Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
How Much Roof Tarps Should Cost Based on Insurance Prices
Avoid Price Gouging and Extra Out of Pocket Costs
from Unethical Contractors, Unlicensed Roofers and Improper Roofing Companies
by using the current rates!
Roofing Professionals of Florida has shared below
the most current rates for insurance coverage. While these are the tarp sizes
that are commonly used, the rates as you can see below are based on square
footage to calculate the total cost. A 20'x20' tarp should not cost you more
than $360 during normal business hours or $450 after normal business hours. If
the company you speak to says they have a 20'x30' tarp, based on the rates
below that tarp should cost 20 x 30 x 0.90 = $540 during normal business hours
or 20 x 30 x 1.13 = $678 if after normal business hours. Even if you pay
someone more, your insurance will only reimburse you for the rates they offer.
Roof Repair Alachua
Friday, September 8, 2017
Myths About Hail Damage and Insurance Claims
Myth: I looked at my roof and didn’t see any problems, or my
roofer inspected it and there are no problems.
Fact: Roofing systems must be physically inspected by someone
who has training and experience to determine if there is actual hail damage.
Insurance companies send their adjusters too special training so they can
properly identify hail damage to property, unfortunately there is not much
ongoing training for the roofing or home inspection industries.
Myth: I’m not missing any shingles so I must not have
damage.
Fact: Missing shingles are related to wind damage claims and
can happen during a hailstorm if the winds are high enough. However, hail
damage is sneaky in nature and may not physically cause leakage for years after
a hail storm.
Myth: I only have 1 year to file my insurance claim.
Fact: Many insurance companies do have a one-year time limit
and some even less, however due to the nature of hail damage they may pay
claims past the deadline. This usually happens if a hail storm is widespread
geographically.
Myth: My roof is new so it’s covered by the manufacturer’s
warranty, home builder, or contractor.
Fact: Manufacturers specifically name hail as an exclusion
to their product warranty; so, do home builders and roofing contractors. Newer
roofs can be more susceptible to hail damage versus older roofs due to the time
it takes a new roof to cure from exposure to the elements.
Myth: I was told my roof has minimal or very little damage
and therefor I don’t need to file a claim.
Fact: If your roof has any damage what-so-ever you have a
valid insurance claim and should file with your insurance company. Damage might
not cause your roof to leak for years. Therefore, it’s important to have a qualified
person inspect your roof.
Myth: My insurance company will cancel my policy if I file a
claim.
Fact: Most states prohibit insurance companies from cancelling
policies for filing claims arising from severe-weather-related events. Check
with your state however and your policy language as well.
Myth: If I don’t file my claim, my insurance company won’t
raise my rates.
Fact: After a disaster, insurance companies may raise
everyone’s rates. If you are the only one who doesn’t file a claim, your
personal rate increase is paying for everyone else’s damage except yours.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Replacement Cost Includes Profit and Overhead
Florida Supreme Court Says That Replacement Cost
Includes Profit and Overhead
Florida
Supreme Court ruled in Trinidad v.
Florida Peninsula Ins. Co., 2013 WL 3333823 (Fla. July 3, 2013) held that
replacement cost coverage was required to include overhead and profit in cases
where the insured was reasonably likely to need a general contractor for the
repairs. Florida Supreme Court further held that insurance companies were not
statutorily permitted to hold back any portion of the replacement cost payment,
including costs for overhead and profit, contingent upon the insured’s actually
repairing or replacing the property and as such found that insureds were not
required to actually incur expenses for the repairs in order to be entitled to
overhead and profit.
Florida
Supreme Court began its analysis by recognizing that “[r]eplacement cost
insurance is designed to cover the difference between what property is actually
worth and what it would cost to rebuild or repair that property.” Florida
Supreme Court also noted that “[r]eplacement cost is measured by what it would
cost to replace the damaged structure on the same premises.” In contrast,
actual cost value was generally defined as “fair market value” or “replacement
cost minus normal depreciation,” with the depreciation representing a “decline
in an asset’s value because of use, wear, obsolescence, or age.”
After making
these observations, the Florida Supreme Court then stated that “[b]ecause
replacement cost insurance provides coverage based on the cost to repair or
replace the damaged structure on the same premises, we conclude that overhead
and profit necessarily must be included within the scope of a replacement cost
policy where it is reasonably likely a general contractor would be needed for
the repairs.” As such, overhead and profit was a necessary component of
replacement costs inasmuch as replacement cost insurance was intended to
compensate the insured for what it would cost to repair or replace the damaged
property.
Next, Florida
Supreme Court analyzed § 627.7011, Fla. Stat. (2008) in light of its ruling
that RCV included overhead and profit when it was reasonably likely the insured
would need a general contractor to perform the repairs. This statute required
insurers to pay RCV without reservation or holdback of any depreciation in
value irrespective of whether the insured replaced or repaired the dwelling or
property. However, insurers were permitted under the statute to limit their
liability under the policy by providing that the loss would be adjusted on the
basis of RCV which was the lesser of (a) the limit of liability shown on the
declarations page; (b) the reasonable and necessary cost to repair the damaged,
destroyed, or stolen covered property; or (c) the reasonable and necessary cost
to replace the damaged, destroyed, or stolen covered property.
Florida
Supreme Court found that the statute did not permit insurers to exclude
overhead and profit in a payment simply because overhead and profit had not yet
been incurred. Under the statute, if the insured is unlikely to incur overhead
and profit, section 627.7011(6) would permit the insurer to withhold payment of
overhead and profit cost consistent with section 627.7011(3) because those
costs would not be “reasonable and necessary” to the repair. That is to say
that if the insured is not reasonably likely to incur overhead and profit in
repairing the damaged property, then overhead and profit are not replacement
costs of the insured’s covered loss. However, if overhead and profit are going to
be “reasonable and necessary” to the repair, then the statute mandates their
payment as replacement costs irrespective of whether they were incurred.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Ten Things About Your Insurance That Your Insurance Company May Not Want You to Know
by Ray Bourhis Bourhis & Wolfson
The average American spends thousands of dollars per year of insurance. Homeowners, automobile, medical, life, business, disability, umbrella and other coverages. Because most of us never suffer the large losses that everyone worries about, people have very little experience in dealing with insurance companies on large claims. Those that do are often in for a bit of a shock. Delay, the use of complex policy language to deny claims, and substantial underestimating of losses by carriers are common. Many people don't realize that insurance companies, like banks, earn their profits from investments, stocks, bonds, venture capital and real estate. The profitability of a company depends on how much money they have available to invest. If a company owes X million to all claimants at a given point in time, it can save 8% or more of that per year in investment profits by merely engaging in delay. It can save another 30 to 40% by engaging in lowballing. Another 20 to 30% can be saved by wrongful claim denials on confusing policy language.
 
Whether an uninsured will recover for a legitimate claim at all, and if so, the amount he or she will be paid, depend largely on the policyholder's own knowledge of his or her rights and responsibilities. Policyholders are often at the mercy of their insurance company. The company wrote the policy, the company interprets the policy, the company evaluates the claim and the company holds the money.
So the policyholder is really at a substantial disadvantage to the insurer. However, there are ways to begin to level the proverbial playing field. To do so, you must familiarize yourself with important principles of insurance law which judges and legislators have fashioned over the years for your protection.
Here are ten such principles:
|
This page was a reproduction for educational and informational purposes only.
Original by:
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Avoid Price Gouging and Extra Out of Pocket Costs from Unethical Contractors, Unlicensed Roofers and Improper Roofing Companies by using ... -
Ah, the age of the internet, AI and automate EVERYTHING and lets 10x, 50x, 100x your or scale as they call it – where everyone and their d... -
Should the homeowner or the contractor pull your building permit for roofing? Your contractor should. Every time. Will every contracto...