Hurricane Helene Damage

Protecting Your Rights and Property

When your home or business suffers damage from a storm like Hurricane Helene, the last thing you should have to worry about is fighting your insurance company for the compensation you are owed. At Hull Barrett, with over 100 years of experience serving the Augusta-Aiken area, we help residents and businesses recover the compensation they need to rebuild after devastating events. If you need assistance with your insurance claim, contact Hull Barrett today. We are committed to helping you get back on your feet with the legal expertise required to secure the compensation you are owed.

Trust Hull Barrett to Handle Complex Hurricane Helene Damage Claims

We understand how insurance companies work and know how to maximize your claim to get the full compensation you deserve. Whether it is wind damage, flooding, or structural issues, we will assess your case, send an inspector or estimator if needed, and negotiate a fair payment from your insurer. If your home or business was damaged by Hurricane Helene, our experienced property damage lawyers are here for you. We can help with the following:

• Property damage
• Business interruption
• Other structures
• Mitigation
• Neighbor disputes
• Contracts

Contact Us (706) 722-4484

Tips and steps for making an insurance claim:

1. Collect your insurance documents.  Review the information in the policy for how to make a claim.
2. Make a claim as soon as possible.  Alert your insurance broker.
3. Take pictures and videos of all damage.
4. If you need to pay for something urgent (like tree removal from your home) or a leaking pipe, make a record or keep the receipt, contract, etc.  You would prefer to have prior approval from the insurance adjuster. The insurance company may not agree with the price you pay, so do the best you can to minimize the cost.
5. Insurance may not pay for tree removal from the grounds of your property, or there may be limits on it.
6. Protect your property to mitigate your damage.  You may be required by the insurance contract to do things like apply a tarp to prevent additional water entry into your roof.  Turn off your water if you have a leak into your house.  Do what you can to air out your property to prevent the growth of mold, which may not be covered. You may need to hire a mitigation company.
7. Try not to do any permanent repair work before your insurance adjuster has the opportunity to inspect the damage and provide input on the repairs.  Notify the adjuster of your plan to make repairs and provide estimates and contracts to the adjuster.
8. Not all damages may have coverage.  For example, there could be exclusions for flooding, wind driven rain, or other structures not attached to your house.
9. Watch out for scams
10. Georgia law creates penalties for insurers who do not satisfy a clear claim within 60 days of a properly written demand.
11. You may have only 1 year to file a lawsuit from the date of the hurricane.  Check your policy terms.
12. If a tree falls, there is generally no liability on the original tree owner.  The property owner where the tree comes to rest is responsible for any property damage on his property, as well as the costs of hauling away the tree from his property. That is likely to be the rule across the board in a hurricane wind scenario. However, there can be an exception if the owner of the tree was negligent in allowing a dead or diseased tree to stay in place so that his negligence was the cause of it falling.