Hurricane Damage is composed of multiple elements. A quick partial list includes the actual loss, the code loss (damages due to the need to comply with new code requirements to rebuild, typically flood and wind related), loss of business income, tax loss, SBA/FEMA justification to participate in programs. These damages are covered by different forms of insurance and government programs, such as flood insurance.

The first step in addressing damage is to determine the types of damage and their extent, which is dealt with during the adjusting phase. The second is to determine where coverage may be obtained. Historically, there is a 385% average increase in the value of the claim where the property owner has their own attorney/adjuster team.

The cost of this initial team may be only 10-20%, so it has a very low cost to result yield.  A larger fee is associated with post-offer claims, which is largely due to the difficulty in convincing the insurance company that their original estimate is too low.  While the same historical increases are seen in the value of the claim, it takes much longer and often involves litigation, which will inevitably require legal counsel.  For larger claims, it is important to have the claim adjusted before the insurance company takes the position that their original estimate is correct. Your insurer is not in a hurry to pay you the full value of your claim, so having a Florida hurricane lawyer in your corner to be your advocate usually proves to be one of the most effective strategies of getting paid and maximizing your claim value. 

1. What are the deadlines? As of July 1, 2021, under revised Fla. Stat. §. 627.70132, a policyholder must give notice of a home damage claim within two years from the date of the loss. Normally, the deadline to submit a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) Proof of Loss is within 60 days of the loss.

2. Why is insurance bad faith?  While bad faith conduct or out-of-date software does occur, these are not the primary reasons for low appraisals.  These catastrophic events burden the entire insurance industry, particularly where there are multiple storms in one year.  As a result, claim adjusters are often brought in from remote locations, are often poorly trained, overburdened and uninformed about local building codes. Bad faith may also include:

• Offers undervalued estimates
• Attempts to force you to settle under another insurance policy
• Tells you that you do not need an attorney to resolve your claim
• Requires a written release of additional claims as a condition for insurance settlement

Quite plainly, insurance companies are in the business of increasing their profits and mitigating their own losses, at your expense. 

3. What if I have questions about coverage? Your attorney can better define the issues and present the client’s position, which an insurance adjuster may flat out ignore. Our mission is to provide superior settlement results while delivering quality legal representation through our proven claims adjustment process. 

4. What do attorneys and adjusters do? What is my claim worth? We provide a team of Florida hurricane attorneys and public adjusters.  The attorneys are your advisors, advocates, and litigants.  The attorney’s job, once retained, is to make sure your insurance claim is protected by adjustment, appraisal and, if necessary, through filing a lawsuit.

The “adjuster” is the person that determines the amount of money you should receive for your property damage. But our team does more! Our adjusters put together professional claims packages, review insurance policies with your florida hurricane attorney, and negotiate with the insurers to try to get an agreement that is acceptable to the insured.

A recent OPAGGA (Office of Program and Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) study in the State of Florida showed that public adjusters negotiate up to 747% larger insurance company settlement for commercial business and home owner insurance property loss claims than the insurance company was planning to pay out. Public adjusters, however, cannot litigate against your insurer and therefore cannot file a lawsuit on your behalf. 

5. What is my role in this insurance claims process? First and foremost, we cannot represent you without a signed representation agreement. We can furnish this upon request, however, we need to look over the damage to your properties. Second, we’ll need copies of policies and all associated documentation. We need to know who your agents and insurers are to get the process started.

6. Once we have your information, what do we do? (1) Review your policy coverage to determine the benefits you are entitled to; (2) Inform you of additional legal issues you should consider; (3) Inspect the loss immediately and thoroughly document your damages; (4) Properly file your claim with your insurance company (5) Prepare inventories; (6) Determine business loss (this may require we review accounting records including tax returns); (7) Analyze Business Interruption, Loss of Rents, Loss of Use, or Additional Living Expenses; (8) Compile a detailed scope of work to repair, rebuild, re-code, restore your property; (9) We can also provide on-the-ground assistance to mitigate the loss, which is a policy requirement.

After you claim is filed we act as your claims consultant and coordinator throughout the process, until your claim is settled. If it becomes prudent to file a lawsuit against your insurer, then we are already positioned to do so. 

7. Are there other legal issues?  A plethora of legal issues can arise besides property damage and we can assist you in this regard.  Perhaps a class action related to the claim has been filed.  We can negotiate your way through that process and determine whether you need to be in or out of the class action or whether it’s in your best interest to file your own independent action.

8. What if you already have a public adjuster?  We can easily work with your existing public adjusters. Remember, public adjusters are limited to adjusting your claims. Issues with policy determinations and denials are better handled by a competent Florida hurricane attorney who is more familiar with the legal issues surrounding insurance claims, including the filing of a lawsuit against your insurer should it become necessary.

9. What if you already submitted your claim?  We can pick up right where you left off and ensure that the claim you filed has all of the information needed to timely resolution. It is not uncommon for insureds to file their own claims and then realize months later that they aren’t making any progress with their insurance company. Again, issues with policy determinations, coverages, and flat out denials are better handled by a competent Florida hurricane attorney who is more familiar with the legal issues surrounding insurance claims, including the filing of a lawsuit against your insurer should it become necessary.

10. Additional questions? In the event you have any other questions in connection with this please let us know and please understand that unless we specifically take on a specific case with a letter of representation, there is no established attorney-client relationship and we have not agreed to take on representation.