COMMON DAMAGES

You may be entitled to compensation for:

• Property loss or damage
• Additional living expense due to property loss or damage
• Loss or damage to personal belongings
• Vehicle loss or damage

VANDALISM INSURANCE CLAIMS — WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

No one’s home or private property should ever be subjected to an act of vandalism. We understand how frightened and vulnerable the action can leave you feeling in the very environment where you should feel safe and secure. The last thing you want to worry about is whether your insurance claim will be accepted or not. Homeowners should not be responsible for repairing the damage — thankfully, most homeowner’s and commercial insurance policies provide coverage for it. However, before you receive a settlement, you may have to endure a time-consuming struggle with your insurance provider to get what you need.

WHAT IS CONSIDERED VANDALISM?

Vandalism can include a wide variety of criminal behavior and generally involves any deliberate action with the malicious intent of damaging or defacing another individual’s property. Vandalism is considered a crime due to the threat it can pose to society. The penalties upon being convicted for vandalism may be a fine, jail sentence, an order to pay for repairs, or all three.

Some examples of vandalism are:

• “Egging” someone’s property
• Arson
• Tire slashing
• Smashing mailboxes
• Breaking lights or windows
• Defacing public property with graffiti
• Knocking down street signs
• Cutting trees or landscape

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FOLLOWING A VANDALISM EVENT?

If you have suffered vandalism or theft damage, you should immediately:

• Contact local authorities and file a police report
• Report the incident to your insurance provider (some policies have strict notice requirements, so do not delay)
• Make a summary list of everything stolen and/or vandalized
• Document all damage with photographs and video (do not clean up or tamper with the vandalized area/evidence)
• Collect receipts and other evidence of the stolen items’ value

WAS YOUR VANDALISM CLAIM DENIED?

If you fail to do any of the points mentioned above when filing an insurance claim, there is a strong possibility that your claim will be rejected. Thus, it is very important to document as much evidence as possible to further strengthen your claim. However, there are instances when you can do everything right and still have your claim denied or delayed in bad faith. After all, insurance companies are for-profit businesses, and although it is unfortunate, many of these companies are usually only interested in increasing their own revenue.

Many insurance companies may be hesitant to pay vandalism claims and make up excuses to avoid settling your claim. They may delay or flat-out refuse to pay valid claims violating the rights of their policyholders, which is grounds for civil litigation. If you receive an offer and believe it is an amount way below what your property and possessions are worth, carefully consider accepting it. The process of convincing your insurance provider to compensate you can be a struggle. If you are experiencing any bad faith tactics, it is important that you have an attorney on your side to fight this battle for you. Our attorneys have the skills and experience to help get you the compensation that is rightfully owed to you.

CONTACT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

We encourage you to contact one of our attorneys if you were the victim of vandalism or theft and are having issues with your insurer covering the damages. You should not have to deal with the strain of persuading your insurer on top of the stress you are currently going through from the attack on your property. Regardless of whether you have suffered minimal or monumental losses, you deserve full compensation for all losses covered by your insurance policy.