Some Hurricane Irma Insurance Settlements Have Strings Attached – Insurance News

Fort Lauderdel, Fla | Some Florida home owners are finding that their insurance companies are making an interesting strategy to avoid future claims.

The settlement checks sent by at least three companies include the language stating that accepting the check issues companies with further obligations related to the claim.

The plaintiffs say they have major problems with this strategy: it tries to scare the policy holders that they should not pay for additional costs incurred during repair, and possibly inaccessible.

Pameto Bay-based trial attorney that Libmann told a portion of Florida Insurance Law about an insurer, an insured after paying a “actual cash price” for the loss minus, any applied deducted, “will pay any balances required to repair such as work and spends.”

But it is not what two notices of the two largest insurers of Florida say.

At the back of the check sent to the owners of the household, the Fort Lauderdel-based Universal Property and Casualty include a statement that a support by the payment is “a support” forms a receipt and release in full disposal for claims or items mentioned in the draft. ” Universal P&C is the state’s largest property insurer, with 612,227 policies on 30 September, according to the state records.

With a check sent to at least one house owners, Dearfield Beach-based People’s Trust Insurance sent a letter stating that “your support for compensation investigation forms a full agreement and satisfaction of a disputed loss.”

And a third company, a mustard-based gulfstream property and a casualty insurance company, Hurricane Irma’s attached to a check for at least two victims of Hurricane Irma, which is “release of property damage”, which “releases by it … issues any and all claims, action, demands, rights, rights, losses, losses”.

In contrast, the state -run civil property insurance Corp admitted in December that the cost of increasing labor and content by Hurricane Irma would result in more repair costs than projected initially.

Citizen spokesman Michael Peltier said, “As they go through claims and repair process, things will come out, allowing us to read (and reopen) the claim.”

Locke Burt, president and chairman of the Security First Insurance, located in Oramand Beach, said his firm does not send the language released with his claims “because we agree with the trial lawyer. It will not stand in court.” In addition, he said, “We will not treat people in this way.”

The Sun Sentinel approached the Universal P&C, People’s Trust and Gulfstream and asked each why they say that a disposal of a disposal investigation issues them from complementary claims.

The company’s Chief Marketing Officer Amy Rosen said, “The insurers need to pay any balance to pay any balance for additional work, which is not applied to the trust of the people, known as” managed repairs “.

The company with the state -wide 129,626 policies offers a premium discount in exchange for a customer’s agreement to use its affiliated “Rapid Response Team” contractor to repair. Rosen said that it claims the acceptance of its check to the letter, which only issues it from future obligations when a policyholder wants to receive monetary payments in exchange for the agreement (Rapid Response Team) to forgive his right to demonstrate repair. “

“If the insured accepts monetary payments … then a compromise is reached,” Rosen said. “If the insured does not accept payment, then (the rapid response team) repairs the property and, if additional cover damage is found, it is also repaired.”

Gulfstream general lawyer Perry Con refused to answer questions why it directs its policyholders to sign the release.

Travis Miller, spokesman of Universal Property and Casualty, said the statement on the check “does not prevent claims for replacement cost or supplemental damage,” adding it “represents payment for goods that have been informed, reviewed, and are included in the scope of drafts.” He said other statements with the check would specify that the release belongs to a portion of the coverage, such as for additional living expenses, and “does not affect replacement costs or other parts of the same claim (or any other claims).”

Trial Attorney Ligman, representing a policyholder, who has refused to support a check from Universal, has filed a petition, in which the Judge of the Miami-Dad County Circuit Court has asked to determine whether the company’s check would stop him from making future claims.

“Universal refuses to change its check policy and sends a check release endorsement in violation of Florida’s law to assume their insured people in violation of Florida law that they are releasing all future claims,” ​​the petition stated.