claims, homeowners liability protection, hazard insurance, and associated areas of expertise. At Missouri Insurance Lawyer Blog, the law firm of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella & Wheelan LLC, write:
Many Missourians have experienced devastating losses as a result of the storms that have ravaged the southern portion of the state in recent weeks. Thousands of people will be filing insurance claims and we want to help make sure those claims are handled properly by explaining a few situations that could happen with your insurance claims. Here are just a few things to take into consideration:
1. Many insurance companies use a property damage estimating software program called Xactimate. Prices in the program are updated on a quarterly basis. When a large storm strikes it is not uncommon for labor and materials prices in the area of the storm to increase, sometimes rapidly. As a result the prices in the Xactimate program may be outdated at the time of the storm because of the sudden increase in prices. Check with your insurer who uses this or similar programs to determine if they have updated their prices to reflect the increase in the prices immediately following the storm. If not, ask that they do so; otherwise your repair estimate may not accurately reflect the exact cost of repairs.
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