While the national press is full of politicians pontificating about what Congress has done (as in “done in”) to tens-of-thousands of property owners in the very ill advised legislation called Biggert-Waters Flood Reform Act (B.W.-12) known as the National Flood Insurance Program Reform Act, not to be outdone, the regulators and political types in Tallahassee have been busy as well.

First, a little commentary on Washington DC, and no, not the budget or government shut down.  What I am talking about is the legislation for the National Flood Insurance Program reforms that was voted on by a majority of your elected congressional officials without any debate, given that the Biggert-Waters legislation was attached to a transportation bill and thus never saw the light of day.

 

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A policyholder in South Carolina recently wrote us about a fire claim turned nightmare. When notified of a claim, insurance companies will sometimes send out their preferred vendor as a way to provide fast service but also to control costs and prevent the policyholder from hiring their own vendor, since they have contracted reduced rates with these vendors.

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The catastrophic sinkhole that opened up in Dunedin, Florida has brought attention to limits of the new law that was passed in 2011 by the Florida Legislature. This law made it extremely difficult for homeowners to get proper coverage or alternatively pay a hefty price for a very limited sinkhole policy. Many of the changes are not good for property owners as the new law also negatively impacts the way insurance companies handle and pay for sinkhole claims when they arise.
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Q. The city where we live experienced a ten inch water main break that flooded our basement with 4 ft. of water. We hired a public adjuster 10 days ago. Now they are backing out saying there are limitations to what they can do. Should we go with the city's insurance? Should we find out what limitations there are with our homeowners policy?

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Q. Could one choose to have a larger deductible on hurricane insurance? For example; a 20% or 30% deductible on a $100,000 home? What would be the savings as opposed to a 10% deductible?

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Q. We own a home that was built in 1964. Last Saturday our family room ceiling collapsed. There does not appear to be any moisture. The insurance company is telling us it’s normal wear and tear, the insulation was too heavy and thus the damage is not covered. There are no cracks in the ceiling, no sagging and our home is well maintained. Any thoughts on the cause? Our roof was replaced in May of 2010.
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Q. How much does the insurance company pay for my groceries in case of fire loss? An amount of $500 regardless or I can make an inventory with photos, prices and quantities?

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Here’s a question I was asked to answer on the United Policyholders website: 
Q. My home was contaminated by sewer on May 7 and again on May 22 this year by a prime contractor hired by a state municipality MSD Metropolitan sewer District here in Asheville North Carolina. From what I understand, this is a third-party claim. The insurance company has done absolutely nothing to help me. I have been dealing with this for the last four months with pretty much no progress until this past week. They sent their first offer on Friday which is not close to reality. Is this considered a third-party claim? I have a copy of the pollution liability policy and it does not say anything about how it will replace my contents, actual cash value or replacement cost, nor does it say anything about provisions for Additional Living Expenses. Is there a possibility that is in a different policy? I just had an environmental company do some sampling for mold and other airborne fungi to be sure this has not spread in other parts of the house because it's been so long with no cleanup and decontamination. I’d like to know if any of your professionals have experience dealing with third-party claims and sewer damage and mold contamination.
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I was watching one of the “Homeowners Policy & Claims Bill of Rights Working Group” meetings the other day when a segment of the meeting featured a homeowner couple who took the time to appear at the meeting and tell their story about their insurance loss and claim that resulted from an unfortunate fire in their residence.  These folks told the committee they wanted to share this experience in hopes that something good would come out of their very bad experience trying to deal with an insurance property loss on their own.

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Ran into an old friend and his wife at a restaurant we both frequent the other night. Bob is a property manager and my firm has not only represented his family but also some of the properties he has managed over the years.  I had not seen him for a few weeks and he reminded me of his call to me some weeks back about a water leak in his home. It seems the shower pan had given out and when the leak finally showed up, the damage was pretty extensive. He called his insurance agent who told him the water damage would not be covered due to the language the insurance lobbyists had recently pushed through about water damage that is over 14 days old.

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