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Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate, Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker (Fred Griffin Real Estate)

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Rainmaker
2,390,620
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

Obviously I would not be familiar with FL State law BUT I am familiar with a natural disaster as we were flooded out in 2011. Our insurance agent was great Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate and the adjuster was fair but slow. Most companies paid fast here BUT...

While we had flood insurance for 10 years (and didn't live in a flood plain) we received payment later then those who had no insurance who got very generous checks from the government.

That in it self was very irritating, it felt like we were being punished for having the foresight to buy insurance when those who did not got big checks for their loss. We got nothing from the federal government and we had to wait longer.

Sep 29, 2022 08:11 AM
Rainer
378,517
Don Baker
Lane Realty - Eatonton, GA
Lake Sinclair Specialist

know your policy before it happens.

Sep 29, 2022 11:10 AM
Rainmaker
4,936,705
Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

I hope our friends in Florida can file and get a respond fast.

 

Sep 29, 2022 09:08 AM
Ambassador
3,125,842
Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can!
Red Rock Real Estate (435) 632-9374 - St. George, UT
St. George Utah Area Residential Sales Agent

Call the insurance agent first, proceed from there. That is what I'd say, Fred.

Sep 29, 2022 09:06 AM
Ambassador
3,345,091
Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

The only advice I would give anyone regarding this is to contact an attorney well-versed in that arena. 

I was a litigating paralegal during the 1989 California earthquake. Insurance companies were well known to ignore claims. People had to lawyer up. 

I've had situations where my agent could not help claiming it was a corporate policy and there was nothing she could do about it.  Yes, I then changed insurance agents! 

Sep 29, 2022 08:33 AM
Rainmaker
7,836,139
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

They should first seek advice from their insurance agent.

Biden announced that uninsured home owners can receive Federal assistance up to $37,900 for damages plus up to $37,900 for personal property losses, including vehicles.

Sep 29, 2022 08:19 AM
Rainmaker
2,781,173
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

You are going up against an established, well-prepared business that makes money by saving money. They have hundreds of thousands of claims history with or without court vetting to help them in their stand against paying. Small print, which is updated frequently as well as riders and disclosures all compliment their position. When contacting these people, instant bias and prejudice is upon you. Watch what you say and what you do and refuse to give recorded testimony. They also are the masters of trick questions that are designed to get you to reveal and be the source of your own claim denial. I cannot emphasize this enough. What to do? Follow their procedures, keep good notes with time, date and what was said. Pictures are respected in disputes so take many. I have lawyer training which comes in most handy and is even, in some cases, mandatory. Third party adjusters must be credentialed and experienced but if challenged will only result in a neutral adjuster or inspector or doctor being appointed. You do not get to go back and change things on this journey. People who have been there before you and can point the way to go and not go are worth their weight in gold. Knock on doors, ask neighbors & gather data. When an adjuster sees you are not prey, the claim favors you

Sep 29, 2022 11:33 AM
Rainmaker
821,135
Eileen Burns 954.483.3912
Trans State Commercial Realty Inc. - Fort Lauderdale, FL
FLorida Real Estate Connector

Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate my condo assn did not file a claim after Hurricane Irma.  The deferred maintenance that resulted caused countless insurance claims to homeowners policies for water intrusion.  Assn claimed: not new impact windows, your windows were not sealed, the neighbor above did not replace windows and so forth.

At a Board of Director meeting, I asked about filing a claim and was told we did not meet the deductible for the claim and it would be pointless.

 

Nevertheless, the assn were remiss in making necessary repairs that resulted in deferred maintenance and a day of reckoning for repairs.

A different BOD attempted to engage a Public Adjuster but unit owners we remiss in allowing access.

Now we all received an insurance invoice with a 20% increase which was not part of the approved operating budget and had to pay an assess to cover the increase.  Not only my condo but many along our coast and iland

Oct 01, 2022 11:09 AM
Rainmaker
1,090,872
Diana Zaccaro Broker Associate
ZOOM Realty Group - Cocoa Beach, FL
"The Accidental Blogger" Cocoa Beach, Florida

1. Take lots of pictures. If you have photos or video of interior/exterior, you can show before and after.

 

Read the exclusions in your policy before contacting your agent so you can ask intelligent questions both about your HO claim and flood insurance claim (which I read only 18% of the homes in that area carried flood insurance).

 

Your insurance agent is NOT your friend and an adjuster will be assigned so state only the facts and try to stay calm. Keep notes of all conversations, names, dates, times and write down your questions as they come to mind.

 

2. If by third party adjuster you mean public adjuster, IMO they are a good thing to stay away from. They will tell you they can get you a larger settlement BUT they take a percentage of it for their fee so you don't really come out ahead. And IMHO, they are part of the reason the insurance industry in FL has reached crisis stage.

 

Unless the claim is very complicated or high dollar, I don't recommend a lawyer since they will also charge a fee which will diminish the amount of settlement you receive.

 

We have had one claim in 40+ years (not hurricane related) and the insurance company was terrible, everyone from the adjuster to customer service did nothing to move our claim and we had a contractor awaiting payment.

 

I finally called the Helpline at the insurance commission, and they were wonderful, had the situation investigated and eventually got it settled. It's a free service and when I called all they asked was my zip code and if either of us was 65 or over so they can track trends.  Florida Insurance Commissioner

 

One problem I had was the adjuster tried to charge us two deductibles, one for the claim and one for loss of use since we had to move out while the repairs were done so watch for things like that.

 

Make sure that the settlement funds are in an actual check form. When they finally sent the settlement check and I deposited it, I learned it was not actually a check but a bank draft and would not clear our bank for at least seven business days! Another delaying tactic...

 

3. It is almost impossible to challenge a rate increase these days and we have been fortunate not to see big increases in our HO premium so I can't help you with that.

Sep 30, 2022 10:11 PM
Rainmaker
900,128
Olga Simoncelli
Veritas Prime, LLC dba Veritas Prime Real Estate - New Fairfield, CT
CONSULTANT, Real Estate Services & Risk Management

It may be too late for that, but it's always advisable to choose an insurance company with a good reputation and payment history. For example, USAA is great with claims. They've paid auto repair companies before the work was even done.

Sep 29, 2022 11:45 AM
Rainmaker
763,883
Tony Lewis
Summit Real Estate Group - Valencia, CA
Summit Real Estate Group Valencia & Aliso Viejo

I would check with FEMA to see what they are offering.  The Federal Government will get involved with any rate increases.  My first call would be to my insurance agent and go on from there.

Sep 29, 2022 10:44 AM
Rainmaker
5,216,409
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Contact your agent first. Depending on the severity of the damage, a third party insurance adjuster may be the way to go. Still not getting results, attorney up!

Sep 30, 2022 04:09 AM
Ambassador
6,393,609
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

My advice, MOVE.

Never ending storms, getting worse with climate change, I would not want to live anywhere near there.

And I can understand why insurance companies would be nervous about doing business there.

 

Sep 29, 2022 01:49 PM
Rainmaker
2,817,671
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

In my experience, helping a lot of homeowners w/ insurance claim and also observing who gets the best deal/most coverage:

1) Know your insurance coverage well before (homeowner's and flood insurance, etc. are very different and FEMA/hurricane/disaster etc.very different.  Also, see if power outage impacts coverage.

2) If you need mitigaton services, call right away otherwise it there will be 2 week waiting list and I think mold can develop in 48 hours

3) For big damage, usually public adjusters get the most recouped fir the homeowner. This is their area of expertise.

4) doesn't hurt to ask around

Oct 02, 2022 01:39 PM