2,390,620
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.
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Eileen Burns 954.483.3912
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Kris Collis, Associate...
East Stroudsburg, PA
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Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - W...
St. George, UT
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Kathleen Daniels, Prob...
San Jose, CA
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Roy Kelley
Gaithersburg, MD
378,517
know your policy before it happens.
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Debbie Gartner
White Plains, NY
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
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Roy Kelley
Gaithersburg, MD
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Pete Xavier
Pacific Palisades, CA
4,936,705
I hope our friends in Florida can file and get a respond fast.
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Eileen Burns 954.483.3912
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Diana Zaccaro Broker A...
Cocoa Beach, FL
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Roy Kelley
Gaithersburg, MD
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
3,125,842
Call the insurance agent first, proceed from there. That is what I'd say, Fred.
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Debbie Gartner
White Plains, NY
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Diana Zaccaro Broker A...
Cocoa Beach, FL
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Roy Kelley
Gaithersburg, MD
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
3,345,091
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!
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Kris Collis, Associate...
East Stroudsburg, PA
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - W...
St. George, UT
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
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Kathleen Daniels, Prob...
San Jose, CA
7,836,139
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.
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Kris Collis, Associate...
East Stroudsburg, PA
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Brian L. Sirota, Esq.
Orange, CA
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Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - W...
St. George, UT
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Kathleen Daniels, Prob...
San Jose, CA
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
2,781,173
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
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Eileen Burns 954.483.3912
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
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Richie Alan Naggar
Riverside, CA
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
821,135
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
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
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Diana Zaccaro Broker A...
Cocoa Beach, FL
1,090,872
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.
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Eileen Burns 954.483.3912
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
900,128
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.
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
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Roy Kelley
Gaithersburg, MD
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
763,883
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.
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Eileen Burns 954.483.3912
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
5,216,409
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!
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
6,393,609
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.
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL
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Bob "RealMan" Timm
Minot, ND
2,817,671
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
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Fred Griffin Florida R...
Tallahassee, FL