If you live in the Pensacola, Destin, Gulf Breeze and Ft. Walton Beach area and your home was severely damaged by flood to the extent that it is uninhabitable, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled…
Policyholders in Pensacola, Destin, Gulf Breeze and Ft. Walton Beach might be surprised that having an adjuster look at your claim is only the beginning of the process. Remember, the field adjuster that inspects your property may not be an employee of the insurance company. They are typically independent adjusters on contract and typically are paid a set…
On April 30, 2014, Governor Rick Scott signed Executive Order 14-144, declaring a state of emergency for the following Florida counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, and Alachua. A copy of the executive order…
Extreme Florida weather has caused widespread wind, water and flood damage in Pensacola, Destin, Gulf Breeze and Ft. Walton and has also brought some flooding to the Tampa and St. Petersburg area. This will require that many residential and commercial policyholders submit an insurance claim. The public adjusters at Tutwiler & Associates urge policyholders to…
Based on reports, homeowners and businesses in the Florida Panhandle (including Pensacola and Destin and much of the Southeast) are dealing with serious flood and water damage from the recent storms. Once local authorities give the all clear, your property has been inspected and it’s safe to return, mitigation efforts should be started. If insured…
Q. How can we make sure our insurance company is moving ahead with our repairs, etc? Right now, everything seems to be on hold until they can get a joint inspection with our contractor’s insurance company. Our house has been sitting for over a week with no heat, no electricity, etc., while we wait for this…
Here is an insurance claim question that we answered as a contributing member of insurance claim experts for United Policyholders who advocates for property owners. Q. Can the insurance company force you to use an outside vendor to inventory your personal contents rather than allow you to do it yourself? Can you refuse cleaning and inventory services that…
This question was asked of us the other day and since it is rarely encountered in the everyday world of property insurance adjusting, I wanted to share it given our experience with “the option to repair tactic” that we’ve seen used by the insurance carriers. First, a little background on this controversial clause found in…
Here is an insurance claim question that we answered as a contributing member of experts for United Policyholders who advocates for property owners. Q. What, if any, should be acceptable ACV on a driveway and walkway on a personal residence? House was demolished by fire and working with adjuster on fair settlement value of these surfaces. Policy provides…
Home and business owners aren’t the only ones feeling the impact from frozen pipe breaks. A recent NY Times article; A Severe Winter Breaks Budgets as Well as Pipes discusses the toll the deep freeze is taking on municipal infrastructure which may be dealing with pipes over 100 years old. We also know schools and other public…