On Property Insurance Claim Tips Blog

It’s been about 1 month since Winter Storm Uri unleashed a frozen fury leaving millions of Texans in the dark to survive deadly frigid temperatures and up to $130 Billion in estimated damages. The record cold triggered mass power outages crippling The Lone Star State’s largest cities from Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Austin, El Paso and down to Corpus Christi. Despite the frenzy of news media covering the Texas grid crisis, power company executive resignations, bankruptcy filings and lawsuits, little coverage has been given to property owners still suffering from water damage caused by the plumbing freezes, water pipe bursts, or the administrative delays processing property damage insurance claims. Many consumers are just now turning to their insurance agents to file new claims or express frustration about the slow claims process. The single biggest question many are asking is, will insurance cover their claims? 

Based on all the news from various media sources and real time reporting, this Texas weather event that caused power outages frozen pipe bursts and water damage is going to be a monster. Clients we have spoken with along with claim adjusters assigned to our losses are describing unprecedented conditions with damages to homes and buildings. How policyholders report and handle these claims will make a difference in the final outcome.

While we are assisting Condominium Associations and working with property managers trying to manage their Hurricane Sally insurance claim, this is about the time in the insurance claims settlement cycle that we start getting calls from property owners living in condos, who are looking for help following property damage to their building that impacted their unit. This often takes the form of damage to the unit owner’s property, including their personal property as well as items such as carpet, other types of floor covering, trim items such as door frames, baseboards, cabinets and the list goes on depending on the type and severity of the damage and the wording in their condominium documents. When a covered casualty event occurs, whether it is from wind, water, fire, or the dreaded “mold” word, the finger pointing starts and in many cases the unit owner is caught in the middle.

As the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Sally unfolds, thousands of businesses and homeowners who never considered the possibility of dealing with flood damage will be investigating the claim process. We will be sending a team of adjusters to the Pensacola area when authorities say it is safe to enter. So in order to offer assistance to our readers, I asked my talented staff of public adjusters to share some of the best tips they could think of for handling a flood claim. The following are some claim tips that hopefully will help folks should they have flood coverage or windstorm damage.

The case for and against coverage detailed in this Washington Post article about restaurants suing insurance companies over unpaid claims. Still looks grim for the insured in my view but worth seeing if your policy has the virus exclusion. These restaurants will be long gone by the time these lawsuits are resolved. Only hope is if Uncle Sam steps up. In my opinion, it’s not likely to happen. 40% or less has Business Interruption coverage so without BI coverage, 60% are out of luck based on these suits…….and then there is the coming hurricane season.

As government officials report the increasing financial losses due to the shutdown of most commercial businesses across the United States, people are desperate for some type of relief and understandably so. So, what to do? Time to look under the hood to see what’s really happening on the prospect of a loss of income claim from your insurance company. Assuming you had the good financial sense to buy Business Income coverage to cover your financial losses before the country and commerce was shut down. The go to place now for relief seems to focus on the private sector insurance industry in both the admitted and surplus lines market, the latter known as the E&S markets. Every day the media is full of press releases, articles, and op-ed articles positioning themselves on one side of the argument that private insurance carriers need to pay these claims, or to the contrary that they are not covered.

All of us at Tutwiler & Associates trust you and your families are staying well and safe in the midst of this dreadful Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. While our firm is doing our part to be “socially responsible” and keep our communities safe, many of our firm’s expert adjusters are actively working hard from the confines of their homes as we continue to field client inquiries and offer professional insurance claim assistance, guidance, and support. A few clients have called and emailed to inquire if there is an option for them to file an insurance claim including Business Interruption. Understandably, many business owners are just now combing through their insurance policies as they continue to look for ways to offset business income and financial losses.

Thank you to public adjuster Michael Platts who takes time out of his busy schedule every year to donate to Metropolitan Ministries. We are proud of our long affiliation with Mike as one of our senior large loss adjusters.

Thank you to Public Adjuster Mike Stabile for contributing this update on Hurricane Dorian recovery. It’s been over 3 months since Hurricane Dorian made its unprecedented and devastating landfall in the Bahamas catastrophically damaging Great Abaco, its barrier islands and Grand Bahama. The reports from our Public Insurance Adjusters who have visited the area multiple times is that damage recovery is challenged and moving slowly. Property damage aside, many have lost their lives. In speaking with the residents, the current “official death toll” is nowhere near what they believe the actual number will be, which could be in the thousands. Our thoughts are with the families still searching for their loved ones.

Q. If the home is a vacation home that is destroyed, are we entitled to ALE? The ALE coverage on the loss statement they sent us says zero but we are going to have to incur multiple airline trips and rental bills in order to set up demolition and then the complete rebuilding of our home. Hope you can help with this information.

A. Thank you for the question and just so you know this is a frequent problem for owners of second homes when there is a loss they must attend to.