by Zoltan Hovanyecz | May 15, 2015 | Florida Homeowners Insurance
This post discusses homeowners insurance policyholders’ rights, options and obligations when their homeowners insurance carrier invokes its right to repair (also known as option to repair) for a property damage insurance claim in Florida. Some of the Florida insurance companies currently engaging in the right to repair is People’s Trust, Florida Peninsula Insurance Company, Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and Prepared Insurance Company. Although the concept of right to repair has been around for quite some time, it is only in recent years that Florida insurance companies have begun making this process part of their everyday business practice.
When an insurance company invokes the right to repair, the insurance company repairs the damages caused to your property by using their own contractor or repairmen. In contrast, on a typical insurance claim where the right to repair is not invoked, the insurance company will just pay the policyholder directly for the dollar value of damage caused to the property. In typical insurance company fashion, by using their own contractors and repairmen, the insurance company can put more money in their own pockets rather than paying it to their policyholder. However, many times the right to repair process can result in:
- substandard repairs
- partial repairs such as resurfacing of materials rather than replacing with new materials
- a total lack of control over the repairs being performed by the insurance company
- unlawful repairs and repairs performed without permits
- lost time while the policyholder has to stay at home to monitor the insurance company’s repairs
Before agreeing to allow your insurance company to repair your property after a loss, it is important to know your legal rights and to make sure the repair is being performed properly and lawfully. If your insurance company has invoked the right to repair for your insurance claim, it is extremely important that you do not sign any documentation presented to you by the insurance company without first talking to an attorney and discussing your rights under your insurance policy.
At Schatzman & Hovanyecz, P.A. we are experienced in handling and litigating right to repair cases successfully, and many times we are able to secure a cash payment rather than allowing the insurance company to repair your home. Contact us for a free consultation regarding your right to repair insurance claim.
by Zoltan Hovanyecz | Apr 21, 2015 | Florida Homeowners Insurance
Do you know what your homeowners insurance policy actually covers?
You call your insurance agent, fill out an application, pay your premiums and years go by without any problems. So there’s no need to review your insurance policy or ask any questions, right?
Unfortunately, if the time comes when you do have to report a claim to your insurance company, before you pick up that phone, it’s important to know that your claim will be covered by your insurance policy. If you do not have the proper insurance policy in place before your loss, there is generally nothing you can do to correct this after damage occurs to your home.
It’s all too common that we run into policyholders who have to pay out of pocket for thousands of dollars of damage because they are either under-insured or have no coverage at all under their homeowner insurance policies. Some of the more surprising examples are insurance policies that only provide $1,000 of coverage or policies that totally exclude water damage. There are also other insurance policies known as “named perils” policies that only provide coverage for a limited number of losses such as fire, theft, volcanoes, and others. Under these types of policies, there is generally no coverage for water damage, plumbing failures, or hurricanes. This can be a major problem when a policyholder realizes this for the first time after reporting their claim to their insurer.
Many times, all it takes to get your policy in check is a quick call to your insurance agent. He or she will be able to answer your questions about what exact type of insurance policy you have and the different types of coverages afforded to you under your policy. Some questions you should ask your agent are:
- What type of policy do I have (H-03, H-06, H-08, etc.)?
- What are my policy limits?
- Do I have coverage for water damage?
- What are the limits to additional coverages (mold, ALE, etc.)?
- Will my current insurance company exercise their right to repair my home in the case of a covered loss?
Ask your agent to explain how the answer to each of these questions affects the coverage afforded to you under your current insurance policy. If you still have questions about your coverage, please contact our office and we will be happy to help.
by Zoltan Hovanyecz | Apr 21, 2015 | Florida Homeowners Insurance
Universal Property & Casualty Insurance reported record profits of
$17 million the second quarter of 2013. These are Universal’s highest net earnings since 2007. Compared to Universal’s profit of $7.8 million for the same quarter last year, Universal more than doubled their profits. Universal’s CEO, Sean Downes, stated that with “underwriting margins continuing to improve and a significantly better investment portfolio performance, we were able to more than double earnings over the second quarter of last year. With first half EPS growth of nearly 66 percent, we believe Universal is well positioned to continue implementing our strategic business plan.”What is Universal’s strategic business plan? Is it simply increasing homeowner insurance premiums by over 14% in February, or engaging in improper claims practices (discussed in our prior blog post
here) resulting in substantial windfalls to Universal? Either way, when you are making $17 million a quarter utilizing a “strategic business plan,” a $1.3 million dollar fine is pocket change.A link to Universal Property & Casualty’s official press release can be found
here.
