The Windstorm Insurance Network (WIND), an association that brings together both insurance defense and policyholder advocate professionals to connect, learn, and engage on important topics in the property/windstorm insurance claims industry, once again stepped up to assist with Hurricane Michael relief efforts. Below is the information related to the donation as posted by WIND. I’m proud of public adjuster and WIND President-elect Rick Tutwiler’s involvement and continue to be proud of the efforts put forth by all the officers and staff of this excellent organization who will hold its 20^th Annual Conference January 30 – Feb 2 in Orlando.

The effects of Hurricane Michaels wind and rain damage are still readily apparent in the Panama City area. Roofing crews and blue tarps are still visible wherever you travel. But what may not be so obvious, are storm related damages that may have resulted to electrical and mechanical systems in your home or business. From my perspective, too many policyholders blindly follow a contractors or even their insurance company’s desire to “fix up” the damage and move on to the next claim, putting themselves and their property in danger.

As policyholders begin to hear back from their insurance company regarding their Hurricane Michael insurance claim, many will learn that the amount offered by their respective insurer is not sufficient to pay for their complete loss and damages. Some may even learn part of their claim is denied. This is common when there is widespread damage to a geographic area and especially true with more complicated commercial claims to businesses, condominiums and hotels where methods to fix or replace damage can become complicated. There can be many reasons for this including overworked adjusters not documenting specific damages, out of state adjusters not familiar with the market or inside claim adjusters who have never personally seen the claim simply denying certain parts of the claim. 

Your property or business suffered damage during Hurricane Michael. You promptly filed a claim or had a public insurance adjuster document and file the claim for you. A check from the insurance company appears in the mail. Great! How easy could it be? But wait, there’s a catch…..on the back of your check there is language that states you are releasing the insurance company from any further costs related to the claim.

By now folks in Panama City and surrounding areas hit by Hurricane Michael, are finding out how little they are going to get paid for their insurance claim damages. Our office continues to receive calls and emails from policyholders seeking help and answers about their property insurance losses. Predictably, a lot of the frustration from policyholders is about the fact that their claim file was closed without payment due to a subjective opinion by adjusters the insurance companies.

If the feedback we are getting on the ground in Panama City and the inquiries coming into our offices are any guide, policyholders are none too happy with the settlement offers they are receiving for their Hurricane Michael property damage claims. Most often we are told the offer does not remotely cover the cost of repairs based on estimates local contractors are providing.

If your Florida home was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael to the extent that it is uninhabitable to live in, most insurance policies provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” if it is a covered loss. Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you incur such as food and temporary lodging.

Hurricane Michael has left thousands of residential and commercial property owners with insurance claims – a process they’ve never had to deal with before. Thanks to our senior public adjuster, Kevin Leisure for participating in a recent WFLA TV interview to discuss what people need to know about the property insurance claims process and what mistakes policyholders need to avoid making. Bottom line, property owners need to be patient but persistent with regards to their insurance claim and educate themselves. Our firm has already set-up an office in the Panama City area and we expect this will be a long process of recovery. Our adjusters are dedicated to educating policyholders and getting them the settlement they deserve in order to rebuild. See our Hurricane Michael insurance claims page for additional information. 

Based on damage reports from our public adjuster staff who have set up an office in Panama City, there is no doubt this event will create insurance claim disputes unlike we’ve seen before. But first we want to commend the continued brave activities of the first responders and quick activities of the city officials. To deal with these perils it behooves property owners to keep their eye on the ball or in this case the money. High percentage hurricane deductibles are being applied and many folks may be surprised that despite their wind or hurricane coverage, they may be out of pocket for mitigation and replacement costs.

I was happy to offer some quick insurance claim tips to Hurricane Michael property owners along with Scott Bedell from Master Restoration. We're already taking calls and our Panama City Public Adjusters will be establishing an office next week. Our prayers go out to all the affected residents. This is going to be a long haul and we'll see the same insurance claim issues as we've seen with other storms and I'm sure we'll see a few new twists. The insurance claim settlement challenges will be omnipresent and we'll be sharing our perspective on the developments has they happen along with some claim tips. Send us any of your questions about Hurricane Michael insurance claims so we can share them with our readers. Stay tuned!