This morning I was teaching over 200 adjusters about how to properly adjust claims with multiple causes of loss from wind and flood caused by a hurricane. This seminar, Slabbed: Making a Wind and Flood Claim on the Same Structure, was for members of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (FAPIA). I have personally handled thousands of these unique claims. Unfortunately, many adjusters do not do it right. As a result, policyholders will often suffer because they fail to receive all benefits available under the policies covering this type of loss.
Stealing lines from the classic musical, The Sound of Music, life often teaches us to start at the beginning. It is a very good place to start.
I received questions during and after the seminar demonstrating that most of the adjusters had not spent time first studying the National Flood Insurance Claims Manual. To handle these claims properly, an adjuster must start at the beginning and study this flood claims manual.
For adjusters working on Hurricane Ian claims, here is the link to the current National Flood Insurance Manual.
The National Flood Insurance Program needs to be reformed in many ways. I warned about this in Hurricane Ian National Flood Insurance Claims—What to Expect. To be fair and balanced, the National Flood claims executives are to be congratulated for at least publishing the claims manual for how they expect the National Flood Insurance Program claims are to be adjusted. Private insurance companies should do the same, and state insurance commissioners should start requiring them to do so.
Why do insurance companies get to keep secrets from their customers about how their claims will be handled? It is wrong, and nobody seems to raise the question—until now.
Thought For The Day
‘Climb Every Mountain’ is a beautiful statement of philosophy. Critics may think ‘The Sound of Music’ is saccharine, but I think it’s profound. The message, that we can’t accommodate evil, is just as important today.
—Jon Voight
