Homeowners Insurance Claim Supplements in Florida
Supplemental Insurance Claims for Florida Homeowners Bring Significant Rewards
In Florida, an insurance company is required to pay residential property insurance claims within 90 days pursuant to Florida Statute 627.70131. They are only required at that point to pay the actual cash value (an amount with depreciation withheld) of any undisputed value of the claim.
Many insurance companies use this as an opportunity to issue lowball payments hoping that a homeowner will accept that payment and never follow up. Unfortunately, that’s a good bet for a lot of insurance companies.
At this point of a claim, if a public adjuster, like VIP Adjusting isn’t already involved, they become an absolute necessity.
The insurance company told me they “closed” my claim!
As already mentioned, Florida law only requires an insurance company to issue an undisputed payment based on their own valuation within 90 days. Once they’ve done that, they can technically “close” the claim. They can’t extinguish the claim, but many insurance companies tell homeowners that the claim is closed, and this makes some people think there’s nothing you can do to get paid fairly for your insurance claim.
A “closed” insurance claim is just an internal administrative status of a property insurance claim. Unless a homeowner has signed a release or the statute of limitations has expired, a property insurance claim in Florida is not closed.
And, no, cashing your insurance check does not mean you are in agreement with the amount they have paid you. VIP Adjusting’s public adjusters get asked this question by insureds all the time. The insurance company is obligated by law to pay you that amount. A check is not an offer of settlement.
What is a supplemental claim?
Once an insurance company has accepted coverage and paid a homeowner the undisputed actual cash value, their initial valuation and evaluation is complete. The claim can go in a number of different directions from there, but the ball is in the homeowners court and the insurance company is hoping to take advantage of that homeowners ignorance and inexperience.
A supplemental claim is any additional claim for more insurance proceeds.
How do you make a supplemental property insurance claim?
We’re glad you asked. In the simplest terms, to make a supplemental claim, you have to review the insurance company’s payment and dispute the amount you have been paid with justification.
You can do it yourself, if you’re well versed in construction, including pricing of labor and materials, and if you understand the formats of the insurance company’s estimate. It’s usually written in a software program called Xactimate, or to a lesser extent, Simsol or Simbility.
A contractor can prepare an estimate, but there are some ethical grey areas, both for homeowners and contractors. Contractors can prepare estimates as their license permits, but they can’t adjust your claim for you, which includes negotiating scope and pricing with your insurer. An insurance company may receive a contractor’s estimate to dispute the initial payment and then try to negotiate with the contractor to try to save money, or a contractor may try to negotiate the claim on their own anyway, despite being unlicensed to adjust insurance claims.
Florida’s Department of Financial Services has said:
"If you are acting as a public adjuster in any manner by negotiating or effecting the settlement of an insurance claim on behalf of an insured and you are performing any of these services for money, commission or anything of value without being licensed as a public adjuster, you could be subject to arrest and may be charged with a third-degree felony as provided by section 626.8738, F.S."
Many times a homeowner will think they can find a contractor through Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor who will come to their house and provide a free estimate that they can submit to the insurance company on their own. Please do not do this. Contractors can see right through this plan and do not take kindly to being used for free labor to help boost your insurance claim.
Should you just hire the contractor and do the repairs out of pocket?
Even if you got a contractor’s estimate on your own, the insurance company may try to claim that if you don’t proceed with the repairs, they won’t offer any feedback on the contractor’s estimate. Your insurance policy does not say this. The insurance company may think it does, or even try to claim it does, but it does not.
Any insurance company that tells a homeowner this is trying to trick you into taking a leap of faith, hire a contractor, pay out of pocket, and then it’s a whole new ballgame in the insurance company’s favor.
If you were paid, say $5,000 for a bathroom, and your contractor charged you $15,000, your insurance company has shifted all the risk to you while maintaining all the leverage. Why? Because now you’re out of pocket $10,000 and they have a whole new arsenal of arguments to try to nickel and dime you, and there’s nothing you or your contractor can do about it on your own.
They’ll say the contractor overcharged. They’ll say that the finishes you picked look too nice or too new or are too modern, and therefore you’ve upgraded. They only have to pay you to replace like kind and quality. Just because it looks nicer doesn’t mean it is, but they’ll use that argument to withhold money and to claim they’re doing it in good faith.
If you take that leap of faith and hire a contractor, short of a jury verdict at trial, you likely will never see the full return of your money...
This is why you need a public adjuster
Have we sufficiently buried the lede? We did that on purpose because we wanted you to see how many perils and pitfalls there are with going it alone or trying to do it yourself with the help of a contractor.
VIP Adjusting is staffed with licensed public adjusters (and an attorney) who have handled thousands of homeowners insurance claims. They have been through this process over and over. They’ve seen all the tricks and tactics and combatted them successfully.
VIP Adjusting, as your public adjuster can evaluate the insurance company’s estimate, provide a comparative estimate on your behalf, and navigate the process moving forward. As your public adjuster, we can manage the insurance claim process wherever it goes, handling additional inspections, engineer evaluations, appraisal, supplemental payments, negotiated settlements in exchange for a release, and even help you through the litigation process, if necessary (unfortunately litigation has become a common extension of the claims process in Florida).
Knowledge is power and VIP Adjusting’s professionals will help you level the playing field with your insurance company. Once you have someone in your corner fighting for you, you’ve taken the first step to making sure your insurance claim puts you on the road to recovery and allows you to rebuild.
If you need to make a supplemental claim to your insurance company after receiving an initial payment, call VIP Adjusting today to have a free claim evaluation with one of our public adjusters.
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