From Brad Barrett

We want to thank Orlando Public Adjuster Brad Barrett for authoring this insurance claim blog. Is there any future for Independent Adjusters? Some insurance companies would want you to believe that you should only see them from behind a glass window in a museum display.  Although we Public Adjusters sometimes have a contentious relationship with them because we represent the policyholder while they are paid by the insurance company, Independent Adjusters still provide a very important service in the claims handling process.

Several significant milestones recently passed, so I thought I would share a few of them with you. Most importantly is the adjournment of the 2014 Florida Legislative Session. As the old saying goes, no one is safe when the legislature is in session! While it was predicted, not much earthshaking legislation passed, given the upcoming fall election cycle. That proved to be mostly true with at least insurance issues.

Since October of 2013 our office has been cranking out claim packages for all of our clients so they fully comply with the terms and conditions of their flood policies.  One of those tasks is the filing of the Proof of Loss, which to the layman can be as complex as building a house with no construction experience.  

For a third time, FEMA has extended the deadline for filing Superstorm Sandy NFIP flood policy claims, 6 months to October 29, 2014. This is allowing policyholders who have supplemental claims or who have had repairs delayed due to code issues or other situations to gather the proper documentation.

As the 2014 Florida Legislative Session enters its final week, once again there are insurance industry backed proposals that will impact public adjusters and their ability to advocate for the policyholder. A purposed amendment was added to a bill in the house this past week seeking to limit the rates public adjusters can charge for their services……something that was debated by this same group last year.

As we approach the midpoint for this year’s legislative session in Tallahassee, things are not looking good for a key piece of legislation championed by Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater.  Briefly, his push for a policyholder’s “Bill of Rights” came out of a number of formal meetings chaired by the then DFS consumer advocate.  The meetings were held by an eclectic group of stakeholders who had an interest in the adjusting process ostensibly to air issues that policyholders were complaining about following a loss.

The latest Journal of Public Adjusting, Volume 4 Issue 2, prompted this blog.  Appeal Efforts Results in Unfavorable Ruling for Dominick Belinchak highlights the long and I assume costly battle Mr. Belinchak, (a licensed public adjuster) has waged with the Florida Department of Financial Services over the issue of the “undefined term of direct supervision” of a public adjuster apprentice.

A four-page unsolicited letter I received last week from an attorney filled me in on some of the inner workings of the powers to be in Tallahassee and reminded me of this famous line from the Forrest Gump movie. This letter was like a box of chocolates as each paragraph revealed something new. Apparently, he has been following some of my writings, specifically about the reduction in coverage for the  water peril, the most frequent cause of losses for property damage and wanted to give me some background on how this all went down. 

The House finally came to its senses last week and amended the 2012 Biggert-Waters act by scaling back flood insurance rate increases. This is not only good news for longtime homeowners in coastal areas but also will help revive the real estate market which made some homes too expensive due to substantial flood rate increases. Amongst the positive changes are that new homeowners will not have to immediately pay full rates and those long time residents holding existing policies will see more gradual increases.