As part of the national news coverage of the Dunedin, Florida sinkhole collapse, many questions were brought up about the laws governing sinkhole insurance coverage. It was apparent many homeowners and even some media were confused. As part of the coverage Tutwiler & Associates public adjuster Keith Grams was interview by NBC national news. We…
The catastrophic sinkhole that opened up in Dunedin, Florida has brought attention to limits of the new law that was passed in 2011 by the Florida Legislature. This law made it extremely difficult for homeowners to get proper coverage or alternatively pay a hefty price for a very limited sinkhole policy. Many of the changes are not good…
“At Citizens, lawyers win, public loses” was the Tampa Bay Times featured editorial headline on Friday, September 27, 2013. This followed an earlier article in the Times “Citizens racks up millions in attorney’s fees and it denies claims” exposing the astronomical legal fees that have been paid to both plaintiff lawyers (policyholders advocates) and defense lawyers who represent the…
As pointed out in the recent Herald Tribune article: Citizens Poised to Further Cull Policies, “Florida State insurance regulators are expected to approve the removal of nearly 600,000 Citizens customers from the state’s largest property insurer, which now covers some 1.2 million policyholders,” and many Tallahassee politicians are celebrating. But before you celebrate, consider the double edged…
A recent phone call with one of my Naples clients prompted me to think about the coming storm for property owners in the Sunshine State. Like a natural hurricane, it looks like nothing man made will stop what is already in motion. My client, who has family and business connections in Virginia with deep roots and…
Almost daily we are reading in the print media about the push to depopulate Citizens Insurance Company, the State chartered (and for all practical purposes state run) insurance company. This insurance scheme was started to cover Florida homeowners when the big boys of the property insurance world cut and ran following some hurricane hits in…