 As Florida continues to reopen, there are many of us concerned whether people will still take precautions and continue to wear masks. The first day Palm Beach County reopened, I was shocked to see patrons entering the grocery store without masks, walking about as though nothing had happened. I stood for a moment and felt like I was in the twilight zone. I wondered why it seemed as if I were the only one concerned about the severity of the virus and how contagious it is. I mean, one of us could be a carrier with no symptoms but still pass the virus onto someone more vulnerable.
On the second day of reopening, friends of mine had visited a Delray restaurant that they regularly dined in before the virus. They were seated and realized that not one single staff member was wearing a mask or gloves. They decided to leave the restaurant and I honestly don’t blame them. The following morning, I read an article that the restaurants in Delray were not adhering to the social distancing requirements as diners were seated next to each other while nobody, including staff members, wore a mask. After all, we do live in America and have many freedoms that other countries do not. We have the right to choose if we want to wear a mask or not, but under the right circumstances. Albeit, the news media has a history of hype and their continuous reporting tends to scare people, but we have a duty to each other to be smart and logical about this. I had three friends who contracted the virus, and I for one, never want to get this virus. While they suffered with horrific symptoms for over a month, they wondered every day if they would ever feel better and get back to their life, which thankfully they have. From day one, Reliant Insurance Adjusters has practiced social distancing and keeping others safe. We will continue to do our part and wear masks and gloves when meeting with clients and insurance company adjusters. If we are requested to do so, we will also wear booties when entering a home or business. Thought for the day … Treat others as you want to be treated and respect others as you want to be respected.
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 I am not so sure everyone is as prepared as they should be for hurricane season. I hear many individuals say “we won’t get a hurricane this year” and then all the news media stations start airing coverage of the next storm coming our way and the cone encompasses the state of Florida. Before you know it, everyone begins to panic and runs to get supplies at the last minute with gas lines blocks long and grocery store shelves left bare. Although Hurricane season starts June 1st and lasts through November 30th the season can sometimes start early. With 4 major storms predicted this season, don’t wait until the last minute to be prepared. Download our suggested supply checklist below so you can prepare now. We also recommend documenting your home and business with photos, video of the interior and exterior of your home and drone coverage of your roof, all in their pre-loss condition before you have an insurance claim and will help protect the value and condition of your property. Please see our Pre and Post Loss Check List and contact us today for your pre-loss assessment and report as Reliant Insurance Adjusters provides all these services. To help out during these difficult times, we are currently offering a discount on our services. We are taking extra precautions to protect you and wear masks and gloves. Just mention Covid-19 when you call 561-288-6434 or email us with any questions to info@reliantpa.com. We are always here to help. 
 While the rains have not come so heavily yet, we need to protect our property as best we can. During the drier weeks when the sun beats for longer hours during the day, it is important to remove any dry leaves and branches from your property. If we are not restricted with limited water use during these dryer months, I make it a habit to water my lawn and garden daily for 15 minutes at dusk.
Barbeques and eating delicious meals outdoors in our backyards is a summer favorite. It is usually safe to grill outdoors, but you should make sure your grill is not to close too your home nor directly under the eve of your roof. This will avoid a fire that can quickly spread to the inside of your home causing major damage. Also, having a yearly check of your electrical panel, breakers, outlets and switches is a good preventative against electrical fires. You should make sure to keep all outlets free from clutter, paper or any items that can easily catch fire. Below are a few tips on how to keep safe during a fire:
I know this may be repetitive, but I cannot tell you how many times we review a client’s policy and there is not enough coverage to rebuild your entire home if a catastrophic event like a fire were to occur. Call us today for a FREE policy review 561-288-6343 or visit us here so that we can help protect your biggest investment.  There is nothing like the feeling of helping others! After all, this is what we do for our clients on a daily basis. Reliant Insurance Adjusters are very proud and committed to Paying It Forward and giving back within our communities.
When I began Chairing the Community Affairs Committee for the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (FAPIA) when the committee was formed in 2014, there was no turning back as I knew we would do great things. The committee’s one philanthropic goal is to engage the public adjusting industry in being selfless and giving back to local communities throughout the state of Florida. Since that day, it has been an amazing and heartwarming experience which brings me great joy and I have shed many happy tears. The committee’s current campaign, Feeding Florida, is in response to the Covid-19 pandemic affecting so many individuals and families throughout our state. We have partnered with many different food banks within our state and sent much needed funds to help those in need during this difficult time. Please enjoy the photos and videos from the work our Community Affairs Committee has done since forming in 2014 to include Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, Boca Helping Hands, JAFCO, Gigi’s Playhouse Tampa, Jessica June Children’s Cancer Foundation, Grand Bahamas Children’s Home, Chabad of the Bahamas and Lend A Hand Bahamas. Our commitment to helping others goes beyond our daily call of duty for our clients and it gives us great pleasure to be members of FAPIA and also join them in doing great things within our communities. Thought for the day … It is important to always be kind, thoughtful and have compassion for others for you never know how much you can impact someone’s life.  Coronavirus aka Covid-19 has forced many non-essential businesses to shut down in an effort to stop the spread of this virus and help save lives. This is certainly an unprecedented time in our history and millions of people have been affected. Sadly, some businesses will be forced to close their doors permanently and will be unable to recover, thereby leaving many people unemployed as well.
Every insurance policy is different and many policies require that you must sustain physical damage to property in order to be covered. It is a simple equation to me that if you pay for property insurance coverage, and it is not specifically excluded in your policy, you should be covered. There are many businesses that have been paying to have Business-Interruption Coverage for many years and luckily have never had to use it. Now when they are forced into a situation and finally need it, insurance companies are saying not so fast and denying insurance claims! Wow! Even the President spoke about this during a briefing recently and told insurers to pay these claims if Pandemics are not excluded. Have you been forced to close your business due to Covid-19? Are you experiencing loss of business income? Are you having difficulty with your insurance company getting your claim paid? If you have already contacted your insurance company and they have denied your claim or seem to be giving you the run around, don’t take no for an answer. Sometimes you have to fight for what is right and you can rely on Reliant Insurance Adjusters to be in your corner. Call us today for a free policy review 561-288-6434 or visit us here and email your policy to info@reliantpa.com. Public Adjusters have been deemed an essential business and we are open and helping our clients with their claims daily. We have worked tirelessly through the years to assist our business and residential clientele with their insurance claims. We are here to help!  It is not uncommon for us to work around our homes, install shelving or hang pictures. I know I have almost dropped a hammer and have scrambled like an acrobat to catch it before it hit my floor tile. Thankfully I caught the hammer, but some people have not been so fortunate and the hammer hit the floor causing the floor tile to chip and/or crack.
Years ago, our insurance policies covered damage to tile floors when accidental damage occurred. Although the insurance company may have put up a fight, they ultimately gave in and paid to replace the entire tile floor which may have been continuous throughout the home. Through the years, many Insurance companies got crafty with their language and placed special policy limits for flooring into our insurance policies thereby limiting the coverage: Cosmetic and Aesthetic Damages to Floors. The total limit of liability for Coverages A and B combined is $10,000 per policy term for cosmetic and aesthetic damages to floors. 1.Cosmetic or aesthetic damage includes, but is not limited to: a.Chips; b.Scratches; c.Dents or d.Any other damage to less than 5% of the total floor surface area and does not prevent typical use of the floor. 2. This limit includes the cost of tearing out and replacing any part of the building necessary to repair the damaged flooring. A past client sustained damage to their marble flooring when Hurricane Irma struck and caused damage to the exterior of their home. This created a storm created opening where the water entered their home and caused damage to their flooring. Why is this important? Because if that opening wasn't created allowing the water to enter their home, their flooring damage may not have been covered. Unbeknownst to our client, their policy contained this language “any other damage” as noted above and the insurance company tried to argue this point and limit their payout on the flooring. We were able to resolve the claim the flooring was covered, but that wording could have changed the course of their claim. We truly cannot stress enough how important it is to know and understand your insurance coverage as I wrote about in a prior blog The Never Ending Erosion of Insurance Coverage – Do You Know What You Are Covered For? Many of our clients, including past clients, call us regularly to inquire about their policies and coverages and ask our suggestions rather than calling their agent. We are always happy to assist and you can contact us here.  This dreadful virus is affecting us all in many different ways and our hearts are with everyone during this difficult time. It is important to keep your body moving as much as possible, however you can. Exercise is important to keep your immune system strong and will increase your endorphins which will help you feel better physically and mentally. It is important to take this time to take care of you. Get outside, breath some fresh air and soak up some Vitamin D. You will be pleasantly surprised at the beauty that surrounds us when you just take a moment to look around and listen.
I have decided to share that a dear friend was stricken with the virus. We truly cannot imagine how badly she felt unless we walked in her shoes. I would prefer not to and I heard her loud and clear. Being a germaphobe on a good day, I was heeding the warnings before she and I ever spoke. I am listening and staying at home to help stop the spread. I exercise daily and if I go for a walk and neighbors are out and about, I make sure to distance myself quite a bit. We can work from home but when we have to venture out to help our clients, we wear our mask and gloves and completely disinfect ourselves after the appointment. When she was finally able to speak with me, she explained to me what she went through and how dreadful it is. Thankfully her good health and strong immune system helped her to fight the fight and she is quite the fighter. I am happy to say that she is doing better and finally on the upside of this virus after many long difficult weeks. She has to stay quarantined and has been away from her family and will not be able to return home until she tests negative twice. This she will never forget. We can never forget! My husband and I discuss getting back to the “norm” and if there will ever be such a thing. I remember feeling this way after 911. We all came together as a strong united country and we certainly came out stronger and acclimated to the differences we were forced to make. I refer to this as the new norm. The same holds true for this dreadful virus and we will be stronger, better prepared and come through this together. I am certainly not minimizing this in any way and sadly, too many lives are being lost around the world. We send our thoughts and prayers to all who have lost loved ones, to those fighting to beat this awful virus and to their families who can’t be with them during their quarantine. A big and very important thank you to all the medical professionals and first responders for putting their lives at risk daily to take care of those in need and do what they do best. Thank you to our restaurant owners for still providing meals for us and the medical staff at local hospitals, and of course, all grocery store employees that allow us to continue to have what we need at home. I came across this interesting and important read by Dr. Eugene K. Choi. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Stay safe, keep strong and stay at home.  My insurance policy, and probably yours as well, has special policy limits and deductibles for certain coverages. In particular, up to $5,000 for coverage when sewage backs up into your home through the waste lines and originates from the sewer system in the street off your property. This can certainly result in a nasty, smelly mess inside your home and possibly a great deal of damage that is not covered because of this policy limit.
Also, within this coverage there is a special deductible that gets applied which can be anywhere from $500 - $1,000. The coverage in your policy is usually worded like this: For an additional premium, we insure, up to $5k, for direct physical loss not caused by the negligence of any “insured” to property covered under Section I caused by: a. Water which backs up from off the “residence premises” through sewers or drains; or (b) Water which overflows from a sump event it such overflow results from the mechanical breakdown of the sump pump etc. Sometimes clients get confused with this language when they have a broken waste line or drain line which results in the kind of damage to your home caused by the overflow of contaminated water. It is important to know that the above policy language does not refer to damage caused from broken waste lines under your home nor the resulting damage it causes. This damage, unless specifically excluded from your policy or capped by a $10k water damage cap, would be covered and not limited by the $5k back up policy limit and deductible. For any questions regarding your policy and coverage please contact us here. We want to wish you all well during this very difficult time and hope you are all staying safe. We take safety precautions very seriously and make it a part of our normal course of business, not just for the Covid-19 virus or Flu season. This is a daily practice for us, both at home and during business.
As Emergency Orders are being issued in every county restricting business from operating, we are still open and running because it has been deemed that Public Adjusters are an essential business that may remain open as we provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation and essential operation of residences and other structures. As Public Adjusters, we routinely enter homes and businesses and are exposed to elements that can affect ones health such as mold, smoke and soot, damp moist conditions from a plumbing leak, sewage issues and even illness. We wash our hands regularly, keep disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer on us at all times, wear masks and gloves when needed and also change clothes when needed. There are also times when we need to don our very fashionable hazmat suits. There have been many times when we arrived at a meeting to find out someone was sick. Oftentimes, people don't think to tell you because it may be minor to them, but it can be harmful to someone else or their family member. You really never know. It’s important during any time, and more so during this difficult time we are all faced with, to be mindful and think of others. Wash your hands regularly, sneeze into your arm, cough into your shirt and if you are not feeling well, honestly is the best policy to keep everyone healthy and safe. We are all in this together and we are here to help in any way that we can and our business is still open and running. If you have any questions about your insurance policy coverage for your business during mandatory shutdowns or still need assistance with an insurance claim, please contact us here or call us 561-288-6434.  We received a call about a leak in a bathroom and the homeowner asked if she should stop using the shower? We explained that it’s her responsibility under her insurance policy to prevent further damage to her property and she should stop using the shower immediately. Her reply stunned us for a minute when she said that her plumber told her to “go ahead keep using it, the damage is already done”.
An insurance policy is a contract with your insurance company and there are specific conditions that must be complied with or you risk the possibility of getting denied on your claim. Here are a few examples of those conditions:
Try to imagine the look on an insurance adjuster’s face if you told them what the plumber advised you to do. Lack of knowledge is no excuse for not understanding and knowing your responsibilities under your insurance policy. When we met with the homeowner, she said that the plumber did not know where the leak was coming from. After our careful and thorough inspection, we determined the cause was not covered under her policy and all she needed was a new tub and advised her against filing a claim. We previously discussed claims like this in a prior blog Not All Property Damage Is An Insurance Claim. |
AuthorKaren Schiffmiller Archives
February 2020
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