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Tornado Damage Lawyer: Ohio Homeowner’s Insurance Claims

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Get Insurance to Pay for Your Tornado Damage

Recovering from a tornado is a major battle. You’ve got to cope with the trauma of the event itself. Cleaning up the mess is overwhelming. On top of it all, you’re dealing with homeowner’s insurance.

Standard homeowner’s insurance policies have coverage for wind, hail and water damage. It can take an expert to parse which coverages apply to any given case.

Insurance companies also routinely undervalue properties and damages, leaving homeowners short of the resources they need to rebuild.

Sometimes they flat out deny claims, especially when there’s an overlap in insurance coverage.

When a tornado damages your home and upends your life, you deserve a trusted legal professional who can push the insurance company to act in good faith so you can rebuild your life.

At Horenstein, Nicholson & Blumenthal (HNB), we’ve been helping Ohioans recover from all sorts of setbacks and disasters for more than 40 years. Our tornado damage lawyers will stand by you until you get the most possible payment from your insurance claim.

If you live in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton or anywhere in Ohio and suffered through a tornado, get in touch.

We want tornado victims in the Buckeye State to be able to say, “Helping me, that’s HNB.”

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    How to Recover Economically from Tornado Damage

    You know how unpredictable and terrifying tornadoes are. They spin down from thunderstorms, damaging homes and businesses. They hopscotch through communities, destroying one home while leaving its neighbor untouched.

    Tornadoes happen anywhere and anytime in Ohio, but they’re most common in the spring.

    Evidence is strong that tornadoes are happening more often. In fact, while the state averages a little more than 20 tornadoes a year, the National Weather Service count for 2024 stood at 71 by late September—shattering the record of 62 set in 1992.

    In 2023, tornadoes accounted for almost $1.4 billion in damage across the United States, according to the Statista data company.

    When you have damage that adds to the tally, filing an insurance claim takes a strong knowledge of your coverage. Insurance treats most tornadoes as wind events, which most standard homeowner’s insurance policies cover.

    It’s a good idea to check your policy even before a storm to make sure you have enough coverage. If you recently renovated or added on to your home, let your insurance company know so they can adjust.

    You may want to consider catastrophic loss insurance that includes replacement coverage. Replacement coverage lets you rebuild your home and replace your belongings at their current value—protecting you from depreciation.

    It’s important to remember that most home insurance policies do not cover vehicles. Rather, the comprehensive coverage section of your auto insurance covers wind and hail damage

    Some tornadoes are bad enough to trigger a federally declared disaster, making assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) available.

    But FEMA has a cap per individual disaster survivor on the amount it will deliver. And it won’t cover damage that insurance should, which can leave homeowners in a bind when recovery costs skyrocket.

    One of the sad side effects of tornadoes is looting and vandalism. Survivors often must evacuate, and it can be too dangerous to return for extended periods. This leaves a property vulnerable to bad actors. When it’s unclear whether the tornado or vandals did the damage, your insurance claim can get complicated.

    When you’re facing a complicated recovery after a tornado, you can count on the HNB team of natural disaster attorneys.

    We know how insurance companies operate, and we know the laws that protect your property and financial stability in the wake of disaster.

    In fact, we’ve won millions in awards, settlements and other help for our clients. We can help you get the financial relief you need to keep moving forward after a tornado.

    We will always evaluate your case for free.

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    How Do I File a Catastrophic Loss Insurance Claim after a Tornado?

    Homeowner’s insurance is meant to bring peace after disaster strikes.

    But that peace is fragile when you’re seeking payment for tornado damage. Insurance companies look for ways to deny a claim or reduce what they must pay—they’re a profit-driven business, not a charity.

    You can increase your chances of getting the compensation you need to recover and rebuild if you follow a few simple steps before and after a tornado strikes.

    • Review your policy so you understand your deductible—the amount you pay before insurance payments kick in to fix damage.
    • Keep your insurance policy, and all-important documents, in a safe and secure place so you can readily find them.
    • It can be helpful to inventory the condition and contents of your house before a tornado so that you have evidence of what used to be there.
    • Document the damage after the storm. Take photos and make a list of the damage you see as soon as you can.
    • Get a professional assessment of your home. It’s important to have an expert look at the damage. An untrained eye might miss foundational issues and other unseen damage.
    • File your claim in a timely manner. In general, insurance policies give you up to a year to file a claim for high wind damage. But there is a wrinkle: The fine print may say you have a year from when the damage occurred, NOT from when you noticed it. So, it’s good to get an assessment and file a claim as soon as possible.
    • Contact a natural disaster attorney with experience evaluating and managing tornado damage homeowner’s insurance claims. At HNB, we pride ourselves on our knowledge and compassion for Ohioans suffering catastrophic losses.

    We’ll be there for you after a tornado. We’ll fight to maximize your insurance payout so you can turn the page on this disaster and get your life back to normal.

    Call HNB Today