Will Hurricane Sally Insurance Claim Repair Estimates Cover Your Losses?

Will Hurricane Sally Insurance Claim Repair Estimates Cover Your Losses?

As policyholders begin to hear back from their insurance company regarding their Hurricane Sally insurance claim, many will learn that the amount offered by their respective insurer is not sufficient to pay for their complete loss and damages. Some may even learn part of their claim is denied. This is common when there is widespread damage to a geographic area and especially true with more complicated commercial claims to businesses, condominiums and hotels where methods to fix or replace damage can become complicated. There can be many reasons for this including overworked adjusters not documenting specific damages, out of state adjusters not familiar with the market or inside claim adjusters who have never personally seen the claim simply denying certain parts of the claim. 


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The Art & Science of Hurricane Sally Repair Estimates

The Art & Science of Hurricane Sally Repair Estimates

Most homeowners and business people do not understand the complexities of estimating repair costs. Even with a policy in-hand, there is much to be interpreted and many unique factors that can impact each claim. As the recovery process for Hurricane Sally continues, we’ve received anecdotal evidence from independent adjusters who are telling us they are submitting their estimates and reports only to have the carriers send them back or make in-house changes without their knowledge. Basically, they find out the estimate they wrote was chopped up to save the carrier money. This is not happening everywhere, but enough to cause concern.


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Beware Rising Tornado Construction Costs

Beware Rising Tornado Construction Costs

Many folks throughout the State of Tennessee are still dealing with the devastating effects of the recent tornado and hail damage.  They will soon learn that that the amount(s) offered and paid by their respective insurance companies are not sufficient to pay for their complete loss and damage repairs. Specifically, as the demand for qualified construction workers, roofers, and building materials increase so do the associated costs.  This “supply and demand effect” will undoubtedly continue to impact those who sustained tornado/hail damage in a negative way for some time.


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Policyholder Question – Was My Overhead & Profit Calculated Properly for My Property Insurance Claim?

Policyholder Question – Was My Overhead & Profit Calculated Properly for My Property Insurance Claim?

Q. In my case, the insurance adjuster added $10,300.00 to my Irma hurricane claim to cover Overhead & Profit. This amount and the ACV were paid to me by Frontline upfront under my Replacement Value hurricane policy. The recoverable depreciation was held back until the work was completed. I required six trades to complete the work...roofer, painter, solar system, plumber, gutters and garage door. I did not hire a general contractor. I dealt with each trade directly. After the roof and painting were completed this past April (2019), I filed my claim for about $1,700.00 additional expenses relating to the roof and painting, plus the recoverable depreciation relating to the roof and painting (approx. $7300.00 RD). There was no dispute with respect to the $1,700.00 add'l expenses. The balance of the work (gutters, garage door, etc.) will be completed this winter/spring. My out of pocket expenses paid to the roofer and painter was only about $400.00 more than the ACV plus recoverable depreciation. Frontline clawed back almost all of my Overhead & Profit recovery relating to the roof and painting and offset it against the Recoverable Depreciation. The result was that I received a check for about $400.00, rather than a check for $9000.00 that I expected ($1,700 add'l expenses plus $7300 recoverable depreciation). Frontline's explanation is that I am only entitled to receive the amount of my out of pocket expenses so, to achieve this result, they can claw back some, or all, of the Overhead & Profit amount previously paid. The effect of this is that older homes with higher depreciation such as our 45 year old bungalow will have almost all, if not all, of the previously paid O & P clawed back, while a newer home with lower depreciation, like my neighbor's 4 year old home, will have very little of the O & P clawed back. In both cases we have acted as our own general contractor. Has my recoverable depreciation claim been properly handled? My home is in Florida. Thank you


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AOB (Assignment of Benefits) abuse, is it over? Best read the new law to find out.

AOB (Assignment of Benefits) abuse, is it over?  Best read the new law to find out.

Make no mistake about it, the assignment of benefits controversy as evidenced by its reported abuse in the property insurance arena in the last decade has to have been one of the top scams I have witnessed in my 46-year career. And to top it off, it was all legal, albeit I would guess at times a bitter pill to swallow for some of those engaged in the activity, but what the heck, it was clearly profitable.


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Will Hurricane Michael Insurance Claim Repair Estimates Cover Your Losses?

Will Hurricane Michael Insurance Claim Repair Estimates Cover Your Losses?

As policyholders begin to hear back from their insurance company regarding their Hurricane Michael insurance claim, many will learn that the amount offered by their respective insurer is not sufficient to pay for their complete loss and damages. Some may even learn part of their claim is denied. This is common when there is widespread damage to a geographic area and especially true with more complicated commercial claims to businesses, condominiums and hotels where methods to fix or replace damage can become complicated. There can be many reasons for this including overworked adjusters not documenting specific damages, out of state adjusters not familiar with the market or inside claim adjusters who have never personally seen the claim simply denying certain parts of the claim. 


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Claim Adjuster Shortage and Inexperienced Insurance Adjusters Will Create Claim Bottlenecks for Hurricane Florence Policyholders

Claim Adjuster Shortage and Inexperienced Insurance Adjusters Will Create Claim Bottlenecks for Hurricane Florence Policyholders

Due to the widespread, wind, flood and water damage caused by Hurricane Florence, there is likely to be a shortage of insurance adjusters to handle the volume of claims that will be reported to both the government (FEMA) and the private sector insurance carriers. For those of us in the business, we see it after every major storm. The rush to get damages assessed, by insurance company adjusters and the many inexperienced contractors eyeballing damages, will create impediments to solving policyholder claims.


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Policyholder Question – Applying Overhead to Your Insurance Claim

Policyholder Question – Applying Overhead to Your Insurance Claim

The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum.

Q. Is it customary for restoration contractors to charge for 3 triple (cleaning, vacuuming, and/or anti-microbial) treatments in their remediation estimates ?


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The Art & Science of Hurricane Irma Repair Estimates

The Art & Science of Hurricane Irma Repair Estimates

Most homeowners and business people do not understand the complexities of estimating repair costs. Even with a policy in-hand, there is much to be interpreted and many unique factors that can impact each claim. As the recovery process for Hurricane Irma continues, we’ve received anecdotal evidence from independent adjusters who are telling us they are submitting their estimates and reports only to have the carriers send them back or make in-house changes without their knowledge. Basically they find out the estimate they wrote was chopped up to save the carrier money. This is not happening everywhere, but enough to cause me concern.  


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Policyholder Question – Should I be concerned about a contractor asking me to sign an Assignment of Benefits clause?

Policyholder Question – Should I be concerned about a contractor asking me to sign an Assignment of Benefits clause?

The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum
Q. I live in the path of Irma in Florida and suffered damage to my property. Since the storm and never before, there has been tons of articles in the news, social media and TV commercials playing here in Florida warning consumers about signing Assignment of Benefits agreements with contractors because you'll get ripped off and make a mistake. I have a contractor that I've used before and known for years that says it's been an accepted practice for decades for emergency services. Are the insurance companies just trying to save money? Please explain detail because it seems like a big coordinated PR push from numerous insurance companies saying basically the exact same thing. Thank you for your help!!


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"On Property" Insurance Claim Tips Blog

Tips and advice about how to properly file and protect your property damage insurance claim and get a fair settlement. We invite all readers to ask questions about their claim so our public adjusters can post answers for others to benefit. Insurance claim expert guest bloggers welcome to submit posts via our contact form.

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Local Office

Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters, Inc.
Licensed Public Insurance Adjusters & Loss Consultants
Offices: Tampa, Orlando, Palm City, Ft. Myers, Florida; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA

Executive Office
4300 W. Cypress St.
Suite 780
Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: 813.287.8090
Toll Free: 800.321.4488

Licensed in Florida # W840088 &
Texas #1399706 plus 16 other states
and the Virgin Islands