My insurance company recently told me they are going to file a copy of my sinkhole report, where they found sinkhole activity, with the county. Can they do this?
Pursuant to Section 627.7073(2)(a), Florida Statutes, “any insurer that has paid a claim for sinkhole loss shall file a copy of the report “¦ with the clerk of court “¦”. Each county has its own clerk of court, where the information is then cataloged. Note, the language of the statute only permits this to be done with “paid” sinkhole losses, not claims where the insurance company”™s engineering firm fails to find sinkhole activity.
During the 2005 legislative session, A wide variety of new statutes for Florida sinkholes were adopted. Before you think this change was to protect home buyers, it was not. Instead, it was designed to mark homes with sinkhole damage, so that no future insurance company would insure it unless the proper repairs could be documented.
Sinkhole Houses Being Sold “As Is”
One issue they were dealing with was the fact that people were being paid for sinkhole claims, not repairing their houses, and then selling them “as is.” Later, the insureds would have to file new sinkhole claims, which the insurance companies would have to pay again.
The “denied” claims are not to be filed. I will tell you as a practical matter that many insurance companies are slow to file these reports, as it actually costs them money to do so. Plus, the failure to file them is not a basis to sue them. Meaning, if you buy a house with undisclosed sinkhole activity, you cannot sue the insurance company for failing to file a confirmed report.
As we counsel realtors on sinkholes, it is always a good idea to do a document search at the county before you buy a home, and to review your home”™s file with the building department. These materials are public record and can provide you important information when purchasing a house.
Have a burning question you”™d like to ask about sinkholes? Let us know.
We have noticed a lot of cracking around our house lately. And recently there was a sinkhole in our neighborhood that damaged a house. Can we move out of the house and get out of the rest of our mortgage because this wasn’t disclosed to us as a potential problem? We are looking for alternatives to foreclosure because we don’t want to live in fear of a sinkhole opening up under us.
So glad to find you on the Internet. My question is short. If an engineer discovers a sinkhole on private or public, (municipal) land; to whom is he to report his findings to?
Much thanks.
Lea O’Neal, Publisher
WELCOME Magazine
Typically the engineers themselves do not report the claims. Under Florida law insurance companies are required to provide reports to the county property appraiser but only if there is confirmed sinkhole activity and only aftet the insurance company has paid the claim. This often creates a vast delay between the time the investigation is done and the report is submitted to the county. Again though, the engineer is not required to make their report public, it is your insurance company that files it. If the claim was denied and sinkhole activity not discovered the report should not be filed at all.
Is that information on paid claims publicly available and if so where can it be found?
The info will not nexessarily tell you that the claim was paid but will usually show a brief description of the sinkhole conditions found. It can be found on the individual counties websites or at the property appraisers office. Each county reports these differently and some are better and quicker than others.