 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.
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 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 [email protected]. 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 that I have almost dropped a hammer and have scrambled like an acrobat to catch it before it hit my tile flooring. Thankfully I caught the hammer, but some 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. When Hurricane Irma came on sure in 2017, our client sustained damage to their marble flooring when a tree fell on their home damaging the roof. An opening was thereby created allowing water to enter their home and damaging quite a bit of the home including the flooring. What does this have to do with the above policy language? Had that opening not been created allowing the water to enter their home, their flooring damage may not have been covered. And unbeknownst to our client, their policy contained his 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 favorably for our client, but that tricky wording could have certainly changed the course of their claim. I will continue to repeat myself and cannot stress enough how important it is to know and understand your insurance coverage as I wrote 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 coverage and ask our suggestions. We are always happy to assist and if you have any questions or would like us to review your policy, you 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 essential to keep your immune system strong and will increase your endorphins which will help you feel better physically and mentally. Take this time to take care of you and go outside, breath some fresh air and soak up some Vitamin D. You will be pleasantly surprised at the beauty that surrounds you when you 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 have 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. |
