The complexities of a property insurance claim are many. This is even more true with the variables that exist in claims for country clubs and resorts. Owners and managers are not only tasked with navigating a building damage claim and policy coverage issues, but they also have the monumental task of addressing, assessing, and seeking compensation for damages to business personal property, maintenance equipment, golf carts, golf course and grounds, supplies, saleable goods Inventory, food & beverage stock, debris removal, and costs incurred for engineers, architects, and auditors. Moreover, owners will be tasked with addressing and projecting intangible damages for items like business interruption, extra expense, lost sales revenue, and lost membership dues. For business managers not familiar with the insurance claims process this is a daunting task that takes away large chunks of time from their primary responsibilities to efficiently operate the business.

To complicate matters further, policy deductibles can range from several hundred thousand up to millions of dollars. Additionally, many sub-limits of coverage carry their own monetary limits, deductibles, and coverage endorsements and exclusions. This causes country clubs and resorts to come heftily out of pocket before they even see dollar one from their insurance company.

Such was the case for The Club at Olde Cypress in Naples Florida that sustained significant damage following Hurricane Irma. Immediately following the hurricane, the club’s insurer sent out their adjuster to assess the damage. While it appeared to the club management that their Insurer was doing a fantastic job of addressing their claim early, it quickly became clear that this was not the reality. Several of their losses and damages did not become apparent until several weeks, and even months, after the hurricane struck. Because insurance company adjusters are tasked with jumping from loss to loss following a widespread catastrophe, they simply didn’t spend the time to fully address the policy coverages along with all the damages suffered.

After the insurance company’s adjuster inspected the damages The Club at Olde Cypress sustained, he concluded that the damages did not exceed the clubs several hundred-thousand-dollar deductible. Therefore, no payment was offered by the insurer for the club’s loss. Believing this assessment was inaccurate, yet still unsure what the full amount of their damages were, the club engaged Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjuster Mike Stabile to utilize his expertise on their behalf.

Mike immediately went to work reviewing the policy and assessing the damage. Through his comprehensive policy review, knowledge of large loss adjusting, thorough documentation, detailed  and concise claim presentation, and several rounds of tough negotiations, Mike was able to change the insurer’s position. Mike ultimately took a claim that was initially set to pay no money at all to a claim that settled for a gross amount of over $3 million. Resort management was pleased that they had received value for the significant policy premiums paid and the protection promised from their insurance contract.

When trying to manage their own claim, country club and resort owners, general managers, and controllers can easily become inundated with navigating their claim which in turn greatly interferes with the day-to-day functions of their normal role. Many coverages and damages can easily be overlooked by the untrained eye and also by the insurance company’s adjusters. Having the expertise and guidance of a licensed Public Adjuster working on this large loss claim and advocating for the resort saved management time and had a significant positive impact on the claim settlement. Management was able to focus on running the business while self-assured that their Public Adjuster was handling all aspects of their insurance loss.