On Property Insurance Claim Tips Blog

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?

The slow-moving Hurricane Sally has caused a combination of wind, water, roof and flood damage that will surely complicate the insurance claims process. As homeowners are allowed to return and begin the clean-up and recovery process, many residential and commercial policyholders will submit an insurance claim for storm damage to their property. The Public Adjusters at Tutwiler & Associates urge policyholders to take the proper steps to stay safe, protect their property insurance claim and avoid settlement problems with the following tips.
 
1. Notify your insurance carrier of your damage as soon as possible to expedite your claim. Do not go back into your home or mitigate damage until you know it’s safe to do so. If returning to your home after a power outage, do not turn on the power right away, especially if your home has been flooded. Have an electrician check the dwelling first to ensure it is safe.

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.

The tornado in Nashville has caused major destruction and significantly impacted business & residential property owners. Our teams are actively engaged with property & business owners, working to help aid in the recovery claims process and are here to help you realize a fair settlement under your policy to help you recover and get your business and life back on its feet. Whenever major storm events like this occur a common question we get from callers is to explain what a Public Adjuster does and why they should hire one. Many callers have never had to deal with a property claim before and frankly have not heard of Public Adjusters. To avoid having our readers searching the web for these answers and hopefully the hype, I’ve placed the information we try to relay below.

If your home was destroyed or severely damaged from the recent Nashville area tornadoes to the extent that it is uninhabitable for you or your family to live, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you may incur such as food and temporary lodging.  Please keep in mind that this coverage is based on what you “incur” meaning you have to spend the money first before your insurance company will reimburse you. This is why you need to keep receipts for all transactions or keep all of your transactions on one credit card so you can easily print your statement out for your adjuster.

The Nashville area tornadoes have clearly left many homeowners, businesses, schools, cities and government buildings with significant damage and Tennesseans need to understand some of the basic insurance claim adjusting procedures that will play an important role to achieve a fair, expeditious and maximum claim settlement. Insurance companies and their teams of catastrophe adjusters may be delayed in gaining access to the region due to government emergency restrictions and given the significant damage sustained at the John C. Tune Airport in West Nashville. The Airport Authority estimated loss and damages to the infrastructure and other buildings is $93 million alone. Here are some tips and common mistakes to avoid while preparing yourself for the insurance claim process.

As reports and video of the Hurricane Dorian devastation come in, the devastation and human tragedy is mind numbing. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those in the Bahamas and with those who will be part of the relief efforts. We expect the impacted areas to be unsafe for Public Adjusters and other professionals for some time. For those who are so inclined, I wanted to share a very good Hurricane Dorian Donation article from The Identity on reputable organizations that will be at the forefront of the relief effort and also a list of supplies needed. In the meantime, we will do what we can to answer policyholder insurance claim questions regarding Hurricane Dorian damage and steps they should be taking. I challenge everyone, especially those in the insurance claims industry to find a way to donate to the Bahama’s relief effort.

Proud to be representing retailer insurance claims at Westshore Plaza after fire forces evacuation. Trying to get things settled without further complications.  https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/escalator-fire-forces-evacuations-at-westshore-plaza/1966197558

Our public adjuster offices settle many claims each month. Here is one written up by our Pittsburgh Public Adjuster, Mr. Zach Flora. It’s a good lesson about digging into the details and taking charge of your claim. On August 25th a Pittsburgh family of 3 were away enjoying a fun filled family vacation when they received a call from a neighbor that quickly turned their sunshine to clouds. The neighbor called with the horrible news that their garage door was mysteriously open and water was pouring out onto the driveway. 

As Hurricane Michael damage recovery moves into the new year, we continue get deluged with property insurance claim questions from frustrated policyholders. Right now, we seem to be at the stage where policyholders have received settlement offers they feel are too low to fix their damage or where property owners feel their insurance company is not being responsive. This is especially true with commercial claims and the business community in the Panhandle as evidence in this article Local Businesses Say Insurance is Taking Too Long on Claims. Now there’s a good way to kill off the small business community!