Fire Prevention is Everybody's Job

As public insurance adjusters, we have the benefit of knowing we will help every policyholder who brings us in to their fire damage insurance claim. It may be the only reason our team can take the heartache of seeing family after family who lost everything they have to fire.

Hurricane Irma will go down as one of the most damaging storms in U.S. history. After leveling several islands in the Northern Caribbean, the powerful storm struck the Florida Keys and Gulf Coast. While significant damage also occurred in other states such as Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, the lion's hare took place in the Sunshine State.

What started out as a tropical storm in the Atlantic quickly grew into a monstrous category 5 hurricane. With wind speed over 180 mph and powerful storm surges, Hurricane Irma hit Florida Friday, August 25, 2017. Only a few days before Hurricane Irma hit, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Texas. More than a trillion gallons of rain fell in Harris County, Texas in just four days. Some places have reached more than 50 inches of rain, setting a record for the continental United States. The storm has left tens of thousands of people in shelters, wrecked homes and businesses, and has caused unbelievable flooding. The damage these storms have done is devastating, but there are ways that you can help the victims in these areas.

The devastating destruction that Hurricane Irma has left on Florida is unimaginable. Cleaning up after the storm will be a long recovery. Thousands of people will be filing insurance claims, but may be unsure on how to move forward with the process of filing an insurance claim after a hurricane.

Colder temperatures lead to frozen pipes, and a frozen pipe often bursts. It’s a good idea to know the steps to take if a pipe bursts in your building, and how to address the issue for insurance purposes. Here are some tips to help you along the way.

If you’ve just had fire damage to your commercial property, you’re probably already filed a claim with your insurance company. Before you get to far into the claim process, there are some important points to consider.

It may seem like you would know when a roof collapse has happened (and when you could claim it on your insurance policy). But when you think about it, roof collapse is more of a process than a single event. It doesn’t just collapse out of nowhere. The collapse begins when the roof shows signs of distress. Prolonged distress on the roof--from the elements, or time spent delaying repair the roof--may mean collapse is imminent, even if the roof is still intact on the building. And of course, roof collapse is complete when the roof crumbles to the ground and has to be completely replaced.

Hurricane Matthew has finally dissipated and, assuming your family is safe to re-enter your property, the process of cleaning up the damage has begun. If you're among the one million plus population that moved to Florida within the last 10 years and never experienced a hurricane, you may be lost on how to move forward with the process of filing an insurance claim after Hurricane Matthew.

When your business premises is damaged by an insured cause of loss, there a number of reasons why you might decide to handle your own commercial property claim.