Category: Fema Insurance Payments

According to the Palm Beach Post, with Florida only one and a half months away from the next hurricane season, less than 57 percent of Hurricane Irma insurance claims have been closed with insurance payments, leaving many home and business owners at a loss, wondering if they will ever hear back on their insurance claims, and whether perhaps those claims will be denied due to the $8.6 billion backlog on them.

In addition, industry officials recently acknowledged that they may have underpaid on tens of thousands of claims they declared closed after September. For example, Florida state-run Citizens Property Insurance just reopened more than 24,000 Hurricane Irma claims to review as more information has become available.

With so many Florida property owners feeling abandoned and on their own, insurance companies are now concerned about litigation. In particular, it is of concern that many claims are declared closed in the first place, only to be reopened once legal concerns are expressed.

Following the significant damage that Hurricane Irma inflicted on the state of Florida, storm damage and recovery is a major priority on the Florida legislature’s agenda this year. The session opened on January 9^th, with the Florida House focusing on storm preparations and recovery, and the Senate on economic damage.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane Irma caused $50 billion total in damages, with more than $7 billion in property damage claims filed in Florida alone.

Hurricane Victims & Unfair Treatment by Insurers

As discussed by a Forbes article, homeowners and others in Florida filing claims from Hurricane Irma can continue to “expect storm clouds ahead” in terms of these claims being fairly addressed.

Most of the claims related to Hurricane Irma are linked to wind damage; specifically: 300,000 for wind and an estimated 150,000 for flood damage, totaling around $40 billion for these alone. Insurers have reportedly been steadily increasing hurricane wind coverage deductibles and setting new limits on payouts, shifting much of the cost onto the homeowner in the form of a clause or phrase buried in the paperwork that those purchasing the policies likely did not know about. These clauses are known as “anti-concurrent causation clauses,” which remove coverage for wind damage if an “uninsured flood” occurs at the same time, and they are virtually impossible to find and comprehend within insurance policies.

You may not realize that, even as of early February, Florida still technically has 17 weeks left of hurricane season, with more and more potential property damage looming. As a result, emergency management officials in Sarasota and surrounding areas are scrambling to put lessons learned after Irma into practice to get ahead of more damage that could be coming to the state of Florida.

Two-thirds of hurricane-related deaths occur due to flooding and storm surge. Some of this organizing involves identifying which buildings can serve as emergency shelters, as well, as how evacuation centers are opened to the public and are both wheelchair-accessible and pet friendly.

Applying For Funding

What does this mean for all of the property damage, and the many individuals dealing with filing insurance claims, and either having those claims denied or delayed? Sarasota County is reportedly in line to receive $8 million in state mitigation funding to make structures more resilient in general.

Even three months later, Hurricane Irma and corresponding hurricane insurance claim denials here in Florida are affecting businesses and negatively impacting tourism. While the Florida Keys in particular typically attract more than three million visitors a year—especially right around after Christmas is over—many of the big resorts remain closed after Hurricane Irma. And when hotels are closed, subsequent businesses—such as restaurants—also suffer.

Irma was Florida’s first major hurricane since 2004-2005, and left millions of Floridians without electricity; causing widespread damage; especially in the agricultural industry.

Hurricane Irma’s Cost to Florida

Hurricane Irma left its financial mark on the state of Florida: The category four hurricane caused more than $500 million in damages and destroyed more than 1,100 homes. Many of the properties that were damaged but not entirely destroyed are projected to remain closed until at least next fall, and many business owners have projected that it could take a full year or more to recover their losses.

Florida, like Texas and Puerto Rico, has been through a busy hurricane season that has been extremely difficult on residents: just as of September, there were five major hurricanes ranked at category three or higher in strength, 13 named storms, and eight hurricanes total in the Atlantic.

Hurricane Irma caused multi-billion-dollar losses, which includes approximately $20 billion in wind damage in Florida alone. Estimates for flood damage still have not been estimated, although the Office of Insurance Regulation documented more than $5 billion in private insurance claims for flooding and wind. A whopping 47 out of 67 of Florida’s counties were part of the disaster declaration.

Higher Rates, Permanently

Due to insurance deductibles, it is still unclear just how much Florida property owners will have to shoulder on their own. In addition, there is no question that impacts from this year’s storms will have an effect on private insurance rates. The last estimate indicated that 773,000 private insurance claims were filed due to Irma alone; this includes close to 99,000 for Miami-Dade, more than 63,000 in Broward County, close to 63,000 in Orange County, and almost 60,000 in Lee County.

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.