How To File A Successful Insurance Claim After A Hurricane

1. HOW TO FILE ASUCCESSFUL INSURANCE CLAIM AFTER A HURRICANE By: Andrewknox |www.andrewknox.com

2. INTRODUCTION ThereisasortofhoneymoonperiodthatoccursafterabigstormlikeHurricaneSandy,wheninsuranceexecutivesappearonthelocalnewsoffering reassuringwords.Theirbrightlypaintedvanspullintoresidentialneighborhoodsamidthestandingwateranddebris.Everyoneishopeful.Handshakes and back-patting allaround. "However,thatperiodquicklyends.Pricesforroofersandconstructionmaterialswillrise,disadvantageousparsingofpolicylanguagewillcommenceand gangsofclass-actionlawyerswillroundupaggrievedclientswhostillhavemonthsofhomelessnessaheadofthem.Manyclaimswilltakeyearstosettle. Ithappenseverytime,andsoitwillwiththenextstorm.That’snottosaythatamajorityofpeoplewithinsuranceclaimswon’tbesatisfiedwiththecheck theyreceiveorwon’tgetonequickly." Butwhenthismanypeoplehaveextensivedamagetotheirmostsignificantasset,billionsofdollarsareatstakeforthecompaniesthathavethepowerto makethemwhole.Sothereisnoreasonforpolicyholderstobeanythingbutwaryuntiltheirownbigcheckclears. Many victims of Hurricane Sandy are novices when it comes to catastrophic insurance claims. So to see what sort of resistance they should expect shortly,Iturnedtothelawyersandadjusters-for-hirewhodonothingbutnegotiatewithinsurancecompaniesalldaylong.Someofthemusedtowork for the companies, infact. WWW.ANDREWKNOX.COM

3. THAT INDEPENDENTADJUSTER Backatheadquarters,otheradjustershavetheireyeonanexclusionthatwillbecrucialforthis storm,withitshorrificstormsurgesbutrelativelymildwinds:homeowner’sinsurancegenerally does not coverfloods. Unfortunately,manypeopledonotknowthisandmanymorehavenotpurchasedorrenewed policieswiththefederalfloodinsuranceprogramthatcoversupto$250,000offlooddamage. ResearchersfromtheWhartonRiskManagementandDecisionProcessesCenter,workingwith colleaguesatFloridaState,theUniversityofMiamiandColumbiaUniversity,surveyedpeoplein thestorm’spathbytelephonethreedaysbeforeithit. Amongpeoplewithinablockofabodyofwater,46percenthadnofloodinsurance.Inareasthat hadbeenevacuatedinpaststormsorwheretheauthoritiesadvisedpeopletoleave,58percent didnothaveit.Moreover,39percentofallthepeoplewhothoughttheydidhavefloodcoverage mistakenlybelievedthattheirhomeowner’sinsurancecoveredit. WWW.ANDREWKNOX.COM

4. Peoplewithoutcoveragebutlotsofdamagefromthestormsurgemightdooneofacoupleofthings.Afewstubbornoneswillsue,arguingthat ifthewinddrovethesurgethenit’snotreallyaflood.Judgeshaven’ttakenkindlytothislineofreasoningovertheyears,butthatprobablywon’t keeppeoplefromtryingagain.TheFederalEmergencyManagementAgencymayalsooffersomeassistance. Othersmaytrytoprovethatwinddamage,whichisgenerallycovered,wasresponsiblefortheloss.“Let’s saythehouseisgonecompletely,” saidLeslieL.Knox,apublicadjusterinTomsRiver,N.J.“Wasitblownoffthefoundation?Howsignificantlywasitdamagedpriortotheflooding event?”Often,noonecansayforsure,sinceeveryoneevacuated. Ifthehouseisnotatotalloss,youmaylookforotherclues.“We’llfindupper-levelstructuraltwisting,andtheinsurancecompanywillsaythat it’s from a flood,” said Mark Boardman, a public adjuster in Maitland, Fla. “But then we’ll find that upstairs is twisted but not the ground.”Then, there’stheconcurrentcausationclausethathascreptintopoliciesinrecentyears.Here,insurancecompaniesrefusetocoveranythingifone thingthatcausesdamage(likewind)isinsuredbutanother(likeaflood)isnotandbothseemtohavehappenedatthesametime.“I’msurethis willbelitigatedagain,butwewon’tknowthatforthreeorfourmoreweeks,”saidMr.HunteroftheConsumerFederationofAmerica. WWW.ANDREWKNOX.COM

5. REPLACE ANDREPAIR Aftermoststormsofthissize,pricesrise.Theremaybeashortageofbuilding materials,forinstance,orthehigher-qualitymaterialsmaygetmoreexpensive. After two hurricanes in Florida, contractors turned to Chinese drywall several yearsago,whichendedupmakingpeoplesick. Your policy may call on your insurance company to pay for materials equivalenttowhatyouneedtoreplace,oritmaymerelyrequiresimilarones. But make sure its estimates reflect the new market price, lest you end up settlingforwhatturnsouttobethisstorm’sChinesedrywall,whetherit’sbad lumber,paint,cementorsomethingelse. Thentherearethelaborcosts.Theadjustersthatinsurancecompaniesdeploy have software that’s supposed to reflect market prices. “It’s garbage in, garbage out,” said David Bierman, a former Allstate adjuster and staff lawyer who now represents consumers in Dania Beach, Fla. “You don’t know if the independent adjuster has updated his software, and prices are going to continuallyincreaseuntilthingscalmdown.” If you’d like to add more content to your presentation, there are plenty of options.Youcanincludephotosofyourteam,descriptionsofproducts,oryour goals as a company. It all depends on the purpose of your presentation, and howyouplanonlayoutingyourdetails. WWW.ANDREWKNOX.COM

6. BUILDINGCODES If you live in an old house, any major repairs will have to comply with newer local building codes. Homeowner’s insurance policies may include riders knownas“lawandordinance”coveragethatwillcovertheextracostofdoing so. Butrecoveringthemoneymaynotalwaysbeeasy.Mr.Tennenbaumsaidthat insurancecompaniesoftenmakeyouwaittocollectuntilyou’vealreadyspent the money, and then they demand proof that the local code enforcement office insisted on every course of action. Even after that, there’s often trouble. “They’llusuallydisputecertainitemssayingthattheyreallyweren’tnecessary,” hesaid.“Andthenyouenduphavingtocompromiseontheclaimjusttogetit done.” Bytheway,buildingdepartmentsinhard-hitcommunitiesarelikelytobebusy overthenextcoupleofmonths.Thatwon’tmakeiteasytogethelp. WWW.ANDREWKNOX.COM

7. PUBLICADJUSTERS Ifyouhavealargeclaim,sortingitoutandmakingrepairswillbeatleasta part-timejobformanymoremonths.Andifthisisyourfirstbigclaim,you’ll essentiallybelearninganewlanguage. Hiringanexperienced,licensedpublicadjustercanhelp,butthefirmsusually chargeyou10percentorsoofyoureventualpayout.Thatmeanstheadjuster needstodo10percentbetterthanyouforittobeworthit. Somepeople,however,findthatafteragiantchunkofwoodcomesthrough the ceiling of their bedroom during a hurricane and they can’t sleep in their own bed anymore, they’ve dealt with enough stress and want to hand the hagglingovertosomebodyelse. That’s what happened to Scott Golden and his wife, who knew an adjuster at Goodman-Gable-Gould/Adjusters International through his son. “Even if you werecompetentatonepoint,you’renotwhenyourhouseisintrudeduponlike that,” said Mr. Golden, who ended up with a check for over $40,000 from his insurancecompanyafterHurricaneIrenelastyearsentthatbranchthroughhis roofinBethesda,Md.“Wethoughtthewholehousemightcomedown,andwe didn’twanttomessaroundwithdoingthisourselves.” WWW.ANDREWKNOX.COM

8. ABOUTANDREWKNOX AndrewK.KnoxandCompanyisoneofthefirst“certified”publicadjustmentfirmseverestablished.Forthreegenerationsand nearly 60 years, Andrew K. Knox and Company has helped home and business owners fully and quickly recover from the effects of fire, flood or other natural disasters. Our team of highly trained insurance adjusters go through extensive training beforebeingallowedtohandleanyclientsinsuranceclaim.

9. CONTACTUS CorporateOffice 217 WashingtonSt. Toms River, NJ08753 732-349-3231 Andrew@AndrewKnox.com North Jersey BranchOffice 905 Franklin Avenue Franklin Lakes, NJ07417 201-880-0747 Andrew@AndrewKnox.com