St. George Island Hurricane Damage: Your Insurance Claim Paper Trail

On St. George Island, hurricane damage is both a repair job and an insurance claim. Before a crew removes anything, take photos and video when it is safe, save damaged materials when practical, take reasonable steps to stop more damage and keep every receipt. Report the claim promptly and read any crew paperwork before you sign it. If the claim is later denied, delayed or underpaid, talk to a lawyer.

Document the damage before the debris pile grows

You may hear about the damage from a neighbor, a property manager or a rental guest before you can cross the bridge. If so, ask whoever is on site to video every room and every side of the house if it is safe, send you the files and keep the originals unedited. Write down when you learned of the damage and who told you.

Once you or a crew can work on the property:

• Take wide photos of each room, then close-ups of each damaged surface.
• Photograph water lines, soaked insulation, lifted flooring, broken glass and roof openings.
• Record the outside, including the roof, stairs, decks, pilings and debris.
• When practical, keep damaged materials or cut samples, and photograph what you cannot keep.

Get photos or video before demolition when it is safely and reasonably possible, but do not delay emergency work needed to protect people or prevent further damage. Document the conditions and the work as soon as you can.

Under section 627.7142, Florida Statutes, an insurer issuing a personal lines residential property policy in Florida must give you a Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights within 14 days after it first receives a communication about your claim. That document advises you to keep the damaged property if feasible and to take photographs or video before and after any repairs to give to your insurer. These steps help document the claim. They do not guarantee any result.

Stopping more damage, and proving what it cost

The Bill of Rights advises you to make and document emergency repairs that are necessary to prevent further damage. It gives advice and does not create a duty. Any duty to protect the property after a loss comes from your insurance policy, so read the section listing your duties after a loss.

Keep one folder, paper or digital, with:

• Receipts for tarps, fans, plywood and other supplies
• Every invoice for emergency work
• Costs you paid because you could not stay in the home
• A log of every call and email with your insurer, with dates and names

Before you sign the crew's paperwork

A restoration company may hand you a contract, work authorization or direct-pay form before it starts. The Bill of Rights advises you to contact your insurance company before entering into any contract for repairs to confirm any managed repair policy provisions or optional preferred vendors. It also advises you to carefully read any contract that requires you to pay out-of-pocket expenses or a fee based on a percentage of the insurance proceeds you receive, to confirm the contractor is licensed to do business in Florida and to require proof of insurance before repairs begin.

If a form mentions your insurance benefits, your claim proceeds or payment directly from your insurer, stop and ask a lawyer before signing. Louis Law Group is a law firm. We do not do restoration or repair work, and we do not recommend contractors or public adjusters.

The insurer's clock after a hurricane

Under section 627.70132, Florida Statutes, which applies to property insurance policies, including those from eligible surplus lines insurers, a claim or reopened claim is barred unless notice was given under the policy terms within 1 year after the date of loss. A supplemental claim must be noticed within 18 months after the date of loss. For a hurricane, the date of loss is the date the hurricane made landfall. These limits are tolled during a named insured servicemember's deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting that materially affects their ability to file.

Section 627.70131, Florida Statutes applies to residential property insurers, including surplus lines insurers providing residential coverage. Under it:

• The insurer must acknowledge your communication within 7 calendar days, unless it pays within that time or factors beyond its control cause the failure. Once you are represented by counsel, this applies only to communications needed to provide forms and instructions.
• Unless the policy or law provides otherwise, it must begin its investigation within 7 days after receiving proof-of-loss statements, unless factors beyond its control cause the failure.
• It must conduct any physical inspection within 30 days after receiving those statements, and the adjuster must give you their name and state adjuster license number.
• It must send you any detailed estimate within 7 days after its adjuster generates it. It is not required to create one if it is not reasonably necessary to the investigation.
• Within 60 days after receiving notice, it must pay or deny the claim, or a portion of it, with a reasonable written explanation, unless factors beyond its control cause the failure to pay. Your policy cannot waive this 60-day requirement.

Factors beyond the insurer's control can include a state of emergency declared by the Governor, but only if the state insurance office issues an order giving insurers more time. The office may not extend the period to pay or deny a claim by more than 30 additional days. The term also covers policyholder fraud, lack of cooperation or intentional misrepresentation that reasonably prevents the insurer from complying.

The requirements are tolled during mediation under section 627.7015 or during an alternative dispute resolution proceeding provided for in the insurance contract. They are also tolled if you do not provide requested material claims information within 10 days after receiving the request, until the insurer receives it, but only for requests sent at least 15 days before the pay-or-deny deadline.

When the answer is no, or not enough

If the insurer pays less than its own detailed estimate, it must explain the difference in writing. A payment of an initial or supplemental claim, or a portion of one, made after the 60-day period or after any extension ordered by the office, whichever is later, bears interest at the rate set under s. 55.03, Fla. Stat. That interest accrues from the date the insurer received notice of the claim.

Section 627.7015, Florida Statutes, provides a mediation program through the Florida Department of Financial Services for claims under personal lines and commercial residential policies, before appraisal or litigation. Except as that section provides otherwise, the insurer bears the cost of conducting the conference. Mediation is nonbinding. If you reach a written settlement, you have 3 business days to rescind it, unless you have cashed or deposited a check paid to you for the disputed matters.

A denial, an unexplained delay or a payment that does not match your documentation is the point to get legal advice. For background, read why file a hurricane damage claim in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

I own a rental on St. George Island and could not get there for days. Is that a problem?

The notice deadline in section 627.70132 runs from the date the hurricane made landfall: 1 year for a claim and 18 months for a supplemental claim. Report as soon as you can, have someone on site record the damage if it is safe, and keep notes on when you learned of it.

Can I throw out soaked drywall and flooring?

The Bill of Rights advises keeping damaged property if feasible and taking photographs or video before and after repairs. Record what you can first, save samples when practical and photograph whatever has to go.

What should I do with the adjuster's estimate?

Compare it line by line with your photos, receipts and notes. Your insurer must send you any detailed estimate within 7 days after its adjuster generates it, and it must explain in writing any payment that is less than that estimate.

Talk to Louis Law Group

If your St. George Island hurricane claim was denied, delayed or underpaid, Louis Law Group can review what happened. See if you qualify or call (833) 657-4812. Our office is at 12 SE 7th St Ste 805, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

This article is general information, not legal advice.