World

Top Property Insurance Attorney Galen M. Hair On How to Keep Your Home Safe During Hurricane Season

Published

3 years ago

September 6, 2022

If you live in a region of the US that suffers from hurricanes, it’s no doubt you know about the incredible damage tropical cyclones can cause.

The forceful winds can turn garden decorations and patio furniture into projectiles that destroy windows, doors, and even walls beyond repair. Additionally, the worst damage often occurs after the winds die down and rain or groundwater begins seeping through cracks in walls, broken doors, windows, or roofs.

As an attorney that exclusively handles property-casualty insurance with my New Orleans-based firm Insurance Claim HQ, I’ve seen firsthand the damage caused by hurricanes and the reluctance of insurance companies to pay claimants all of the funds they are due.

Thankfully, thorough preparation before hurricane season can help minimize the damage of high-impact winds and water on your property — and hopefully, keep you from having to tangle with the insurance companies.

Safeguarding your home will help to keep it and your family safe and protected throughout the treacherous weather. While many of these home improvements might be time-consuming, costly, or both, it’s possible to perform them in stages and spread them throughout the year.

If a catastrophic hurricane hits your neighborhood and you notice damage to your neighbor’s home while your address is intact, you’ll be grateful for the time and money you laid out in the interest of safety.

Below are my favorite, time-tested tips for keeping your property and loved ones safe during hurricane season and what to do if you sustain severe damage and need to file a homeowner’s claim.

Know Your Codes

The first thing to do when creating a hurricane prep home plan is to check your town’s building codes concerning hurricanes. In addition, FEMA conducts periodic thorough studies on what could go wrong in specific regions and creates strategies that also address these possible natural disasters. Using these two tools, you should get a firm idea of what needs to be done to protect your property.

Check Your Insurance

Of course, double-check your policy and get in touch with your agent to be sure that you carry the most hurricane insurance possible for your home. If you aren’t, it’s an excellent idea to max out your protection against these destructive storms.

Additionally, if you have a boat, RV, or camper on your property, be sure that it is appropriately stored and anchored to the house or ground.

Remove Possible Hazards

Gravel and rock may look gorgeous in your landscaping or driveway, but these pebbles are among the worst culprits for damaging your property during a hurricane. Try replacing them with lighter materials that won’t cause as much damage if they get swept up in the winds.

Placing all lawn and garden decorations and patio furniture indoors is also a must before any big storm.

Cutting back weak tree branches or those that hang over your house is also an excellent idea. However, I also recommend completely removing unhealthy trees or those that are very close to your home and keeping shrubbery trimmed.

Hurricane-proof Windows and Doors

Windows and doors are where you are most likely to have your home compromised in a storm, so shore them up as well as you can.

Install storm shutters over your windows to keep them from smashing or create plywood panels to nail into window frames when a storm is predicted. Exterior doors must be hurricane-proof, and be sure to choose a model with at least three hinges. After it’s installed, add an additional deadbolt at least an inch long.

Have a Property Insurance Attorney on Speed Dial

Experienced hurricane damage attorneys, such as those I employ at Insurance Claim HQ, can help fight back against an insurance company that denies a rightful hurricane damage claim.

A specialized attorney can help evaluate your claim to determine what you are entitled to — and develop a game plan for how to get it. Expect an honest, no-holds-barred opinion from a reasonable attorney and a recommendation about whether or not they believe you have a strong case.

They can also gather and analyze evidence (such as photos, video, repair bills, and estimates) and perform a detailed inspection of your insurance policy — delving into the fine print many of us miss.

Next, they can file the claim and handle all communication with your insurance company on your behalf. Finally, should your claim be denied, they can fight back against bad faith denials and ensure full accountability for the hurricane damage.

I hope you won’t need such assistance after using these hurricane preparedness tips, but rest assured, attorneys like me are here when you need us.

About Galen M Hair

Galen M Hair, Owner at Insurance Claim HQ, is a property insurance attorney who has helped over 1200 families rebuild their homes and businesses. He has been rated a Super Lawyers Rising Star and voted one of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100. Click here to learn more about protecting your property from disaster: http://www.insuranceclaimhq.com

World

TRG Chairman Khaishgi and CEO Aslam implicated in $150 million fraud

Published

6 days ago

June 23, 2025

Jenny Jackson

In a scathing 52-page decision, the Sindh High Court has found that TRG Pakistan’s management was acting fraudulently and that Bermuda-based Greentree Holdings historic and prospective purchase of TRG shares were illegal, fraudulent and oppressive.

The Sindh High Court has further directed TRGP to immediately hold board elections that have been overdue and illegally withheld by the existing board since January 14, 2025.

In the landmark ruling, the Sindh High Court has blocked the attempted takeover of TRG Pakistan Limited by Greentree Holdings, declaring that the shares acquired by Greentree, nearly 30% of TRG’s stock, were unlawfully financed using TRG’s funds in violation of Section 86(2) of the Companies Act 2017.

“Having concluded that the affairs of TRGP are being conducted in an unlawful and fraudulent manner and in a manner oppressive to members such as the Petitioner (Zia Chishti), the case falls for corrective orders under sub-section (2) of section 286 of the Companies Act,” Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry concluded.

The case was brought by TRGP former CEO and founder Pakistani-American technology entrepreneur Zia Chishti against TRG Pakistan, its associate TRG International and TRG International’s wholly-owned shell company Greentree Limited. In addition, the case named AKD Securities for managing Greentree’s illegal tender offer as well as various regulators requiring that they act to perform their regulatory duties.

The case centred around the dispute that shell company Greentree Limited was fraudulently using TRG Pakistan’s own funds to purchase TRG Pakistan’s shares in order to give control to Zia Chishti’s former partners Mohammed Khaishgi, Hasnain Aslam and Pinebridge Investments.

According to the case facts, the Chairman of TRG Pakistan Mohammed Khaishgi and the CEO of TRG Pakistan Hasnain Aslam masterminded the $150 million fraud. They did so together with Hong Kong based fund manager Pinebridge who has two nominees on TRG Pakistan’s board, Mr. John Leone and Mr. Patrick McGinnis.

According to the court papers, Khaishgi, Aslam, Leone, and McGinnis set up a shell company called Greentree which they secretly controlled and from which they started buying up shares of TRG Pakistan. The fraud was that Greentree was using TRG Pakistan’s funds itself. The idea was to give Khaishgi, Aslam, Leone, and McGinnis control over TRG Pakistan even though they owned less than 1% of the company, lawyers of the petitioner told the court.

This was all part of a broader battle for control over TRG Pakistan that is raging between Khaishgi, Aslam, Leone, and McGinnis on one side and TRG Pakistan founder Zia Chishti on the other side. Zia Chishti has been trying to retake control of TRG Pakistan after he was forced to resign in 2021 based on sexual misconduct allegations made by a former employee of his. This year those allegations were shown to be without basis in litigation that Chishti launched in the United Kingdom against The Telegraph newspaper which had printed the allegations. The Telegraph was forced to apologize for 13 separate articles it published about Chishti and paid him damages and legal costs.

After Chishti resigned in 2021, Khaishgi, Aslam, Leone, and McGinnis moved to take total control over TRG Pakistan and its various subsidiaries including TRG International and to block out Chishti. The Sindh High Court’s ruling today has reversed that effort, ruling the scheme fraudulent, illegal, and oppressive.

It now appears that Zia Chishti will take control of TRG Pakistan in short order when elections are called. He and his family are now the largest shareholders with over 30% interest. He is closely followed by companies related to Jahangir Siddiqui & Company which have over a 20% interest. The result appears to be a complete vindication for Zia Chishti and damning for his rivals Aslam, Khaishgi, Leone, and McGinnis who have been ruled to have been conducting a fraud.

TRG Pakistan’s share price declined by over 8% on the news on heavy volume. Market experts say that this was because the tender offer at Rs 75 was gone and that now shares would trade closer to their natural value. Presently the shares are trading at Rs 59 per share.

According to the court ruling, since 2021, shell company Greentree had purchased approximately 30% of TRG shares using $80 million of TRG’s own money, which means that that the directors of TRG Pakistan allowed company assets to be funneled through offshore affiliates TRG International and Greentree for acquiring TRG’s shares – a move deemed both fraudulent and oppressive to minority shareholders. The Sindh High Court also found illegal Greentree’s further attempt to purchase another 35% of TRG shares using another $70 million of TRG’s money in a tender offer.

The ruling is a major victory for the tech entrepreneur Zia Chishti against his former partners and the legal ruling paves the way for him to take control of TRG in a few weeks.