An interesting article posted on TBO.com indicates what most of us know: that sinkhole claims are on the rise. The legislature seems to have caught on to this (probably through insurance lobbyists) and wants to evaluate where and why these claims are on the rise. We do see a common theme in this article which is that sinkhole alley  resides in Hernando, Pasco and Citrus Counties and surprise that claims in other areas of the state are becoming more common.

As we have discussed many times before, areas such as Ocala, Gainesville, The Villages, Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties are equally at risk, just not as highly publicized. It is also interesting how the article discusses the difficulty they expect to have in mapping sinkhole locations due to poor and spotty records keeping systems over the years.

Finally, you see several hints from certain interviewees that fraudulent sinkhole claims are on the rise. We wonder, if you have damage that looks like it could be related to sinkhole activity such as cracks or depressions in the yard, how can you be blamed for filing a claim and getting some piece of mind? This is especially true considering the trend for carriers today, is to drop or carve out sinkhole coverage for Florida homeowners.

Read our tips on filling out a sinkhole claim.

Have a burning question you’d like to ask about sinkholes? Let us know.