Peter Diiorio

About Peter Diiorio

Peter Diiorio has spent more than two decades representing people against insurance companies, beginning his career in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and ultimately building a practice focused on helping homeowners and business owners recover after catastrophic property losses.

Today, as founding attorney of Lantern Law Group, Peter represents policyholders whose insurance claims have been denied, delayed, or underpaid following wildfires, hurricanes, hailstorms, tornadoes, windstorms, water losses, and other major property losses.

Since 2005, he has represented more than 500 policyholders and recovered more than $40 million for his clients. He is licensed to practice law in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Colorado.

He has never represented an insurance company.

Why Policyholders Hire Peter

• 20+ years representing people in disputes involving insurance companies
• More than 500 policyholders represented
• More than $40 million recovered for clients
• 300+ homeowners and business owners represented since 2020
• First-chair jury trial and appellate experience
• Licensed in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Colorado
• Every prospective client speaks directly with Peter
• Peter personally handles the significant negotiations in his cases
• Policyholders only — never insurance companies

More Than an Insurance Claim

For Peter, property insurance cases ultimately come down to two questions:

How much?

And when?

A family whose home has been badly damaged does not need a legal dispute that continues indefinitely. It needs to know what its insurance company should pay and when that money will become available so that rebuilding can move forward.

That’s because after a catastrophe, an insurance claim is not merely a dispute over numbers on a spreadsheet. For a homeowner, the result can determine whether a family can repair its house and return home. For a business owner, it can determine whether a business survives. And after a widespread disaster, helping one family or one business rebuild helps an entire community rebuild around them.

That reality shapes the way Peter approaches each case: identify the dispute, develop the claim, and move it toward a meaningful resolution as efficiently as the circumstances allow.

Lantern Law Group represents homeowners and small commercial businesses in first-party property insurance matters, including denied, delayed, and underpaid claims and, where the law permits, claims seeking statutory penalties and attorney’s fees for improper insurance-claim handling.

Peter’s catastrophe practice includes claims arising from:

• Wildfires
• Hailstorms
• Windstorms
• Tornadoes
• Water losses
• Hurricanes
• Business interruption

His focus is straightforward: help policyholders recover the insurance benefits available to them and get them the resources they need to move forward.

When an Insurance Claim Becomes Litigation

Peter’s experience extends beyond negotiating insurance claims.

Over the course of his career, he developed substantial civil litigation experience, including first-chair jury trial experience.

This litigation experience taught him an important lesson about insurance disputes: insurance companies evaluate a case differently when they know the lawyer on the other side is prepared to litigate it.

Peter has handled matters through trial and appeal.

In one particularly hard-fought case, after a defendant destroyed critical evidence, Peter pursued the issue through two oral arguments before a five-judge Court of Appeal panel. He ultimately obtained a published appellate decision in Fiveash v. Pat O’Brien’s Bar, Inc., 201 So. 3d 912 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2016), establishing legal precedent concerning intentional spoliation of evidence.

That experience informs the way he approaches insurance disputes today. The objective is always to obtain the right result as efficiently as possible. But a claim should also be handled with an understanding of what will be required if an insurance company refuses to resolve it fairly.

What It Is Like to Work With Peter

Lantern Law Group is intentionally built around direct attorney-client relationships.

You Speak With Peter

Every consultation is free, and prospective clients speak with Peter personally — not an intake salesperson, assistant, or associate.

If Peter accepts the case, the lawyer the client meets at the beginning is the lawyer responsible for handling the case.

Peter considers the moment a client chooses to trust him with a case to be one of the most important moments in the representation. To him, that handshake is a commitment.

You Can Reach Your Lawyer

Peter believes clients should not have to wonder whether their attorney received their call.

His rule is simple: client calls are returned the same day whenever possible and almost always within 24 hours.

Clients have a direct way to reach Peter.

Peter Handles the Important Negotiations

When a case reaches mediation or a significant settlement conference, Peter personally handles it.

His goal is to make the process as simple as possible for the client. The client makes the important decisions; Peter handles the negotiation.

And when the negotiation ends, he wants the client to know two things immediately:

How much are they getting?

When are they getting it?

Representative Experience

• 500+ policyholders represented since 2005
• More than $40 million recovered for clients in first-party insurance matters
• Represented 150+ homeowners and business owners following Hurricane Katrina
• Represented 300+ homeowners and business owners since 2020
• Extensive experience representing policyholders in denied, delayed, and underpaid property insurance claims
• Experience involving wildfire, hurricane, wind, hail, tornado, water, and business-interruption losses
• First-chair civil jury trial experience
• Successfully argued Fiveash v. Pat O’Brien’s Bar, Inc., resulting in a published appellate decision addressing intentional spoliation of evidence
• Has never represented an insurance company

Practice Focus

Peter’s practice focuses on first-party property insurance claims involving homeowners and small businesses, including:

• Denied insurance claims
• Delayed insurance claims
• Underpaid insurance claims
• Catastrophic property losses
• Bad-faith claims against insurers
• Statutory penalty and attorney-fee claims where permitted by applicable law
• Wildfire losses
• Hurricane and wind losses
• Hail losses
• Tornado losses
• Water losses
• Business interruption claims

Education

Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans
Juris Doctor (J.D.), 2005

Hamilton College
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Classical Languages, 2000

Bar Admissions

• Louisiana
• Texas
• Florida
• Colorado

Beyond the Office

Away from work, Peter is the father of two young children.  Fatherhood keeps his life high-energy, grounded, and fun.

Start With a Free Policy and Claim Review

If your home or business has suffered a significant property loss and you are unsure whether your insurance company is paying what it should, start with a conversation.

Tell Peter what happened, what your insurance company has said so far, and where the claim stands.

Peter will review your policy and your claim at no cost and give you a straight answer about your options.