Florida Insurance Claim Lawyer Blog

According to news reports, we should get ready for a hectic hurricane season this year due to higher surface water temperatures. Also, South Florida is at a greater risk to be hit by a storm than in years past. Their meteorologists predict we will see 15 named storms. Of those, 8 should become hurricanes and 3 should become major hurricanes - meaning they will be at least Category 3 storms.

This is considered busy because the average season will bring 10 named storms, six which will become hurricanes and two of those being major hurricanes. Although the US was spared in the busy 2010 season, two storms caused enough damage that their names will never be used again.

Forecasters don't like to make landfall predictions, but they are able to say that certain areas may be more prone to being hit by a hurricane this year. South Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas are being pinpointed as areas where chances of landfall are greater.

It's certainly frightening to hear that South Florida is at great risk year to be struck by a hurricane. We've been spared over the last few years, but hurricanes are a fact of life in South Florida. Although this often leads us to brush off hurricanes, it's important to be prepared.

One way of ensuring that you're prepared is to make sure to having everything in place to contact your insurance company in the event of a windstorm because we have a duty to immediately notify our insurers of a loss. Whatever you do, and no matter how slight the damage, call your insurer if your home has been damaged by a windstorm.

However, there are times when immediate notice is still not enough because an insurer will treat their policyholder unfairly by wholly denying a valid claim or by not fully covering their insured's loss. Realizing that most people are unaware of their rights, insurers may take advantage of their policyholders.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you believe that your insurance company is treating you unfairly, don't hesitate to contact Alvarez & Barbara, LLP. We have considerable experience dealing with insurance companies and working to make sure our clients get what they are owed.

Once again, our lawmakers are siding with insurance companies. Representative Plakon of the Florida House has proposed legislation that takes away the Insurance Consumer Advocate's ability to give letter grades to insurance companies based on how they treat their policyholders.

The Insurance Consumer Advocate position is established by law and is appointed by the CFO. Their job is to look out for Florida's insurance consumers by acting as our representative in the law-making process and in various boards. Basically, the Advocate is charged with representing our best interests.

State Farm and Rep. Plakon are trying to get rid of the one independent individual who represents insurance consumers in State government. Considering the wealth of the insurance lobby, you can imagine this is quite the difficult task. It is quite the bold move to eliminate this position in light of the insurance industry's recent push to deregulate our rates. They have also been supporting legislation that makes it harder to file a claim and get fully paid on a claim.

How have the insurance companies been able to accomplish this? Well, they have seemingly convinced lawmakers that they are losing so much money that the whole system needs to be overhauled in their favor. However, the numbers tell a different story.

For fire insurance policies, insurers made a net profit, after dividends, of $448,803,211. For homeowners and commercial property insurance, insurers made $1,666,262,684 and $49, 479,326, respectively.

Sure, insurance companies are entitled to making a profit. If they don't make a profit then they would be unable to pay out claims. However, there's no need to take away the Advocate's ability to give insurers letter grades. Most importantly, there's no need take away this power as it will only keep Floridians from understanding how fair an insurer truly is.

While this advocate in government looks out for your interests in the lawmaking process, sometimes it is necessary to hire an advocate that represents you in the courtroom. If you're having difficulty with your insurer after filing a claim, don't hesitate to call us so we can represent you in the claims process, and, if needed, in court.

Indeed, if you are facing a dispute over an insurance claim in Florida, contact Alvarez & Barbara, LLP toll free at 866-518-2913 for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.