On Property Insurance Claim Tips Blog

Q. Hurricane Irma caused damage to our home. No area contractors were able to do any interior repairs in a timely fashion. My wife and I have the skill sets to do drywall repairs, tiling, painting etc. Are we entitled to be reimbursed for our personal labor?

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Your property or business suffered damage during Hurricane Irma. You promptly filed a claim or had a public insurance adjuster document and file the claim for you. A check from the insurance company appears in the mail. Great! How easy could it be? But wait, there’s a catch…..on the back of your check there is language that states you are releasing the insurance company from any further costs related to the claim.

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The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum.

Q. We had a dishwasher leak into my cabinets and on my engineered hardwood floors. A claim was filed. Independent adjuster came out. When I got my estimates done they came out higher. Insurance already sent a check to us for 45kand repairs are at 65k. Now they want to send out a staff adjuster. My question is can they take money back if their staff adjuster doesn't come out with the same figures when they've already sent payment and notice? We did well on our first adjustment but I am worried that the second adjuster might not be as much in my favor.

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Throughout my career, I have always been amazed about the fact that financial institutions like mortgage companies, banks and credit unions, all who have a stakeholder’s interest in a property, (either through a mortgage or some type of financial interest or obligation) never seem to question a claim payment made by an insurance company following a loss. I realize they are in a unique position, either as an additional insured, lien holder, mortgage holder, bankruptcy receiver, etc., and their client, the insured, is supposed to be on the frontline looking out for their own financial wellbeing.  But it’s their security interest or in some cases a fiduciary responsibility that is at stake. So you would think they would have more than just a passive interest to confirm that a settlement on a property loss is correct and payment is in accordance with the policy and the facts of the loss. Read More

Reporter Andrea Senior of WTSP TV in Tampa recently did a story Single Mom Battles Insurance Co. After Fire on one of our clients who had filed a fire claim with St. John’s Insurance.  It’s unfortunate the media found this newsworthy, but the facts supporting the case and how this was impacting the family right before the Christmas holidays caught their attention.

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Q. If the mortgage company holds on to my insurance repair check and delays my ability to rebuild my damaged home by hanging onto my insurance check, is there an agency that regulates mortgage companies that I can file a complaint with? Policyholder from Ocala, FloridaRead More