Tag: Hurricane Claims

September 10 marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma and the devastation it left in Florida. As we circle back to this date, it is crucial for a number of families and businesses that experienced damages due to the hurricane to think about potential hurricane claims, insurance policies, and deadlines to recover benefits.

After Irma, many businesses were simply focused on getting back up and running again. Filing an insurance claim was, for many, an overwhelming task to add to the chaos, especially given the many questions that had to first be answered before the claim could even be filed; questions such as: what losses can/should be claimed, under what provisions, am I covered for flood issues, etc. This only became more complicated by the many responses received by insurance companies, which sometimes refused to honor claims altogether—indicating that the policyholder had no coverage—for unclear reasons.

Sadly, many Florida homeowners and condominium associations are being given the same disappointing answer from their insurance companies after suffering significant damage from Hurricane Irma: the insurance company thinks that patchwork repairs are enough to fix the problem, while contractors indicate that a complete replacement is necessary.

Unfortunately, these battles are now preventing many from moving forward and getting property damage addressed, leading to many to turn to attorneys to assist with ensuring that the insured’s rights under the insurance policy are enforced.

One of the most common issues we hear about is being provided different instructions by different people from the insurance companies, and having to resend flood insurance claims several times as a result. Although many insurance agents sell these flood policies, a lot of them still do not have experience with the national flood insurance, which can lead to issues later on in getting claims addressed.

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.

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.