Fort Pierce Beach House - Hurricane Irma Damage and Flood Damage
Flood waters, as well as wind from Hurricane Irma damaged a Fort Beach vacation property
Fort Pierce, Florida - Shortly after Hurricane Irma had passed, our public adjusters were contacted by two potential clients (B.S. and R.S.) who lived in Miami that own a beach house in Fort Pierce, just a few blocks from the Fort Pierce inlet. This home was their vacation property that they use to get out of the city and relax at the beach.
Without having seen their property yet, they asked if VIP Adjusting's public adjusters would check out the property for them to make sure it was still standing and we were happy to oblige. Luckily, the home was still standing, but there were flood waters inside the home and pretty clear wind damage to the outside.
The Loss - Hurricane Irma and related storm surge/flooding
Being directly adjacent to the ocean, it's no surprise that the storm caused damage to this Fort Pierce beach house. The unfortunate part for the homeowners was that they had recently purchased and renovated this property and were now looking at having to deal with two insurance companies and then renovate again.
The Flood Claim - NFIP
There was a clear flood line in the home indicating where the flood waters had risen to, causing damage to the new kitchen cabinets, flooring, and brand new appliances, as well the baseboards and about a foot of drywall.
The public adjusters at VIP Adjusting have handled flood claims in the past, which are vastly different from the average homeowners insurance claim and standard property damage. The NFIP, or National Flood Insurance Program is a program through the federal government to make sure all homeowners are able to get flood insurance. Nationwide premiums, as well as FEMA, serve to keep the premium costs low for situations such as these.
There are also a completely different set of guidelines in how to present and handle these claims. Ultimately, following the initial claim presentation, this process went pretty smoothly for this insured and all of the damaged items were fairly compensated.
The Hurricane Claim - A Florida Insurance Company
The wind damages to the property from Hurricane Irma were a different story and went as expected. There were clear wind damages to the roof of the home and the exterior air conditioner, and interior water staining to the ceilings and upper drywall from roof leaks (not damaged by flood).
The insurance company accepted coverage but refused payment as being under deductible. After ignoring the public adjuster's estimate a lawsuit was filed and after just a few months the claim was ultimately paid fairly, but not without having to jump through all the hoops.
Complications with split cause claims
It doesn't often happen that damages to a home from multiple sources, but when it does, it can be tricky for both the homeowner or insured and their public adjuster. It's important to claim all of the damages, while at the same time, the damages need to clearly be attributed to one cause of loss or another, instead of both. If it's unclear which source was the ultimate damage, it needs to be specified to the insurance company or companies so that the insured and public adjuster aren't pursuing double damages, which, if intentional would constitute insurance fraud.
The flood and hurricane scenario is one of the most common split cause of loss claims, but it can also happen in daily claims where a plumbing leak and the change in pressure results in multiple leaks at once, or a leak detection finds multiple leaks which may or may not have been long term.
In this instance, for our client, it was invaluable to have an experienced and local public adjuster in the Fort Pierce area, both to handle the overlapping damages caused by wind and flood, and to facilitate the entire process at their vacation home that was several hours away from their primary residence.