How Soon Must You Report Your Property Insurance Claim to Your Insurance Company?

by | Jul 24, 2015 | Florida Homeowners Insurance, Florida Insurance

In Florida, most homeowners insurance policies contain a clause stating how soon a policyholder is required to report their insurance claim to the insurance company.  Although each insurance policy differs slightly regarding notice to the insurance company, most policies consist of essentially the same reporting requirement. When a loss occurs a policy holder must:

give prompt notice to us or our agent
Just about every homeowners insurance policy contains this requirement and almost all of them use the word “prompt.”  Unfortunately, insurance policies do not define what constitutes “prompt” notice and as a result, whether an insurance claim is considered to have been reported “promptly” very much depends on the facts of each claim.

For example, during hurricane Wilma, many policyholders suffered damage to their roofs that was not immediately noticeable so these policyholders did not file insurance claims.  It is not until sometime later that the policyholder’s roof would begin to leak from the damage caused by the hurricane.  Because of this, some policyholders first reported their hurricane Wilma claim to their insurance company months and sometimes years after hurricane Wilma came through Florida.  These “late reported” claims resulted in years of litigation in Florida Courts regarding what constitutes “prompt” notice and whether the insurance company is required to pay for the insurance claim when the notice is not “prompt.”

Reporting of Non-Hurricane Related Insurance Claims

For typical property insurance claims that do not result from hurricane damage, such as plumbing leaks, fires, drain backup, etc., “prompt” has been interpreted by Florida courts, in the most simplest sense, to mean that you must report your claim such that the insurance company is not prevented from conducting a full independent investigation and determination of coverage for your insurance claim under your insurance policy. Florida courts typically refer to this concept as “prejudice”, and depending on how “prompt” your reporting was, prejudice may be presumed against you and you may be required to prove that the reporting of your insurance claim did not “prejudice” the insurance company. For a full discussion of the legal standard for “prejudice”, you can read the Third District Court of Appeals case of Hope v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here. Some of the things that may considered “prejudicial” to the insurance company are:

  • Repairs made to the home such that the insurance company cannot inspect the damages that existed at the time of the loss
  • Discarding plumbing parts, pipes, or damaged building materials making them unavailable for inspection by the insurance company
  • Failing to protect the property from additional damage resulting in further damage that makes it impossible for the insurance company to inspect the damages as they existed at the time of loss

Although these factors may make it more difficult to recover from the insurance company, they do not necessarily preclude you from doing so. Contact us for a free evaluation of your claim.

Reporting of Hurricane Related Insurance Claims

Since hurricane Wilma, the Florida legislature has created Fla. Stat. § 627.70132 which specifically address the time in which an insurance claim involving damage from a hurricane must be reported to the insurance company:

A claim, supplemental claim, or reopened claim . . . for loss or damage caused by the peril of windstorm or hurricane is barred unless notice of the claim . . . was given to the insurer . . . within 3 years after the hurricane first made landfall or the windstorm caused the covered damage.

If you have any questions about your insurance claim, please contact us.

The Insurance Company’s Right to Repair and Option to Repair; What are Your Rights and Options?

by | 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.

Are You Covered? Not So Fast: Your Policy May Leave You Exposed

by | 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:

  1. What type of policy do I have (H-03, H-06, H-08, etc.)?
  2. What are my policy limits?
  3. Do I have coverage for water damage?
  4. What are the limits to additional coverages (mold, ALE, etc.)?
  5. 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.

Universal Property Doubles Profits After $1.3 Million Fine

by | 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.