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DAY Adjusting & Consulting

What does new insurance legislation mean to Florida homeowners?

by Blake Day, Public Adjuster

s a Public Adjuster, I have seen my share on insurance companies. Now they can knowingly do wrong by
of property damage since Hurricane Ian their homeowners and when sued, the HOMEOWNER will
Awreaked havoc on our community. The have to pay and typically, attorney’s fees are about 30% of the final
aftermath was unprecedented, and some people settlement amount.
are still confused about their insurance and rights. For an example, there is a fire that destroys your kitchen
On a daily basis, we’re working with cabinets which are covered in your policy, but your insurance
homeowners who are at their wits end. Many are company decides not to pay for the cabinets. You sue your
left chasing down their insurance company’s desk adjusters which insurance company, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you have
can change every other day, and most don’t have the knowledge to pay the 30% to your attorney which makes suing your insurance
on how to apply the policy to the claim. Others say they’ve not company completely irrelevant. It probably would have been
heard back from their insurance company at all. Even though cheaper for you to just pay for your cabinets, but then what is the
homeowners are paying more than ever before for insurance point of having insurance? You can see the issue here. This Bill has
coverage, they are not seeing the investment reflected in the taken any possible way to hold insurance companies accountable.
services they are receiving. Changing Claim Timelines
Policyholders are asking for my opinion on Insurance Bill 2-A The legislature is trying to balance the Bill in the homeowners
which was passed in the Florida Senate. In my opinion before favor by tightening down on the time insurance companies have
Hurricane Ian, the Florida Property Insurance industry was to act at specific times during the claims process. One timeline of
unstable at best. Post Ian, I believe it is being ripped apart from the many that changed is Insurers now have to pay or deny the claim
inside out. Insurance premiums are at an all-time high and with in 60 days after the claim is filed -- previously it was 90. While
damages from Ian, we won’t see prices go down anytime soon. this may seem like its positive for the homeowners, it really means
To combat the rising prices of insurance, our legislature nothing. Before this Bill, there was no immediate action that could
proposed and passed Senate Bill 2-A. This was meant to be a be taken to enforce the timelines and -- there is still no change
comprehensive bill intended to ensure policyholders have access to this problem. Actually, homeowners are worse off because now
to quality, affordable private market property insurance. While these claim timelines will be broken more often and more blatantly
political parties argue over whether it will work to help lower the in my opinion. AND homeowners cannot even use these breaches
price, we feel that none of that really matters if homeowners have in a lawsuit against their insurance companies without ultimately
no legal way to hold their insurance companies accountable when paying for it.
they need to file an insurance claim. There is no need to fight corporate insurance alone, it is the
policyholders’ right to have a professional public adjuster represent
KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECT HOMEOWNERS: them in order to receive every penny entitled to under the terms of
Eliminating The Attorney Fee Statute. your insurance policy.
Homeowners will no longer be able to sue their insurance If you have questions or need any assistance at all, please feel free to
companies and be reimbursed for their attorneys’ fees if they win. contact us.
Before this bill, homeowners could sue as a last resort and if the www.DayAdjusting.com
homeowner prevailed, the insurance company was responsible for (855) 729-0838
paying their attorney’s fees. This was a law that put consequences

12 Life in Naples | March 2023