It’s been almost three months since Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, and hard-hit residents still stagger under the weight of enormous costs to restore their homes. The culprits? In too many cases, it’s balky insurance companies, which delay or deny payments in order to keep the money for themselves, drawing interest on it in the process while homeowners suffer. But even when an insurance company does issue a check, it seems some Texans are finding it tough to collect.

That’s because too many insurance companies are issuing recovery checks to the mortgage company holding the lien, not to the homeowner. Or sometimes the checks are written out to both the mortgage company and the homeowner. But often that check goes only to the mortgage company, which cashes it and keeps the money, or at least slows down its dispersal to desperate homeowners.

The idea here is for the mortgage company to be able to distribute money as it sees fit to ensure that a repair job is done to its satisfaction. But the mortgage company isn’t in dire need of a secure roof over its head. The homeowner is. And it seems little regard is being given by the insurance company or the mortgage company for expediting payments so that homeowners — the ones most affected by all this — can repair the horrendous damages done by Hurricane Ike.

When an insurance company makes out a check so that it’s payable only to the mortage company, you should complain immediately. In fact, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, that is forbidden. If you receive an insurance check that’s made out only to your mortage company, you should reject that check and insist that a new one be written that is made out to both you and your mortgage company.

All of these snags seem geared not to help consumers who paid their hard-earned cash for an insurance policy, but instead to make things easier for insurance companies by delaying payments for as long as possible while throwing snags into the works. This is not a fair business practice. This is called insurance fraud.

If you have suffered such delaying tactics, or even outright denial by your insurance company, contact an insurance fraud lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates. The long-established law firm, which has served Texans since 1973, can take a strong look at your case to ensure you’re treated fairly by your insurance company. And if being fair is not in the air, then an Adler Hurricane Ike insurance fraud lawyer can fight to get you the financial compensation to which you’re entitled.

Call us today toll-free at 1-800-505-1414, or fill out the online form at the right for a free case review, and get an Adler property damage lawyer who can yank your recovery out of a tedious holding pattern and whip it into the fast lane of repairing your home and protecting your loved ones.

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