[USER]

Hello! I don’t understand home owners and flood insurance claims/deductibles, I recently have been hit with both Debby and Helene.

I want to make the correct financial decision for my future, and would love any help.

I am the first to attempt “breaking free” from paycheck to paycheck life, not sure how to navigate this.

I love my parents and anon for that reason, don’t want to hurt feelings or embarrass them.

I am grateful for the grit to work hard for what I want, but they don’t know and are struggling with money in retirement. (I am the only one in my family that owns a home).

We sustained major water damage floors, subfloor and walls from Debby. FEMA approved, but I’m scared to make an insurance claim.

In FL, my home is older and small, and nervous I’ll get dropped, they won’t cover it and ding my property anyways or it will raise significantly after a year. Scared to make a claim!

Things I thought of doing research:
1) Get quotes with licensed contractors for foundational, subfloor, flooring and drywall.

2) Find out deductible for flood insurance/what it would cover and what FEMA could give.

3) Damprid, box fans, and dehumidifier in the meantime.
Any suggestions are welcome!

Thank you in advance.

[Lisa]

In the meantime, get all wet drywall, baseboards, carpeting/flooring that has sustained flooding OUT of the home to avoid mold growth, and then box fan and dry well w AC on (if u have power now).

Cover the roof w the tarp asap- there’s another storm in the gulf for this week (sorry). Florida/west coast here

[Jeane’]

I owned a house in south Florida. They most likely will raise your rates and drop you eventually.

I would see how much it would cost to pay out of pocket because even if you file a claim they will raise your premium to get that money back.

Also, if you go to another company they can see that you have filed claims and charge you more.

Insurance is mostly a scam unfortunately.

[Jennifer]

If you have a mortgage, than you have to carry home owners insurance. Use it and if you get dropped, then sign up for the Florida state coverage.

In my opinion, you have to insure your house as an asset.

After the repairs, it may be time to ask yourself if home ownership is a good asset in Florida.

[Moung]

You can always start the claim process and cancel it. Just keep in mind even if you withdraw some companies keep that on record and when you go to get new quotes on insurance from different companies it can show up in the database that there was a claim put in but not paid out.

It would be worth it to get an estimate yourself and see what the cost would be compared to your deductible.

Say damages are $2k and your deductible is $1k, it would be better to fix yourself instead of filing a claim.

[Jen]

Find a public adjuster. They work for you and take a percentage once you get paid. They know how to navigate insurance claims.

One got my sister 80k for her storm damage.

[Belén]

Hire a insurance adjuster they help you get the most

[Anissa]

Find a good claims adjuster. They are worth their weight in gold

[Jane]

This is what insurance is for. Make a claim, repair the damage. Then do like I did; sell your house and get out of that godforsaken place!

I grew up and lived most of my life in FL, and I still love it in many ways.

But I grew tired of hurricane anxiety, so we moved up a state.

Or area did get nailed pretty hard by Helene, but we’re hoping that’s a rare event.

The damage to this area so far from landfall was truly shocking.

[Helene]

Contact your state insurance department to talk with property & casualty experts who know the law and give you unbiased information about your situation.

They cannot say, “you should do X, not Y” but can guide you through the process and help you understand what your rights and responsibilities are.

[Bonnie]

Make a claim, if your home has been flooded twice I would sell it as soon as you can. All houses in Florida are not in a flood zone.

My sister has flooded twice in two years.

Really bad this time. It’s terrible.

Sorry you are going through this.

[Jennifer]

Take detailed videos and photos before doing any work then during and after. Cut drywall 1 foot above the water/moisture it wicks up drywall.

Get it out asap. Get out any wood or anything else that is wet/damp.

Use bleach or mold spray. Big fans and run AC fan on on not auto for a couple days. Dehumidifier will help too.

Claim Deby and Helene separately with FEMA. Claim with your homeowners.

If they drop you you’ll get citizens and for me citizens was the same price as my current carrier so no matter.

Good luck.

[Ann]

If it’s due to flood, that’s most likely not going to be covered by your homeowner’s insurance. You’d be filing a claim with $0 payout and it would be counted when shopping.

If it’s wind related losses, be sure you know what your deductible is.

On the coast, it’s usually a %, not a flat amount.

Get quotes for repairs and if a lot more than deductible, file it.

If losses are from each storm, you’ll likely have two deductibles.

[Andrea]

I’m in FL with a home built in the 60’s (universal property insurance here). I’ve made 2 claims in the past. One for water damage from our pool pump that somehow sprayed water through our window (don’t ask) and required replacement of flooring & baseboards, and a second more major claim for a fire in our garage.

Get a public adjuster for sure. The insurance company tried to low ball us on the 1st claim (the amt they offered wouldn’t have even covered the bill from the dry-out restoration company!), so we immediately called the same adjuster the morning after our fire.

10 years & 2 claims, and our rates haven’t increased (more than anyone else’s), nor have we been dropped.

This is exactly why you have homeowners insurance…so file a claim!

As for flood insurance, we have that as well. Homeowners covers water damage from above, leaking roof/ceiling or from leaking pipes or whatever.

Flood insurance covers water damage from water rising from the ground (so flood, storm surge, etc).

So, depending on what caused your water damage will dictate which insurance policy you need to file the claim with.

[Kristin]

Citizens in FL can’t drop you if you are compliant with basic requirements which you would be since you seem diligent and proactive.

So, file your needed claim and know you’ll get the FL insurance.

Your carrier could go out of business this year anyway after paying the claims from the storm.

They usually do, so you’re likely going to get dropped literally because they will no longer exist by the time it’s time to renew

[Author]

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