Congratulations to ABC Action News ITeam reporters for clearly explaining the state of Florida’s Property Insurance situation in their Florida Insurance Disaster show. There are still home and business owners battling their insurance companies trying to rebuild. While we applaud Florida’s My Safe Florida Home Program and the recent fine of an insurer not complying with claim regulations during Hurricane Ian, much more can be done to give policyholders an avenue to resolve disputes, hold unresponsive insurers accountable and require insurers have the financial staying power to withstand the serious storms that will come. Follow ABC’s continuing coverage of the Insurance Crisis in Florida.  

Q. My insurance company’s adjuster is saying that they don't pay for "cosmetic damage". After many conversations with him and the contractor, he finally admitted some hail damage but estimated almost exactly the amount of my deductible, $1,000. The contractor I hired is very reputable and had all kinds of chalk marks on my roof which the adjuster dismissed as "cosmetic." I tried to get my agent involved and he said the same thing about cosmetic damage. I really don't want to let this go. There are about 20 houses in my neighborhood getting work done due to the golf ball sized hail damage. Please let me know if I have any options.

The case for and against coverage detailed in this Washington Post article about restaurants suing insurance companies over unpaid claims. Still looks grim for the insured in my view but worth seeing if your policy has the virus exclusion. These restaurants will be long gone by the time these lawsuits are resolved. Only hope is if Uncle Sam steps up. In my opinion, it’s not likely to happen. 40% or less has Business Interruption coverage so without BI coverage, 60% are out of luck based on these suits…….and then there is the coming hurricane season.

Here’s a great success story from our Pittsburgh public adjuster, Mr. Zach Flora that shows how a public adjuster can add value to the claims process. Great job Zach!

On May 28, 2019 a catastrophic hailstorm hit the Pittsburgh suburb of Gibsonia. The golf ball sized hail that struck and damaged homes, buildings, cars anything it came in contact with. Over the next few days, contractors converged on the area knocking on doors and telling property owners they needed new roofs “just sign here” and we’ll file an insurance claim for you. Rather than doing the smart thing and call their insurance company to file a claim, some homeowners who had not dealt with a loss like this went along. As insurance company representatives visited their policyholders in the area, there was no question that all of the roofs needed to be replaced due to the hail damage.

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.

Great job to Orlando Public Adjuster for contributing to the WESH2 Orlando Hurricane Preparation Show that provided insurance claim preparation tips and showed how a public adjuster can help a client recover. See more helpful interviews on our Property Insurance Claim Tips page. Click here to see the segment.

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.

I asked my talented staff of public adjusters to share some of the best tips they could think of for handling a flood claim. The following are some tips that hopefully will help folks should they have flood coverage.

Flood Damage Claim Tips

1. Take photographs of all damaged content items including discarded objects, structural damage you intend to claim.
2. Make a list of damaged or lost items by the room and include their date of purchase, value, and receipts.
3. Take photographs of the water line (standing flood water levels) both inside and outside the residence. Note how long the water remained in the house if possible. 

Some months back I received a call from a physician who was referred to me by an engineering firm we had worked with on a large project in Longboat Key, Florida that resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement. Not only was the client pleased with our work, but their engineer apparently was equally impressed given the kind words he shared with this physician about our work and the results we were able to achieve with previous claim. During my initial discussion with the physician on the phone, I told him it was unlikely we could prevail on his insurance claim based on the damages he described to me. The insurance industry had changed most policies to take away coverage that was previously available for what sounded to me like a collapse claim.  

The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum.

Q. What are the insurance company's responsibilities to their policyholders with regard to providing any adjuster's reports, ALE expenses and any timeline they are ruled by?  Insurance company says I am not eligible for ALE because I have a second home. Any guidance you could give would be appreciated.