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…
As we approach the midpoint for this year’s legislative session in Tallahassee, things are not looking good for a key piece of legislation championed by Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater. Briefly, his push for a policyholder’s “Bill of Rights” came out of a number of formal meetings chaired by the then DFS consumer advocate. The…
The latest Journal of Public Adjusting, Volume 4 Issue 2, prompted this blog. Appeal Efforts Results in Unfavorable Ruling for Dominick Belinchak highlights the long and I assume costly battle Mr. Belinchak, (a licensed public adjuster) has waged with the Florida Department of Financial Services over the issue of the “undefined term of direct supervision” of a…
Our congratulations go out to public adjuster Frank Fortson who we are proud to part of the Tutwiler group. Frank was recently featured on WPTV News in West Palm Beach related to a duplex fire that caused smoke damage to the family’s residence. What would seem like an obvious claim to most people was surprisingly…
A four-page unsolicited letter I received last week from an attorney filled me in on some of the inner workings of the powers to be in Tallahassee and reminded me of this famous line from the Forrest Gump movie. This letter was like a box of chocolates as each paragraph revealed something new. Apparently, he…
The House finally came to its senses last week and amended the 2012 Biggert-Waters act by scaling back flood insurance rate increases. This is not only good news for longtime homeowners in coastal areas but also will help revive the real estate market which made some homes too expensive due to substantial flood rate increases.…
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…
Given the serious ice conditions hitting the Houston area and the frozen Northeast, we want to thank roofing expert Mr. Andrew Smith, Director of Field Operations at Roof Leak Detection Co. for contributing this very good explanation of ice dams and the resulting roof leaks and water damage it can cause. The damage this causes is a…
Today’s NPR article: Overhaul Of A FEMA Program Has Homeowners Calling Congress discusses the dire consequences new FEMA flood maps in conjunction with the newly implemented NFIP flood insurance rates is having. An issue not talked about is the requirement for communities who opted into the flood coverage program to follow the mitigation requirements established by FEMA/NFIP, which…
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…