Residential Property Damage Lawyer Lighthouse Point, FL
If your Lighthouse Point home has been damaged and your insurance company has denied, delayed, or lowballed your valid claim, you are dealing with a pattern that plays out in this community every hurricane season. Lighthouse Point spans roughly 2.4 square miles of northern Broward County shoreline, bordered by the Intracoastal Waterway and less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Its canal-lined neighborhoods, aging coastal construction, and location in South Florida’s hurricane corridor make property damage claims particularly common here, and particularly contentious.
Our Lighthouse Point, FL residential property damage lawyer has been litigating property damage disputes in South Florida for over 25 years. We know the specific claim types that generate disputes in coastal Broward County communities, we know how carriers approach them, and at The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers, we know how to win. We represent Lighthouse Point homeowners on a pure contingency basis. No fees unless we win. No out-of-pocket costs. Call our offices today to discuss your matter.
Why Choose The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers for Residential Property Damage in Lighthouse Point?
She Represented the Carriers Before She Fought Them
Maria O’Donnell founded The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers in 2014 after a career leading one of the largest female-owned insurance defense firms in Florida. She spent years representing Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, State Farm, Allstate/Castle Key, Universal Property, Mercury, Travelers, and Esurance in property damage litigation throughout South Florida, including Broward County claims involving exactly the kinds of coastal losses Lighthouse Point homeowners face. She also managed sensitive Special Investigation Unit cases for those same carriers.
She knows how carriers evaluate coastal residential claims. She knows which arguments they use to attribute roof losses in ZIP Code 33064 to salt-air deterioration rather than storm damage, how they reclassify wind-driven water intrusion as flood, and how they apply depreciation to hold back replacement cost payments. Since 2014, every bit of that knowledge has been directed toward winning residential property damage cases in Lighthouse Point and throughout South Florida.
Ms. O’Donnell earned her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2001 and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2002. Her record includes establishing substantive published case law, and her reputation within the Florida insurance industry reflects a 25-year career built on results.
Attorney David Edwards was recognized in the Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers Association for the civil plaintiff attorney division. The firm is listed with Martindale-Hubbell, one of the most established legal peer-review directories in the country.
A 99% Success Rate Including Coastal Property Disputes
Our firm has maintained a 99% success rate across residential and commercial property damage cases throughout Florida, including Broward County. We have helped policyholders recover millions of dollars in insurance proceeds that carriers initially refused to pay. Lighthouse Point’s mix of waterfront single-family homes, canal-adjacent properties, and older construction built before modern building codes creates exactly the kind of disputed claim environment we handle every day.
Pure Contingency. No Out-of-Pocket Costs.
Every Lighthouse Point, FL property damage and residential insurance dispute we handle operates on full contingency. You pay nothing until we win. No retainers, no hourly billing, and no invoices at any stage.
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“Well the people’s law team mean business, Maria guaranteed me we will win money to fix my roof. She was 100 % right , couldn’t do it without you all Thank you very much.” — Roger Cadet
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of Residential Property Damage Cases We Handle in Lighthouse Point
Lighthouse Point homeowners face a distinctive set of property damage risks tied directly to this community’s coastal geography. Our attorneys handle all of the following in Lighthouse Point and throughout Broward County.
- Hurricane and storm damage. Roof losses, wind-driven rain intrusion, flying debris damage, and storm-related structural failures are the most common post-hurricane claims in Lighthouse Point. Carriers consistently attribute roof damage to age-related deterioration rather than storm force, classify wind-driven water entry as flood, and offer estimates well below actual Broward County repair costs. We challenge all of those positions.
- Wind versus flood disputes. Lighthouse Point’s location on the Intracoastal Waterway means wind and water losses frequently occur together. Standard homeowners policies cover wind damage but exclude flood. When a carrier reclassifies wind-driven intrusion as flood to shift the loss onto a separate NFIP policy or onto the homeowner entirely, that reclassification must be challenged with evidence and legal argument. We handle these causation disputes regularly.
- Water intrusion and plumbing damage. Sudden pipe failures, appliance failures, and roof leaks leading to interior water damage are among the most common residential claims in Lighthouse Point. Carriers often argue that damage resulted from gradual seepage or maintenance failures rather than a covered sudden event. We document cause of loss from day one and contest conclusions that misrepresent what actually happened.
- Denied and delayed residential claims. A denial is not the end of the road, and a delay past Florida’s 60-day statutory deadline is a legal violation. We track those deadlines, challenge improper denials, and use every statutory violation as leverage in your case.
- Bad faith insurance claims. When a carrier’s handling of your Lighthouse Point residential claim crosses the line into deliberate dishonesty or systematic disregard for your rights, Florida law provides a remedy that extends beyond the policy limits. We evaluate every file for bad faith potential and pursue those claims when the facts support them.
- Coverage disputes and exclusion challenges. When a carrier argues that your specific loss falls outside the policy based on an exclusion, the fight is about contract interpretation and Florida insurance law. Canal-front properties in Lighthouse Point generate anti-concurrent causation disputes, mold sublimit arguments, and ordinance-and-law coverage disputes more frequently than inland homes. We handle all of them.
Florida Legal Requirements for Lighthouse Point Residential Property Damage Cases
Lighthouse Point residential property damage disputes are governed by Florida’s statewide insurance statutes and litigated in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. These are the key statutory requirements Lighthouse Point homeowners need to understand before responding to a denial or delay.
The one-year notice deadline. Under Florida Statute 627.70132, a new or reopened residential property insurance claim must be reported to your insurer within one year of the date of loss. For hurricane claims, the date of loss is the storm’s landfall date as verified by NOAA. Supplemental claims for additional damage from the same event must be filed within 18 months. Lighthouse Point homeowners who discover hidden water damage or mold weeks after a storm need to understand that this clock runs from the storm date, not the date the damage became visible.
Replacement cost coverage rights. Under Florida Statute 627.7011, insurers issuing homeowner policies in Florida must offer replacement cost coverage for the dwelling. When a policy provides replacement cost coverage, the insurer must initially pay at least the actual cash value of the loss and then pay remaining amounts as repair work is completed and expenses are incurred. Carriers frequently apply depreciation to materials and labor, or delay replacement cost payments with documentation demands not required under the statute. When they do, that is a coverage dispute we know how to fight.
Ordinance and law coverage. Under Florida Statute 627.7011, insurers must offer law and ordinance coverage, which pays the additional costs required to rebuild or repair in compliance with current Broward County building codes. Lighthouse Point properties, many built before the 2001 Florida Building Code revisions, frequently require code upgrades after storm damage. When carriers deny or undervalue those payments, we challenge the determination.
The 60-day pay-or-deny obligation. Under Florida Statute 627.70131, your insurer has 60 days after receiving notice of your claim to pay, deny, or pay the undisputed portion with a written explanation. Payments made after that deadline bear interest from the date the claim was filed. The Florida Department of Financial Services provides free mediation for residential property disputes and accepts consumer complaints when carriers violate statutory standards. Mediation sessions in Broward County are typically scheduled within 30 days of a request and conducted at no cost to the policyholder under Florida Statute 627.7015.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Lighthouse Point Residential Property Damage Case?
Contractual damages. The full amount your policy was required to pay: the cost to repair or replace your damaged home, contents coverage, additional living expenses during displacement, and any other component the carrier withheld. For Lighthouse Point waterfront homes, this often includes dock and seawall repair costs, code upgrade costs under ordinance and law provisions, and complete replacement cost for roof damage without improper depreciation.
Interest on late payments. Under Florida Statute 627.70131, payments made outside the 60-day statutory window bear interest from the date the claim was filed. In a contested Lighthouse Point residential claim that stretches over months, that interest is a recoverable part of your total recovery.
Bad faith and extracontractual damages. When a carrier’s conduct in handling your Lighthouse Point residential property damage claim rises to the level of bad faith under Florida Statute 624.155, the damages available go beyond the policy limits. Under Florida Statute 624.1551, a court judgment establishing breach of contract is required before the bad faith action can proceed, but once obtained, the full range of extracontractual remedies becomes available.
Punitive damages. Under Florida Statute 624.155, punitive damages may be awarded when the insurer’s conduct was willful, wanton, or in reckless disregard for the policyholder’s rights with sufficient frequency to indicate a general business practice. We pursue them when the record supports that threshold.
Contact The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers
If your Lighthouse Point home has been damaged and your insurance company has not paid what it owes, do not wait. Talk to our Lighthouse Point residential property damage lawyer today. Florida’s one-year notice deadline runs from the date of loss, not from the date you receive a denial, and the window for supplemental claims closes at 18 months.
The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers Property Damage Lawyers offers free consultations for Lighthouse Point insurance claims and residential property damage disputes throughout Broward County. No upfront costs, no out-of-pocket fees, and no payment of any kind unless we win. Contact us today to put over 25 years of South Florida insurance industry knowledge to work for your home.