You have just been devastated by a hurricane or other storm and you contact your insurance company expecting nothing but relief.  Instead, you get nothing but grief.  That is because insurance companies make billions and billions of dollars when they don't have to pay claims. 

In hurricanes and other major storms, the insurance companies simply do not have enough personnel to adjust every claim.  They are overloaded.  As a result, they hire independent contractors and send company personnel that have no idea what they are really doing.  Remember, it is not their goal to treat you fairly.  That adjustor is tired and ready to go home and they will just as soon short you on your hurricane claim as treat you fairly. 

When you find yourself in a hurricane or storm claim and you believe you are being denied a coverage you think you should have, or they are taking longer than everyone else on your street, or they are offering you far less than what is being offered to other homeowners, you should fight back. 

Your insurance policy is a contract and as such, it allows you to not only fight back, but to recover your attorneys' fees in addition to the money you need to repair your hurricane damage.  In many cases, the attorneys' fees can exceed the damages you are fighting over, but the point is that you do not have to just let the insurance company have their way.  You can fight back. 

Most attorneys will accept a hurricane or storm damage claim on a contingency basis.  If an attorney is demanding you pay by the hour, you should consider consulting another attorney of have him or her explain why they are not willing to bear the risk of recovery.  It is your right to pay an attorney by the hour, but you do not have to do so.