This is a frequent question we get after a policyholder has tried to handle their own claim and learns the settlement amount will not return their property to its prior condition.

Q. Does a public adjuster get paid on the full amount of the claim or just the disputed amount?

A. If a prior payment was made before the PA was hired, the PA should not be paid a fee on that amount. Basically, a PA should only be paid on new money they were able to recover after they were hired.

The Tampa Bay Times published an article in their editorial page this past week titled, “Stop Giving Hurricane Victims the Run Around” which in my humble opinion is well worth the time to read. For the most part I could not agree more with this commentary as we have seen this “run around” for years.  Clearly history has shown us that when mass catastrophic events occur, one’s expectations are that significant confusion and chaos in the early weeks, especially when first responders are mobilizing to respond to life, health, and safety issues will be the rule.

A policyholder wrote in and recently asked:

Q. I’m hoping you can help me with an answer to a quick question. I hired a public adjuster to do an insurance appraisal because the insurance company has been jerking me around. The public adjuster will not share the dollar amount of his appraisal with me. Is that standard practice? He is stating that there is a clause in my policy that requires the appraiser to be independent and impartial, which then prohibits him from sharing his appraisal value with me. I think he is incorrect and is simply waiting for the insurance company’s appraiser to submit his value before writing up his own. Can you please advise? Thank you.

Read an excellent feature article by the Tampa Bay Times this weekend on how policyholders are still being denied claims dollars that will help them recover from Hurricane Michael. Our public adjusters continue to battle and negotiate for homeowners and business owners. Some insurance companies are very professional while others continue to play the deny and delay game.

 https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/06/26/hurricane-michael-destroyed-their-homes-then-the-insurance-heartache-began/

When a homeowner files an insurance claim, the last thing they expect is having to include their mortgage holder on the check. But this is usually the case and cause settlement delays and confusion depending on how the mortgage holder processes the settlement. The following is a related insurance claim question we answered submitted by a policyholder.

Q. I have a VA loan through TD Bank whose main office is in Lewiston, Maine. I live in Florida and retained a public adjuster to help me deal with my insurance claim. I suffered severe damage from Hurricane Michael on 10/10/18. Do you think I will have any problems with the bank releasing insurance proceeds directly to me seeing as it could be an inconvenience for the bank with me living so far away? Also, what records will the insurance company require if I do some of the work myself and have others help me?

Citizens has changed the coverage in their policies for non-weather water losses. Now the limit is $10,000 unless you use one of their managed repair companies. Unfortunately, AOB abuse and the resulting spike in litigation have prompted these restrictions further putting the insured at risk and lessening the value of their coverage. Keep in mind that there will still be older policies out there that have not changed based on renewal dates. But going forward be aware of this limit for water losses with Citizens.

Also note that Citizens aggressively pursues questionable water losses. If you are a policyholder, make sure your claim is legit and don’t be pushed into a claim by an overly aggressive restoration company or public adjuster.

https://www.citizensfla.com/documents/20702/10091213/20190612+08B+SIU+Cases+of+Interest.pdf/dfac956d-e86f-4fd0-92d6-96081d69ed2f

Make no mistake about it, the assignment of benefits controversy as evidenced by its reported abuse in the property insurance arena in the last decade has to have been one of the top scams I have witnessed in my 46-year career. And to top it off, it was all legal, albeit I would guess at times a bitter pill to swallow for some of those engaged in the activity, but what the heck, it was clearly profitable.

Q. I serve on a COA Board and we recently had a fire. Our property manager is telling us the contractor will handle everything, while some of us want to talk to a public adjuster. What is your perspective?

Policyholders who experienced any type of water intrusion from Hurricane Michael may experience mold infiltration. When claims are delayed and repairs put on hold, it can become a real problem because mold can grow unseen for months and create a serious health hazard. Coming to an agreement with your insurance company on how to deal with mold can create major disagreements due to the fact that certain “fixes” can be expensive. So make sure you understand all your options.

The 2019 Windstorm Conference held at the Walt Disney Dolphin Resort hotel was a new milestone on several fronts. This year was the 20^th anniversary of an organization that was founded based on the realization that claims professionals from all different professional disciplines can meet, exchange and debate ideas, and help to formulate best practices to help insured policyholders struggling to recover from catastrophic events.