Happy to help educate policyholders in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

Here’s a good recent article to share that can help those impacted by Hurricane Ida work through their insurance claims. If you have questions or need assistance with a large loss from Hurricane Ida, we stand ready to help.

There’s no question Long Islander’s & New Englanders endured their fair share of blizzards and wicked Nor’easters’, yet for some of our company’s public insurance adjusters who worked for northeastern clients 30-years ago after Hurricane Bob, it feels like yesterday. Making matters worse, Hurricane Henri is projected to make landfall at high tide and with a full moon and that may result in coastal flooding. Please prepare for potential days without power and stock-up sufficiently.

As millions of residents throughout Texas seek safe shelter, food, and drinking water, many will turn their attention to filing frozen pipe leak claims for their homes and businesses. These pipe burst ruptures are expected to become substantially worse as warmer weather causes everything to thaw out.  For those with damage, hurry up because time is of the essence to report your claim!   

A historic deep freeze is gripping the US with sub-zero temperatures and even more serious wind chill factors. With it will come unprecedented frozen pipe bursts, iced dams and roof collapses that will cause extensive property damage and loss to personal and commercial property as well as business inventory.  As for homeowners, if you discover a leak, turn off your water, call in a reputable plumber, inform your insurance company of the damage and get their agreement to fix and pay for the damage before hiring a reputable clean-up company.

Q. We moved into our new house and within a few weeks, the sewer backed up into the shower and leaked out of the shower pan all over the downstairs area (very stinky!). Everyone agrees this is considered a "Category 3" leak. Remediation company came and took out the tile, flooring, a lot of drywall and dried everything out. Insurance company has no problem paying them for everything they did (they seem to work together a lot). Insurance adjuster is saying that the tile and shower pan are part of the plumbing and are not covered, but is saying that they will pay for the cement board behind the tile in the shower. They are also only planning to pay an amount roughly equal to the cost of the remediation for reconstruction (which is roughly equal to the estimate from the remediation company....because they provide reconstruction services as well). It seems ludicrous that reconstruction would cost the same as remediation. To rip stuff out and dry it out is a lower level of skill and doesn't require any materials.....but the adjuster is saying we are lucky that he is covering what he is covering. The remediation company isn't even available to do the job. We have 3 bids from other quality contractors that actually have availability and they are double the price.

So proud of our very own Florida Public Adjuster, Michael Platts who took time out of his busy holiday schedule to play Santa and deliver his yearly childrens' gifts to Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa. It's been a busy storm season for all of us this past year. We want everyone of our readers to have a safe and healthy holiday and look forward with hope to the new year.

The EF2 tornado that started in Pinellas Park and touched down several times all the way through Polk County will have many filing property insurance claims. The industrial claim damage will be especially complicated given property damage, business interruption and inventory loss issues that will arise. As a local Tampa Bay public adjusting firm serving the area since 1984 we are ready to assist policyholders with their claims. Here are some tips and common mistakes to avoid while preparing yourself for the insurance claim process.

We’ve seen anecdotal evidence that some insurance companies as well as adjusters are already talking to policyholders about invoking the Appraisal Clause in their property insurance policy. While appraisal can play an important role in the insurance claim settlement process, it is not for everyone and policyholders need to understand both the costs and limitations. We have several certified appraisers on our staff and one of the first things we do when asked to represent a client is to review the suitability based on the claim facts. Here is a Q&A I did for the media after Hurricane Michael (and now Hurricane Sally) to help policyholders better understand property damage Appraisal.

Tropical Storm Eta has left thousands of residential and commercial property owners with water, flood and wind insurance claims – a process they’ve never had to deal with before. Insurance claim disputes are bound to occur. 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.