It’s been about 1 month since Winter Storm Uri unleashed a frozen fury leaving millions of Texans in the dark to survive deadly frigid temperatures and up to $130 Billion in estimated damages. The record cold triggered mass power outages crippling The Lone Star State’s largest cities from Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Austin, El Paso and down to Corpus Christi. Despite the frenzy of news media covering the Texas grid crisis, power company executive resignations, bankruptcy filings and lawsuits, little coverage has been given to property owners still suffering from water damage caused by the plumbing freezes, water pipe bursts, or the administrative delays processing property damage insurance claims. Many consumers are just now turning to their insurance agents to file new claims or express frustration about the slow claims process. The single biggest question many are asking is, will insurance cover their claims? 

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A historic deep freeze is gripping the US with sub-zero temperatures and even more serious wind chill factors. With it will come unprecedented frozen pipe bursts, iced dams and roof collapses that will cause extensive property damage and loss to personal property or business inventory.  As for homeowners, if you discover a leak, turn your water off, call in a reputable plumber, inform your insurance company of the damage and get their agreement to fix and pay for the damage before hiring a reputable clean-up company.    

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Last week, I was interviewed by Deirdre Fernandes  who covers the insurance industry for the Boston Globe. Her story   Pricey car insurance policies test consumers     discussed how more policyholders were likely to shop around for both home and auto insurance after the brutal winter left many homeowners disillusioned with their claim settlements and the coverage increases the insurance firms are trying to push through. What’s amazing is how few homeowners shop for the best rates. We handled many winter storm claims in and around Boston and I can tell you many of our clients are now shopping for new policies due to the push back and negative experience they had with insurers some had been paying premiums to for many years. In many cases, these insurers failed their moment of truth. Instead of trying to make their policyholders whole, their adjusters instead looked for technical loopholes to minimize the payouts. The policyholder will have the last say in the matter when they walk away and look for a new carrier.

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“At least it’s snowing.” This was in an email message I received from the manager of my client’s hotel in Kentucky. Hard to believe that given this winter’s bitter weather, ice and snow that a property management team would be glad it is snowing again! The back story on this is that all the buildup in ice and snow caused major damage to the roof at this destination resort. When the weather warmed up, things started to melt, then it started to rain and water poured into the interior causing damage to the resort from the damaged roof. Another cold front then turned the rain back into snow and this client is now grateful for the snow as the water intrusion has temporarily stopped. 
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As public adjusters, we continue to assist policyholders with property insurance claims after severe winter storms like we have experienced in Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other markets this winter. Roof collapse, ice dams, frozen pipes, water damage and yes even wind damage will be common occurrences. We’ve compiled some of the most commonly asked questions we get after these types of events and offer them below to help homeowners and businesses recover if they have a claim. Got a property insurance claim question? Send it to us or see our winter storm adjuster page. 

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An online poll published in the Boston Globe on Saturday, showed over 70% of Bostonians are rooting to break the record snow fall of 107.6 inches. To date, they are only 2 inches shy. Who would have guessed that with all the misery from snow, ice and freezing temperatures, that folks in Boston would be in the majority and want those extra few inches to best a 124-year National Weather Service record? 

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As I write this, I am sitting in LaGuardia airport waiting for a flight back to Florida.  I was called up to New York to meet with a prospective client who owns a building in Manhattan that has suffered structural damage due to a new building being constructed next door.   Florida’s tourism boom this year is apparent in New York; snow, ice, then freezing rain and back to snow with 6-8 inches predicted for the five boroughs of NYC.  Other parts of the country are predicted to get even more snow, then freezing temps. Clearly, northerners are flocking to Florida in droves trying to escape the brutal winter especially in the northeast. 

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With New England and now the eastern United States in a deep freeze from record snow and ice accumulation, remember the old saying, it’s the darkest before the dawn.  Yes, there will be a spring and it’s just around the corner according to the Old Farmers Almanac. Spring, also called the vernal equinox comes in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20^th at 6:45pm to be exact. This shouldn’t minimize the extensive property damage being caused this winter as this excellent article on Ice Dams discusses. Many of our staff are gearing up to head north in order to help current clients and work with our public adjuster partners.

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A phone call to our office today from a public adjuster colleague in Boston confirms what we all are seeing on TV. The call started out this way… “Dick as you know our firm has been in the public adjusting business for a long time and we have never seen anything like this.  We need help.” This call is from a good guy and person I have known for years and whose firm enjoys a stellar reputation.  For years we have referred clients back and forth to each other. His firm’s phones no doubt have been ringing off the hook and I suspect their email boxes are full. To my friend rest assured, the cavalry is saddling up. We can’t let a colleague and friend down.

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Given the serious ice conditions hitting the Houston area and the frozen Northeast, we want to thank roofing expert Mr. Andrew Smith, Director of Field Operations at Roof Leak Detection Co. for contributing this very good explanation of ice dams and the resulting roof leaks and water damage it can cause. The damage this causes is a long-term issue for policyholders as the damage you incur this winter can show up during summer windstorms. These losses can become complicated insurance claims that require the policyholder to prove the cause of loss when water infiltrates the interior of the home.

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