On February 28, 2013 a massive fire broke-out in this upscale waterfront home located in Tierra Verde, Florida burning off the roof and causing significant fire, water, and smoke damage to the rest of the building structure, custom furniture, and personal belongings.  As is typical with all fires, which become public record when the fire department gets called, the homeowner was “assaulted” (his words) by emergency service restoration contractors and public adjuster chasers who came from all over the State of Florida to give their sales pitch.  Unfortunately, this property owner fell victim and signed with a restoration company who provided an estimate with a “not to exceed” agreement. But when the contractor sent the invoice for services performed, it was triple the amount!  The insurance company was just as surprised and refused to pay an obviously exorbitant amount. The contractor’s response was to place a lien on the property until the situation could be resolved.

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On May 11, 2014 a serious electrical fire broke-out in the home of a Clearwater Largo, FL family causing significant fire, water, and smoke damage to the building and personal property.  During and after the fire was extinguished many contractors and public adjuster chasers offering their services bombarded the homeowners with confusing information and high pressure sales tactics. Sadly, this is becoming a recurring theme when fires occur. We continue to believe that property owners need to realize that it is in their best interest to stay away from the majority of these solicitors until they have done their due diligence and have coordinated plan of action in place. They must also be wary not to sign any contract that assigns the entire insurance claim over to a stranger who now owns the proceeds of their claim. In our industry this language is called Assignment of Benefits.

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On September 8, 2013 a substantial fire broke-out at this upscale home located in the Greater Northdale area of Tampa causing significant fire, water, and smoke damage to the building structure, furniture, and personal belongings.  As the fire was going on and in the hours subsequent, the homeowner was bombarded by many contractors and public adjuster solicitors offering their insurance claim adjusting services to the property owner. Resisting the high pressure tactics of some, the owner keenly recognized that it was in his best interest to stay away from the majority of these people simply because he did not know who they were. He also knew not to sign anything until he had a chance to check references, do his research and think about it. 

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Two years ago, on October 29, 2012 Super Storm Sandy came ashore just south of New York City causing significant flood damage to many buildings in the Financial District and in Battery Park City, New York.  Our firm was on the ground within 3 days post-storm, helping people prepare to file their Sandy insurance claims. We ended up opening an office in the area and stayed a good 6 months. Many of these high-end residential condominium buildings overlook the New York Harbor, Statue of Liberty, and skylines. Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters were retained to represent one of these tower communities.

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In 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Wilma struck South Florida with a vengeance. Five years after the initial storm,  Public Adjuster Ed Collier of Tutwiler and Associates was asked to examine a claim on behalf of a Hollywood actress who owned a high-end custom built home in the Miami-Dade area that was heavily damaged by the two hurricanes. You may be asking, “How can the Public Adjuster help almost 5 years after the fact?” 

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On February 2, 2014 the owner of this upscale estate discovered massive amounts of water damage to the inside of the home.  The insured property owner promptly called his agent who in turn notified the insurance company.  The owner then called, New York Public Adjuster, Mr. Rick Tutwiler of Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters to manage the insurance claim…

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Background: 
On January 14, 2011 just after celebrating the Christmas holidays, a perilous fire erupted in St. Petersburg, FL causing massive damage throughout the Sheldon family home.  Lucky to have survived the fire, the husband and wife team and devoted parents quickly caught their breath and proceeded to make the best out of the situation assuming their insurance company would help them by responding the same.  They had no idea that this would turned into a 3 ½ year ordeal that would bring nothing but stress and heartache upon this strong family who lost everything.

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After six and half years of battling their insurance company for low repairs estimates, this Naples, Florida homeowner obtains a much larger settlement with the help of professional public adjuster Rick Tutwiler...  

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On December 29, 2013 this rental home in Tampa, Fl. caught fire due to a cooking accident caused by the owner’s tenant.  Sadly, the tenant had no renters insurance and they lost everything. In this particular case, the owner was savvy enough not to make any quick decisions and hired a contractor to specifically board-up and secure the property as required by the insurance policy.  He then patiently waited for his insurance company claims adjuster to provide a repair estimate.  After waiting and waiting the owner quickly realized he was not getting anywhere fast.  He then decided to search for help and for some reason remembered the words “Public Adjuster”.  Soon thereafter, public adjuster Rick Tutwiler was called in to assist.

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On December 1, 2012 something caught fire on the back balcony of this two story condominium complex located on Treasure Island, FL. resulting in fire, water, and smoke damage to the property. Immediately after the fire, the Condominium Board decided to hire a contractor to repair the damage.  Normally, this is the typical procedure many COA’s take. However, in this claim, there were many others issues complicating the loss, which the contractor could not legally address.  Specifically, there were many insurance claim adjusting issues with respect to the extent of the fire and smoke damage in addition to Law & Ordinance & Code Upgrade requirements the were being enforced by the county building department.  Pursuant to the Florida SB408 (Chapter 2011-39) there are provisions that strictly prohibits contractors from adjusting insurance claims unless the contractor also holds a public adjuster license. However, the new law also prevents contractors holding a public adjuster license from doing any type of reconstruction, repair, or restoration of damaged property on the same loss, since it would represents a clear conflict of interest. 

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