Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria made for an unprecedented hurricane season last year, and many businesses are still recovering. In the event of another catastrophic hurricane season, businesses need to know in advance how they can get the most out of their insurance policies.

When dealing with insurance claims, time is always of the essence. Most insurance policies have strict rules on reporting the loss within a certain timeframe. Additionally, according to insurance recovery experts from Anderson Kill in New York, many states have strict deadlines on specific actions, such as making covered repairs and notifying the intention to elect replacement cost coverage. A business should also respond to any inquiries by the insurance company for more information as quickly as possible.

While it is important to report quickly, it is also important to understand what your policy covers in advance. Insurance policies generally have covered and uncovered causes of damage. For example, flood or storm surge damage may or may not be covered. Furthermore, insurance may not cover damages due to a mix of covered and uncovered causes. Language is important here: there is no uniform definition of flood between insurance companies, and, depending on the language of the policy, this is could be an advantage to either the policyholder or to the insurance company.

Policies also include deductibles, limits, and sub-limits to potential coverages. Policyholders should review these when preparing to submit a claim, as well as anything that could be covered outside of physical damage, such as contingent business interruption.

Businesses that experience high levels of damages should consider consulting a public adjuster or other claims professional. Adjusters, accountants, and other contractors may be covered under some policies; however, they are usually subject to a sub-limit.

Overall, being proactive is the most important element of successful disaster recovery for a business. Understanding of what your policy covers before the storm followed by prompt notification of damage and meticulous documentation after the storm is vital to getting the most from an insurance policy so that your business can recuperate as quickly as possible.

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, many South Floridians are feeling frustrated by the slow progress on their hurricane damage insurance claims and repairs due to a shortage of insurance adjusters and construction workers.

After Hurricane Harvey, many independent adjusters headed to Texas, leaving Florida companies strapped for workers when Hurricane Irma hit shortly thereafter. Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Florida on Sept. 4, which temporarily lifted the regulations for normal credentialing and allowed catastrophe adjusters to hurriedly train more public adjusters in preparation for the storm.

As of Nov. 3, over 809,000 claims had been filed, and nearly half of those claims were still open. After initial damage assessments, because of the large amount of hurricane damage claims post-Irma, many Floridians have had to wait weeks for settlements and repairs. Many have expressed impatience with their insurance companies, whose adjusters do not always show when scheduled, so policyholders have often found themselves turning to public adjusters for help.

Unfortunately, lack of communication between insurance companies and multiple, often undertrained and backlogged third-party adjusters coupled with the sheer volume of claims have caused delays and frustration for many policyholders.

Exacerbating this issue is a lack of construction workers needed to complete hurricane damage repairs. Before the storm, many companies complained that there was a shortage of labor, and now after the storm, the problem is worse. Because of this shortage, roofing companies cannot keep up with the demand for roofing projects post-Irma. While some Floridians qualify for a new roof provided by their insurance companies, they may have to wait until 2018 for construction to start because, like public adjusters, roofing companies are backlogged.

Elite Ocean View Title Agency, LLC is a locally owned and operated full-service title, settlement and escrow company made up of attorneys, paralegals, and significant support staff providing a broad range of title services with utmost efficiency and professionalism at reasonable rates. Contact us Today!