While the phones at state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corporation — the insurer of last resort for thousands of Florida property owners who cannot otherwise secure the necessary coverage on the private market — will undoubtedly be ringing off the hook in the coming weeks due to the fallout from Hurricane Matthew, officials want the call volume to be even higher.
Now that Hurricane Matthew has all but exited Florida, continuing to make its way up the Atlantic Coast, people are slowly starting to come out from shelters or return home, eager to assess the fallout from the strongest storm to hit the state in roughly ten years.
A few weeks back, our blog began discussing how the Florida Legislature took definitive action in the aftermath of 2005’s devastating hurricane season to strengthen the position of homeowners in their dealings with insurance companies by passing legislation creating the Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights.
As property owners across northern Florida continue to pick up the pieces and assess the damage wrought by Hurricane Hermine, the storm that slammed into the Panhandle a little over a week ago, questions have naturally arisen as to the size of the hit the insurance industry will take and its ability to absorb it.
People across Florida have been paying extra attention to the weather forecast over the last few days given that the state seems to be surrounded by wholly unstable conditions.
As hard as it may seem to believe, it’s now been almost four years since the East Coast was hit by Superstorm Sandy, a hurricane of epic proportions that left tens of thousands of people in New York and New Jersey with major or catastrophic damage to their homes.
As much as people can take comfort in the fact knowing that their home — their most important asset — is covered by a comprehensive insurance policy, there’s no denying that this comfort comes at price. In fact, all indications are that this price is going to become even steeper in the coming months — if it hasn’t already.
Once the initial shock and sorrow of losing a parent subsides, the real work typically begins for surviving children. That’s because in addition to coping with their lingering grief, they must also ensure that friends and family members are notified, funeral arrangements are made and, of course, estate administration matters are properly addressed.
It’s no secret that both state lawmakers and policyholders have always had a somewhat tenuous relationship with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the nonprofit government entity created back in 2002 as a means of providing property insurance to the owners of homes, condominiums and businesses here in the Sunshine State who cannot secure the necessary coverage on the private market.
Thanks to the power of the internet, those people looking to put a few extra dollars in their pocket have seemingly innumerable options. Indeed, they could sell some personal property gathering dust on eBay, become a driver for a ride-sharing company like Uber or Lyft, or even rent out their home when they’re away through Airbnb or HomeAway.
