The 2016 Windstorm Insurance Conference is in the history books.  A final count determined over 1,050 claims professionals were in attendance in Orlando, Florida.  Registrations exceeded a lot of folk’s expectations this year given the lack of a major Cat event in the southeast. But this year’s success goes to show that the Windstorm Insurance Network, Inc. has evolved into much more than a regional conference. Super Storm Sandy is a reminder that there are shared experiences with other parts of the country and as the old saying goes, “knowledge and information is power.” The WIND Conference is in my opinion the place to go to enable professionals to enhance their skills and knowledge about property insurance matters. 

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Congratulation to Rick Tutwiler, who was presented the 7th Annual WIND Presidential Recognition Award at the Windstorm Insurance Network Conference in Orlando, Fl.  The award was established to recognize annually a member who has contributed significant knowledge, service and leadership to better the Windstorm Insurance Network (WIND). Rick was also elected as the 2016 Secretary of the WIND Board of Directors. It is wonderful to see Rick recognized for all of his extracurricular work to better the industry. All of us at Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters are proud of you.
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Hard to believe that 16 years has passed since a group of eclectic insurance professionals got together to start the Windstorm Insurance Network, an educational association dedicated to educating all the various parties involved in insurance loss adjusting issues. Prior to that first meeting, I would never have predicted that given the nature of all the opposing interests regarding not only high-dollar losses but also egos, complex insurance contract terms, as well as a host of fact issues of a loss from wind and other perils, that this endeavor would have been so successful. 

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Public Adjuster Rick Tutwiler will be part of an expert panel that discusses Wind vs. Wave Action at the upcoming Windstorm Insurance Conference from February 1-4. This highly interactive presentation will provide insurance professionals with practical information to help separate damage to structures due to storm wind from damage caused by storm surge. The presentation begins with education regarding wind loads and how buildings respond to wind force. Storm surge and how structures respond to rising water and wave action will also be highlighted...
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On February 2^nd at the Windstorm Insurance Conference in Orlando, I along with Janet Brown, Esq., Boehm, Brown & Harwood, P.A.; Wayne Taylor, Esq., Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins, LLP; and Art Newman, Belfor USA will be conducting the 4 hour WIND Certified Umpire Recertification® class. If anyone in the insurance space has any knowledge regarding situations or problems related to appraisal or umpiring that we could re-purpose as a question for the class, we would appreciate it if you could share it with us. You can send the information to me at: tutwiler@publicadjuster.com.
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For those of you who are insurance professionals, this may be best answered by an example of a chance meeting I had last year at the Windstorm Insurance Network Conference. But before I tell you why WIND is worth it, I want to give you some background on The Windstorm Insurance Network Inc. and then share with you two recent success stories involving commercial losses that in large part were influenced by this chance meeting at last year’s conference in New Orleans.

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Congratulations to Public Adjusters, (from left to right) Mike Stabile, Mike Platts and Rick Tutwiler who showed their community spirit donating time to Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa to hand out turkeys and all the other fixings necessary for families to have a great Thanksgiving dinner. We want to thank all our clients who put their faith in having us handle their insurance claims and wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. We all have much to be thankful for. 

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I received notice that Citizens, the State run insurance company has proposed some changes to their property policy as it relates to the resolution dispute forum called appraisal. The appraisal process has for years been offered universally by most insurance companies as a cost effective way to resolve disputes with policyholders involving damages to their property from a covered loss.
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An article in the 2015 autumn edition of the Marshall University Magazine (my alma mater) resonated with me in the context of insurance losses. In theory there should not be any winners or losers when it comes to paying for an insured policyholder’s claim. The insurance company is supposed to indemnify their insured or make them whole, as in putting them back in the place they were before the loss.
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When involved with complex insurance claims (believe me, nowadays with all these new forms and restrictions, they are all complex and controversial), the policy language and the facts of the loss all must be taken into account to apply them to the coverage in order to get the correct payment to the policyholder.  But this may only be the beginning of what you need to know. Other issues face the adjuster which may be outside of your typical daily sphere of experience and knowledge.
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