An Orlando area client who filed what they thought was a simple property insurance claim for water damage to their home found them forced out of their home since September of last year due to mistakes made by the “preferred vendors” of their insurance company and the insurance company’s refusal to take responsibility for the situation.  Tutwiler Public Insurance Adjuster Brad Barrett  was eventually brought into the situation late and has been trying to bring the situation to what is called Appraisal, where an Umpire can hopefully rule in the client’s favor.

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 being disputed. 

We encourage you to watch the video so you can see what we find so rewarding about helping home and business owners with their property insurance claims.

If you have questions regarding any property insurance claim related issues please call 800.321.4488 or contact us to submit a question to one of our public adjuster or insurance claim experts.

Here is an insurance claim question that we answered as a contributing member of experts for United Policyholders who advocates for property owners.

Q. I had an upstairs pipe burst 1 month ago that caused damage to the upstairs bathroom (tile & drywall), carpet in upstairs (hallway & one bedroom), all of downstairs kitchen (walls, cabinets, ceiling, under-house insulation, HVAC ductwork). After quickly stopping the leak and vacuuming out the water, I set up my claim and started calling water damage restoration companies.  Of the dozen I called, only one could come out sooner than 5 days.  They began drying and demolishing within 2 days.  After my persistent calling, an adjuster finally got in touch with me 8 days later to setup an appointment.  This appointment was 24 days after initial damage!  Now I will talk about my dispute.  Two adjusters showed up.  The upstairs tile had expanded and contracted enough to bust loose.  The tile creaks badly and the adjusters bent down with me and clearly observed it moving.  However, they still were insistent on not replacing it.  I have continuous carpet (mended seamlessly at the thresholds) all over the upstairs including stairs.  They wanted to cut above the stairs and at thresholds, citing they only had to replace what was damaged.  Downstairs, they wouldn't even consider the tile, although I know that it was wet under those tiles for at least a week with plenty of time for mold spores to form.  Every piece of plywood under those tiles was wet and didn't get insulation removed for 4 days and never had a fan or dehumidifier put in the crawl space.

Where do I go from here? I thought I should first write the adjusters a letter in my defense.  I was an engineer for The Tile Council of North America which publishes industry-consensus guidelines for ceramic tile installation. I have plenty of expertise and sources to back my concerns. Or should I just get a public adjuster? Thank you!