Hurricane Season and home owners insurance just met their match

Apr
09

waterfront condo.jpg Ok, so here we go again. It happens every year… hurricane season. Why would I even bring this up when I want to sell you a home in sunny South Florida? Easy as 123 these days. I want you to be happy with what you get and know the culture here if you are new to the area. It would break my heart if you weren’t aware of the goings on here in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County as far as real estate goes. That is one reason why I try to keep you up to date on local happenings here at Best Homes as well as the local news and weather feeds on my site. If you haven’t checked them out, you should.

We have talked before about hurricanes and the issues dealing with home owner’s insurance. Don’t get me wrong, I do feel bad for New Orleans and the struggle they have had rebuilding their wonderful city. But we know all too well how hurricanes affect us and how to pick up the pieces without having the whole nation having ti hear about it every day. I wish New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast Region the best with their rebuilding efforts.

But here in South Florida, we have a hurricane, we get our socks knocked off, and we rebuild. That is just what we do. And might I say to my fellow South Floridians, you do a fabulous job. Every once in a while, though, there is an issue that will make us stop and take note. Turns out, there are politicians who are also stopping to take more than a note these days.

Senator Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, is now joining representatives from the state Office of Insurance Regulation and lawyers from 3 dozen condo associations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties to make sure that you as condominium owners are taken care of after a hurricane.

Evidently, the Australian based QBE Group and Florida Intercoastal Underwriters, a subsidiary of Brown and Brown Inc insurance agency has not held up their end of the agreement to help out families affected by the last few years of hurricanes according to their insurance policies. The insurance company is being accused of an “organized plan to deny hurricane claims”. They have delayed or simply not paid claims from as far back as Hurricane Francis in 2004. Senator Atwater wants to pass legislation that will require insurance agencies to either pay claims or document the reason for the delay within 90 days of the claim being made. This, unfortunately, won’t affect the current lawsuits filed as they were before the law will go into affect. But it will affect the upcoming hurricane season and will allow South Floridians the peace of mind to know that their claims will have to be attended to quickly. No more waiting around for an answer that you might never get anyway.

Now that is why I love living in Broward County. I know my rights as a Florida home owner are being looked out for by somebody other than myself.

Christine Adler South Florida's Top Professional Real Estate Agent
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