As the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Sally unfolds, thousands of businesses and homeowners who never considered the possibility of dealing with flood damage will be investigating the claim process. We will be sending a team of adjusters to the Pensacola area when authorities say it is safe to enter. So in order to offer assistance to our readers, 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 claim tips that hopefully will help folks should they have flood coverage or windstorm damage.

Many policyholders impacted by Hurricane Sally will be dealing with flood related issues for the first time. For those who have flood insurance, we encourage you to review and pay close attention to your flood policy’s terms and conditions. The policies issued by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are unique because they fall under a Federal Government program with its own rules and regulations. Keep in mind that many private insurance companies resell and administer the NFIP policies.  So, make sure you confirm if your flood policy falls under this program.

Insurance payments to policyholders with flood and wind damage from Hurricane Sally will depend on the policies they purchased, the language in each policy and the laws of each state where the damage occurred. The media is reporting widespread inland flooding, and there are reports that many property owners whose property was damaged by flood may not have purchased flood insurance.  So, what should you do if you do not have coverage from either the government run flood program NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) or flood coverage under some other type of special manuscript policy?

As Hurricane Laura continues strengthening into potential Category 4 storm, the NHC warns of an "unsurvivable storm surge," for parts of the Louisiana and Eastern Texas coast. 

Forecasters predict surges several feet high could reach nearly to Interstate 10 in Louisiana, endangering cities like Lake Charles, and others some 35 miles inland. Only a few hours remain to protect life and property.

• Texas residence seeking to evacuate should consider DriveTexas.org.
• Louisiana, residence should consider 511la.org

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.

In Nashville, scenes of absolute devastation still remain as if the March 3, 2020 tornadoes sliced through just yesterday. Several tornadoes were reported during the March 3^rd storm with three consisting of an EF-2, EF-3, and one large EF-4 wedge tornado that carved the largest swath of destruction throughout the Music City and surrounding areas nearly 3-months ago. Adding to the misery, the Chattanooga  - East Brainard area suffered a devastating tornado barrage on Easter Sunday as 7 tornadoes were reported to have touched down in the Tennessee Valley. The fury began around 8:15 pm and then at 11:19 pm, an EF-3 tornado with estimated wind speeds up to 145 mph touched down staying on the ground for 14 minutes.

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.

As government officials report the increasing financial losses due to the shutdown of most commercial businesses across the United States, people are desperate for some type of relief and understandably so. So, what to do? Time to look under the hood to see what’s really happening on the prospect of a loss of income claim from your insurance company. Assuming you had the good financial sense to buy Business Income coverage to cover your financial losses before the country and commerce was shut down. The go to place now for relief seems to focus on the private sector insurance industry in both the admitted and surplus lines market, the latter known as the E&S markets. Every day the media is full of press releases, articles, and op-ed articles positioning themselves on one side of the argument that private insurance carriers need to pay these claims, or to the contrary that they are not covered.

With the extensive wind and damage caused by the Nashville tornadoes, we are seeing policyholders rushing to get damages assessed. Both insurance company adjusters and many inexperienced contractors are eyeballing roof damage and recommending partial repairs based on simple visual inspection. This is going to cause terrible problems in the future as flying debris can damage the membrane of roofs and set people up for severe water damage in the future. In disaster situations some adjusters simply do not spend enough time assessing policyholder’s damage or taking into effect the increased cost of materials and repairs.

All of us at Tutwiler & Associates trust you and your families are staying well and safe in the midst of this dreadful Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. While our firm is doing our part to be “socially responsible” and keep our communities safe, many of our firm’s expert adjusters are actively working hard from the confines of their homes as we continue to field client inquiries and offer professional insurance claim assistance, guidance, and support. A few clients have called and emailed to inquire if there is an option for them to file an insurance claim including Business Interruption. Understandably, many business owners are just now combing through their insurance policies as they continue to look for ways to offset business income and financial losses.