Archive: December 2017

Unfortunately, hurricane season was catastrophic this year. Because of warming sea temperatures, those like Harvey and Irma have triggered devastating and widespread flooding, with nearly 6.5 million people or a third of Florida’s population having to evacuate.

Thousands of Floridians are already having to apply for temporary disaster unemployment relief claims with the State due to Irma, most of them in Broward, Keys, and Miami-Dade counties. Residents are able to receive up to $275 per week for up to 26 weeks through March of 2018 through the Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program. This past year, the State had extended the application deadline to October 31.

But what about property damage? Most Floridians rely on their insurance companies to help address any property damage suffered after hurricanes. And yet, many insurance companies will insist that they cannot cover property damage that is due to flooding, even if you live in an area where flood insurance was neither mandatory nor recommended because it historically has not had flooding issues.

To say that many Florida families have been waiting for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Irma is an understatement: It has been over a month, and still, many families are waiting  for someone to come out and just inspect their flood-damaged homes so that they can move on and apply for assistance. While the agency arguably worked to address immediate needs, it has been completely inadequate at addressing the aftermath and in providing basic disaster assistance.

Many are now waiting for FEMA payments and/or have had their applications for assistance unjustly denied. One of the biggest issues is the backlog of properties to inspect, as citizens are not eligible to receive federal assistance until a FEMA inspector analyzes any damage done by the hurricane. Yet, as of now, the average wait for an inspection is one month in Florida, with some reportedly waiting more than 50 days. This has many, instead, placing their faith in filing effective insurance claims to try and rebuild their lives and properties after the disaster.

In some circumstances, FEMA is also empowered to authorize payments to policyholders even before inspections are done if the policyholder needs to cover an emergency expenditure (such as temporary housing) after the disaster.

HOA Contracts & Emergency Powers

The process of repairing and mitigating damages under programs like these can be very confusing. For example, while policyholders have an obligation to mitigate damages as much as they can, they are also told not to enter into any contracts without first running them by the homeowners’ association (HOA) and/or board first.

In addition, homeowners association should ensure that there are separate contracts for each unit and, if possible, have the owner of that unit separately contract for any emergency services such as water extraction from their unit. However, if this is not possible due to emergency circumstances, homeowners associations should exercise their rights under Florida law to ensure that any contract signed indicates that the HOA is only acting as an agent given the emergency circumstances. These powers are available on a very limited basis for the sake of protecting public health and safety.

As highlighted by this CNBC coverage, taking financial missteps during divorce can leave you in bad shape, especially if you and your ex’s finances are closely intertwined. It is crucial that you understand the implications of all the financial decisions being made, even if you are working with an attorney and/or financial advisor.

Below, we discuss some of the mistakes you’ll want to ensure that you avoid:

The Family Home & Liquid Assets

Many people going through divorce think about whether they should keep the family home for the sake of their kids and providing consistency and routine. However, it is important to note that the mortgage that you could once afford with two incomes may no longer be sustainable to stay in.

In addition, if you are offered the family home in exchange for your ex obtaining particular investments (such as the brokerage count or retirement savings), remember how costly keeping the house could be. It may not behoove you to take that trade.

One of the hardest hit areas near Irma’s landfall was Goodland, Florida, where the hurricane not only damaged properties, but permanently “condemned” several businesses, including several local restaurants. As a result, many businesses now have to look for new locations, and some are even collecting donations to rebuild in the community.

While many Floridians have committed themselves to helping some of their favorite establishments reopen by donating funds, many others wonder why these restaurants are facing hard times like these, given that all of them had insurance policies. Isn’t rebuilding as simple as filing an insurance claim?

Many who suffered damages from the recent storms felt that they had done their due diligence by having homeowners or windstorm coverage, as well as flood insurance.

However, having the insurance is just the beginning: filing the claims can turn into a full-time job, as business owners find themselves having to document every single loss and trying to negotiate fair settlements. Trying to do so with the assistance of an insurance attorney can inevitably spell lower payouts and difficulty getting back on your feet again. In addition, many restaurant businesses found that there were thousands of dollars in food costs that were not covered by insurance.

Florida property owners have thus far filed reportedly $2 billion in claims to their insurance companies seeking assistance for damage caused by Hurricane Irma. The storm was ranked as one of the most powerful to hit the Atlantic, and killed at least 33 people in the state of Florida alone.

It is crucial that insurance companies are prompt in responding to hurricane claims, as the more time that passes without access to their homes, the more unnecessary costs they experience. Your level of protection largely depends upon what protection your state offers you.

Yet, while the state of Florida’s two largest insurers—Universal Property & Casualty and State Farm—have indicated that they have plenty of resources to ensure that their clients are taken care of after the storm, thousands of people in Florida are reportedly being told that their insurance policies will not cover the losses they sustained, indicating that they may have a fight ahead of them in getting the protection they’ve already been paying for years.