Happy to be a WFLA Hurricane Season sponsor and help contribute our insurance claims expertise to the Daytime show. Watch the Storm Team 8 Hurricane Season Special "Surviving the Storm" this Saturday at 7pm and look for our claim tips throughout the season. More to come.

Remember El Nino and La Nina? Bet you can’t remember which one may be a precursor for bad weather along the Eastern Atlantic and Gulf Coast. Keep reading I will explain the differences based on the expert’s analysis. But back to the forecast, the experts at Colorado State University just published their early prediction and let’s just say it’s concerning.  While just a prediction based in large part on what is now or will be happening in the atmosphere, it none the less should be given serious consideration and serve as a wake-up call to property owners living in those areas.

Q. Hurricane Irma caused damage to our home. No area contractors were able to do any interior repairs in a timely fashion. My wife and I have the skill sets to do drywall repairs, tiling, painting etc. Are we entitled to be reimbursed for our personal labor?

Several years ago, we started seeing property insurance policies with new very restrictive language that attempted to exclude water losses based on the subjective opinion of some as to when the water loss occurred and caused damages. It was my opinion that this 14 day limitation would be very bad for folks in Florida, as well as snowbirds who own property and only reside here six or so months a year.

Hurricane Irma insurance adjusting practices in the Florida Keys are coming under scrutiny by the Monroe Country State Attorney. This information came to me via a short audio clip from a radio broadcast aired by US 1 Radio News that covers the Florida Keys. In this broadcast, you can hear Monroe County State Attorney, Dennis Swartz sharing his concerns about insurance company adjuster practices in dealing with policyholders who suffered losses from Hurricane Irma.

This year’s “WIND” conference in Orlando, Florida marks the 18-year anniversary that folks from all over the U.S. have gathered to network, learn, and in many instances, conduct settlement talks on active cases to resolve issues involving wind losses and other perils covered by property insurance. Without a doubt, this conference was very successful and well attended with a reported headcount of around a thousand professionals from various disciplines. However, I was somewhat surprised the attendance was not greater given what happened during the 2017 hurricane season. 

Following this year's historic hurricane season, it has been great seeing and catching up with some of the best of the best in the property insurance claims industry! The Windstorm Insurance Network (WIND) is a professional association founded in 1999 and the organization offers elite education, industry insight and unique networking opportunities with representatives from all facets of the property insurance claims industry. This year, I served on an expert panel, "Where Wind Meets Fire" speaking about windstorms and how they exacerbate loss and damages resulting from fire, smoke, soot and ash in many different States like Gatlinburg, Tennessee, many parts of California and even on I-4 driving over from Tampa to Orlando.

Most homeowners and business people do not understand the complexities of estimating repair costs. Even with a policy in-hand, there is much to be interpreted and many unique factors that can impact each claim. As the recovery process for Hurricane Irma continues, we’ve received anecdotal evidence from independent adjusters who are telling us they are submitting their estimates and reports only to have the carriers send them back or make in-house changes without their knowledge. Basically they find out the estimate they wrote was chopped up to save the carrier money. This is not happening everywhere, but enough to cause me concern.  

By now folks in Florida are finding out how little they are going to get paid for their insurance claim damages from Hurricane Irma. Our office is being bombarded with calls and emails from policyholders seeking help and answers about their property insurance losses from Hurricane Irma. Not surprising a lot of the frustration is about the fact that their claim file was closed without payment due to a subjective opinion by independent insurance adjusters working for some insurance companies.

The title for this blog popped in my head based on a question sent into our firm about property insurance policy adjusting practices and procedures related to Hurricane Irma claims. Here is the question sent in from a resident in one hard hit area of Florida:

Policyholder Question: I received a claim check from the insurance company and they have deducted depreciation for my roof. It is a large number and I have read a few different answers related to my question. If I have a replacement value insurance policy, can they hold depreciation? Do I really need to put $20,000+ out of my pocket until a time in the future when they might release that depreciation to me?