Over the past few months, we have been helping businesses and homeowners try to settle their insurance claims from the extreme Winter Storm damage that has impacted enough property owners in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast & New England area that this storm rivals the damage done by other major storms we have worked.  As we’ve seen with past major storms with widespread damage, it is very apparent that the insurance company’s are overwhelmed and they are desperately looking for assistance to service all their policyholders who have made claims for their property damage.  Similar to hurricanes, the carriers have enlisted the help of many independent adjusters who have made the trip from as far away as Arizona to help them make inspections, write repair estimates, and make field calls before turning their files in and heading back home.  The issue with this is that most of these independent adjusters are assigned so many claims that there are simply not enough hours in the day for these adjusters to conduct a thorough inspection of the damage and then spend adequate time behind the computer to write a detailed repair estimate.
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As we transition into Spring, hail storms will cause severe property damage to roofs, siding, screen enclosures and any other structure within its path. As public adjusters, we consistently see insurance company claim adjusters minimizing the damage and trying to do patch work. This can lead to real differences of opinion between the policyholder and their insurance carrier as this denied hailstorm insurance claim at a church seen in the video below. While every claim is different and must be taken on its own merits based on the policy, our advice is to always enlist contractors and public adjusters who know the nuances of these claims and can negotiate fair settlements. Hail damage can be easy to miss and come back to haunt you. 

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A recent article, Boston Area Expects a Flood of Claims After Record Winter points to the growing recognition that some property owners are in for a fight when it comes to obtaining a fair settlement for their winter storm damage insurance claim. As one homeowner from Plymouth, Mass. put it, “It’s a part time job just trying to navigate it all.” As you will read in the article, too many people “hope” they will get a fair offer from their insurance company. Our general advice is that while working with your insurance company, remember that this is your claim. So don’t rely on the insurance company alone to tell you how much they will pay. Make sure you get independent estimates from contractors to confirm what it will take to fix the damage.

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The frigid weather and rain that has hit Boston and surrounding areas is generating more roof damage and ice dams with resulting water damage insurance claims. We’re also seeing fires related to old wiring that has been exposed by this weather.
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“At least it’s snowing.” This was in an email message I received from the manager of my client’s hotel in Kentucky. Hard to believe that given this winter’s bitter weather, ice and snow that a property management team would be glad it is snowing again! The back story on this is that all the buildup in ice and snow caused major damage to the roof at this destination resort. When the weather warmed up, things started to melt, then it started to rain and water poured into the interior causing damage to the resort from the damaged roof. Another cold front then turned the rain back into snow and this client is now grateful for the snow as the water intrusion has temporarily stopped. 
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After a scathing report about engineering fraud on 60 Minutes, it looks like FEMA is going to allow policyholders the ability to reopen all Superstorm Sandy insurance claims per a NPR report. As a licensed public insurance adjuster who represents policyholders and handled Sandy flood claims, it would be helpful to understood that the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) sets their own very rigorous and draconian adjusting practice that have lead to the situation we have here. As an example, NFIP will not allow for any discussion on the scope of the loss other than what their adjusters says was flood damaged. If there is a disagreement, then the dispute resolution process in the flood policy called appraisal cannot be used to determine scope issues, only price.

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As public adjusters, we continue to assist policyholders with property insurance claims after severe winter storms like we have experienced in Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other markets this winter. Roof collapse, ice dams, frozen pipes, water damage and yes even wind damage will be common occurrences. We’ve compiled some of the most commonly asked questions we get after these types of events and offer them below to help homeowners and businesses recover if they have a claim. Got a property insurance claim question? Send it to us or see our winter storm adjuster page. 

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An online poll published in the Boston Globe on Saturday, showed over 70% of Bostonians are rooting to break the record snow fall of 107.6 inches. To date, they are only 2 inches shy. Who would have guessed that with all the misery from snow, ice and freezing temperatures, that folks in Boston would be in the majority and want those extra few inches to best a 124-year National Weather Service record? 

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As I write this, I am sitting in LaGuardia airport waiting for a flight back to Florida.  I was called up to New York to meet with a prospective client who owns a building in Manhattan that has suffered structural damage due to a new building being constructed next door.   Florida’s tourism boom this year is apparent in New York; snow, ice, then freezing rain and back to snow with 6-8 inches predicted for the five boroughs of NYC.  Other parts of the country are predicted to get even more snow, then freezing temps. Clearly, northerners are flocking to Florida in droves trying to escape the brutal winter especially in the northeast. 

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It looks like the Florida Legislature has taken the first steps in properly addressing the Assignment of Benefits (AOB) issue that is creating insurance claim and other problems. For first time readers, AOB is when a policyholder assigns their claim benefits over to a contractor. 
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