Policyholder Question: Insurance Claim Repair Delays

Policyholder Question: Insurance Claim Repair Delays

Q. How can we make sure our insurance company is moving ahead with our repairs, etc?  Right now, everything seems to be on hold until they can get a joint inspection with our contractor's insurance company. Our house has been sitting for over a week with no heat, no electricity, etc., while we wait for this joint subrogation inspection.


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Policyholder Question: Can I Refuse Cleaning and Inventory Services from my Insurer?

Here is an insurance claim question that we answered as a contributing member of insurance claim experts for United Policyholders who advocates for property owners. 

Q. Can the insurance company force you to use an outside vendor to inventory your personal contents rather than allow you to do it yourself?  Can you refuse cleaning and inventory services that an adjuster is trying to make you use?


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The 2014 Florida Legislative Session and the Insured Property Owners Bill of Rights Legislation

As we approach the midpoint for this year’s legislative session in Tallahassee, things are not looking good for a key piece of legislation championed by Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater.  Briefly, his push for a policyholder’s “Bill of Rights” came out of a number of formal meetings chaired by the then DFS consumer advocate.  The meetings were held by an eclectic group of stakeholders who had an interest in the adjusting process ostensibly to air issues that policyholders were complaining about following a loss.


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The DFS and Public Adjuster Apprentices – Whose Advice can you Trust?

The latest Journal of Public Adjusting, Volume 4 Issue 2, prompted this blog.  Appeal Efforts Results in Unfavorable Ruling for Dominick Belinchak highlights the long and I assume costly battle Mr. Belinchak, (a licensed public adjuster) has waged with the Florida Department of Financial Services over the issue of the “undefined term of direct supervision” of a public adjuster apprentice.


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Public Adjuster Frank Fortson Helps Family Deal with Fire Loss Claim Denial

Our congratulations go out to public adjuster Frank Fortson who we are proud to part of the Tutwiler group. Frank was recently featured on WPTV News in West Palm Beach related to a duplex fire that caused smoke damage to the family’s residence. What would seem like an obvious claim to most people was surprisingly being disputed. 

We encourage you to watch the video so you can see what we find so rewarding about helping home and business owners with their property insurance claims.

If you have questions regarding any property insurance claim related issues please call 800.321.4488 or contact us to submit a question to one of our public adjuster or insurance claim experts.


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Florida Property Insurance Claims - Life is Like a Box of Chocolates, You Never Know What You’ll Get

A four-page unsolicited letter I received last week from an attorney filled me in on some of the inner workings of the powers to be in Tallahassee and reminded me of this famous line from the Forrest Gump movie. This letter was like a box of chocolates as each paragraph revealed something new. Apparently, he has been following some of my writings, specifically about the reduction in coverage for the  water peril, the most frequent cause of losses for property damage and wanted to give me some background on how this all went down. 


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Flood Legislation – Hope for Florida Property Insurance Policyholders

The House finally came to its senses last week and amended the 2012 Biggert-Waters act by scaling back flood insurance rate increases. This is not only good news for longtime homeowners in coastal areas but also will help revive the real estate market which made some homes too expensive due to substantial flood rate increases. Amongst the positive changes are that new homeowners will not have to immediately pay full rates and those long time residents holding existing policies will see more gradual increases.


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What do you do when an insurance company exercises their right to repair?

This question was asked of us the other day and since it is rarely encountered in the everyday world of property insurance adjusting, I wanted to share it given our experience with “the option to repair tactic” that we’ve seen used by the insurance carriers. First, a little background on this controversial clause found in most property insurance policies.
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Ice Dams Frozen Gutters – Their Baaaack!

Ice Dams Frozen Gutters – Their Baaaack!

Given the serious ice conditions hitting the Houston area and the frozen Northeast, we want to thank roofing expert Mr. Andrew Smith, Director of Field Operations at Roof Leak Detection Co. for contributing this very good explanation of ice dams and the resulting roof leaks and water damage it can cause. The damage this causes is a long-term issue for policyholders as the damage you incur this winter can show up during summer windstorms. These losses can become complicated insurance claims that require the policyholder to prove the cause of loss when water infiltrates the interior of the home.


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Flood Maps & Flood Insurance Hit Homeowners in Unexpected Ways

Flood Maps & Flood Insurance Hit Homeowners in Unexpected Ways
Today’s NPR article: Overhaul Of A FEMA Program Has Homeowners Calling Congress discusses the dire consequences new FEMA flood maps in conjunction with the newly implemented NFIP flood insurance rates is having. An issue not talked about is the requirement for communities who opted into the flood coverage program to follow the mitigation requirements established by FEMA/NFIP, which are strictly enforced. So new construction or substantially remodeled homes must comply with the newly revised flood map elevation height requirements.
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"On Property" Insurance Claim Tips Blog

Tips and advice about how to properly file and protect your property damage insurance claim and get a fair settlement. We invite all readers to ask questions about their claim so our public adjusters can post answers for others to benefit. Insurance claim expert guest bloggers welcome to submit posts via our contact form.

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Local Office

Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters, Inc.
Licensed Public Insurance Adjusters & Loss Consultants
Offices: Tampa, Orlando, Palm City, Ft. Myers, Florida; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA

Executive Office
4300 W. Cypress St.
Suite 780
Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: 813.287.8090
Toll Free: 800.321.4488

Licensed in Florida # W840088 &
Texas #1399706 plus 16 other states
and the Virgin Islands