Nichols Law Firm

02/25/2026

I get calls asking me if I help with health insurance denial of services/benefits claims. Typically, I do not because the lawyer time it requires can be cost prohibitive for the client. It's not necessarily hard work, but there are deadlines and a lot of paperwork. I'm really excited to learn about a FREE for consumers service that will help you draft health insurance denial appeals! Combine this with the NC Department of Insurance's NC Smart (free) program, and you've got powerful tools for denied claims. Insurance companies know a high %% of denied claims won't do anything to fight them. Fight them!! All links in the comments!

Appeal your denied health insurance claims with AI. Fight your health insurance company and beat large medical bills. Make health insurance pay.

12/12/2025

For the past 20 years I’ve represented adults and children who have been abused. We sue their abuser and seek justice for the victims. It’s hard, emotional work, but it’s worth it.

This is a developing story, and people are innocent until proven guilty, but the reported facts are grim.

We are here to help.

https://www.wistv.com/2025/12/11/co-owner-popular-nc-brewery-charged-with-ra**ng-child-breaking-into-home/ #

The co-owner of one of North Carolina’s most popular breweries was arrested Thursday morning.

12/05/2025

I get a lot of calls from homeowners about their homeowners insurance companies refusing to pay for roof replacements and repairs. Some of these are very justifiable complaints- Insurance companies make money by not paying claims and investing your premiums. That said, there are a lot of unscrupulous roofing companies out there who offer a “free inspection” and then discover “hail damage” and tell you that you need a new roof and insurance will pay for it. For example, there was a small change of rain or ice in Raleigh this morning and I get this unsolicited text offering a free inspection. Probably a service that sells leads to roofers. We didn’t have ANY ice, snow, or hail. So be careful out there. Also, know that if you make a claim on your homeowners, your insurance might not pay, and they may raise your rates. So weigh and measure that possibility and cost. And whatever you do, if you have minor hail damage and you can’t afford a new roof, don’t pay a roofer thinking you’ll get your money back from insurance. Get them to approve the claim before you start construction.

10/04/2024

Anyone out west who has lost work because of the disaster, make sure you apply for FEMA help and AlSO apply for Disaster Unemployement Assistance (DUA) with the state. The deadline to apply is Dec 1, 2024.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) Reminder: The 30-day period to apply for DUA ends Oct. 10, 2021. People in Buncombe, Haywood and Transylvania

10/03/2024

IMPORTANT NC VOTING INFO: Feel free to share: Did you know that the deadline to register to vote in NC is OCTOBER 11? (if you are not already registered)

Individuals who are not registered to vote in a county may register ***at early voting sites during the early voting period.*** After registering, the newly registered voter can immediately vote at that same site. This process is called “same-day registration.” When you check in to vote at an early voting site, you may also update your name or address within the same county if necessary.

HOW DO I FIND OUT IF I'M REGISTERED CORRECTLY?
You can find all the information you need to register and vote on the N.C. State Board of Elections website at www.ncsbe.gov.
Start with the "Registering" pull down menu to find the "Checking Your Registration" button. There you can check your registration status, find your Election Day polling site and search for Early Voting Sites in your county.

DATES AND DEADLINES
• Absentee Ballots are already being mailed: North Carolina allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot and to vote by mail. Find more information on voting by mail at www.ncsbe.gov/voting/vote-mail.

*****Oct. 11 Deadline to register to vote for the general election****

• Oct. 17-Nov. 2 Early voting period. You may register and vote in person at the same time during the early voting period. Bring your ID with you when you go to early vote.

• Oct. 29 Deadline to request absentee ballots

• Nov. 5 Election Day and the deadline to turn in absentee ballots

BRING YOUR ID
North Carolina law now requires that voters bring a photo ID with them to the polls. Most voters will bring their North Carolina driver’s license but many other forms of ID are acceptable including U.S. passports, military IDs, some college and university IDs, some state and local government employment IDs, tribal enrollment cards and public assistance program IDs. Find everything you need to know about voter ID in North Carolina: www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id

If you have any questions or need help with anything related to the voting process or want more information please give PM or shoot me an email.

If I could ask you to do two things, please: 1) Share this post with others, and, 2) Encourage all your friends to vote the WHOLE ballot, front to back.

You can find all of the Judicial candidates here: https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election/judicial-voter-guide-2024-general-election

10/01/2024

What happens if my homeowner’s insurance says that when they fix things they have to be upgraded because of new codes and that costs more?

The insurance industry calls this “loss by code or ordinance.” If your policy says, for example, that it will replace your roof if it has been destroyed, but your roof rafters are 2x8 and current code requires 2X10, then the extra cost to upgrade is a “loss by code or ordinance.”

Many homeowners policies provide extra coverage for these losses. Check your policy for a specific provision. Typically, it will provide 10% more of your total loss coverage. So if your dwelling is insured for $300,000, you would have an additional $30,000 above that for code issue costs.

Typically places where code issues arise are electrical systems and framing.

10/01/2024

Given the devastation in North Carolina, a few quick tips regarding homeowners insurance claims:

1) The homeowner has a duty to reasonably mitigate the damage. If you have holes in your roof or broken windows, do what you can, within reason, to stop water intrusion or whatever is causing a problem. Also, the less damage, the less hassle you’ll have later on. Do not put yourself in danger to mitigate damages!!!

2) Keeping number one in mind, make sure you document all of the issues. Take photographs of everything. Before you throw that tarp over something, take a photo of what’s underneath it. Take photos of everything affected and everything that is near what’s affected. If you haven’t documented the items in your house, document them now. things might get moved, personal items make it broken, so it’s best to capture as best you can, what everything looks like. I suggest taking photos and then also taking video where you slowly walk around looking from floor to ceiling in each part of your home. Take breaks between areas so that your video is not one ginormous file. Better to have multiple small files you can access later.

3) Get a copy of your homeowners policy. If you don’t have a paper copy, you can usually get one online from your insurance company. Also, request a copy of your declarations page. This tells you how much insurance you have and what it covers.

The key to all of this is reasonableness. Not everyone has a tarp handy. Not everyone has Internet access. Just do the best you can. And of course, contact your insurance company as soon as possible to let them know what’s happening.

06/28/2024

There is a lot of talk about insurance rates, particularly homeowners insurance. Insurance is a highly regulated business because it's one of the few consumer products you are forced to buy by government mandate or because of bank loans. You can't even get a driver's license without proof of insurance in NC, even if you don't own a car! We are lucky in NC- we have the 5th lowest car insurance, and that is largely due to having a system where the NC Department of Insurance must approve rate increases. So what are insurance companies using rate increases to cover? Looks a lot like profit, not losses ...www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2024/06/27/781305.htm

01/25/2024

Help! From anyone who has participated in NC Mock trial, I need 5 minutes from you! I’m putting together a video about the program and I need short clips of coaches, students, even parents, saying “I’m mock trial!” Do it on your phone and email it to me! It’s that easy. We need this by this weekend for a meeting next week with legal leaders from across the state. Please???

Instructions:

First, thank you! This video will be used in meetings of lawyer leaders from across the state. We will be asking them to give support to Mock Trial to ensure its future. Past and current participants in Mock Trrial are the best advocates for the program.

12/16/2023

Never hurts to remind your friends and family to avoid being scammed this holiday season. Never interact with random texts purporting to need “updated” information for deliveries. Don’t click that link- it will likely ask you information to steal your identity. Go to the source website- Amazon, UPS, etc and when in doubt, call customer service.

07/14/2023

Is your home underinsured???

If you've lived in your home for more than 5 years (or less if the value has jumped a lot) you should consider taking a hard look at your homeowner's insurance coverage. Look at the "Dwelling" coverage amount. Let's say it says $225,000 because you bought your home for $275,000 and the land was worth $50,000 (you don't have to replace the land in a fire!). If your house burned to the ground today, could you rebuild it like it is now (same finishes, etc) for $225,000? If not, you need to increase your coverage.

The last 10 years have been crazy for building costs, labor, and materials, and you don't want to be deeply underinsured. If Zillow says your home that you purchased for $275,000 is now worth $700,000k, $225k is not going to rebuild it. Get an estimate from a builder or look into what new construction costs are per square foot in your neighborhood. Consider your finishes and their costs and make your decision in consultation with your insurance company. It's worth taking a look at this every year. Some policies have an "inflation guard" that adjusts the policy up, but you still need to check the values because in some areas building costs have gone up 60% while inflation may have only gone up 5%.