Insurance companies refuse payouts after hailstorms

Colorado homeowners are facing serious damages as a result of hailstorms throughout the state. However, when they file a claim with their homeowners’ insurance policies for the storm damage, they are facing delays, denials and lowered estimates that could hinder their opportunity to recover from the damage caused by the hail. In the past decade, homeowners and business people in the state have sustained over $3 billion in insured damages due to hail alone.

However, it can be particularly important to understand what a homeowners’ insurance policy covers or excludes as well as to prepare to take action in case an insurance company meets a legitimate claim with a refusal to pay. In 2018 alone, there were 142 claims related to hail damage payouts filed with the Colorado Division of Insurance; 21 of those were related to one company, American Family Insurance. Several of these complaints related to insurance companies that declined to renew a homeowner’s policy after he or she filed a claim for storm damage.

Across the country, hail causes around $10 billion in damages every year. It accounts for a full 70 percent of the property damage insurance claims after severe storms. Meteorologists said that Colorado’s 2018 storms were not remarkable in their number but rather in the size of the hail with 14 percent of storms carrying hail 3 inches in diameter or larger. This large hail even took the lives of animals at the Colorado Springs Zoo in one incident as well as caused millions of dollars in property damage.

When homeowners file a claim for hail damage, they want to rely on their insurer to pay promptly for the damages they have suffered. Homeowners who instead face cancelled policies or other delays or denials may turn to an insurance attorney to help them pursue compensation for their losses.