Paying for extra sinkhole testing When an insurance company denies a sinkhole claim, the insured has the right to request a test for sinkhole activity when the insurance company may not have completed one themselves. Is this a smart move? Why your claim is denied While every situation is different and needs to be looked…
The Johnson v. Omega Insurance story Our firm has been representing Kathy Johnson in a case against Omega Insurance for a denied sinkhole claim. Johnson’s home has been severely damaged, however, the insurance company has claimed that the damage was not covered under Johnson’s policy, and that sinkhole activity was not discovered. After analyzing the…
The offer to settle a sinkhole claim If you open a sinkhole claim with your insurance company, you may be invited to receive a settlement to be used to pay for the repairs yourself, as opposed to the situation remaining in the hands of your insurance company. In many cases, this settlement will not cover…
When insurance companies win more sinkhole trials As of late, many insurance companies have begun to brag about how many sinkhole trials they win. This message is great for them, as it scares off unhappy insureds, making them believe they will lose a trial if they decide to sue the insurance company. However, let’s dig…
How do lawyers get paid? In case you had never heard this piece of advice, always read a contract before you sign it. The contract you have with your lawyer should explicitly map out exactly how and when (or if) your lawyer gets paid. This is a means of agreeing on these details so that…
Will my insurance pay for sinkhole underpinning? In many cases, underpinning is the best way to fix the damage caused by a sinkhole. Unfortunately, this is also the most expensive route to take, and the only way to do the job right. So, when we look to our insurance company to help foot the bill,…
Q: For an Examination Under Oath (EUO), what can/can’t an attorney do for a claim filer? Can they interject into the questionning? Also, is the insurance company required to provide a reason for requesting the EUO if asked for an explanation? An EUO is a contractual animal that virtually every insurance policy will contain. Essentially…
Boy do we hear this question a lot. Let me stick up for Citizens for just a brief second first off. Citizens is by far the largest insurer in the state and often times forced into insuring risky homes in risky areas. By default then Citizens assumes more bad policies than any other insurance company….
Ted Corless is getting involved in a pro bono (that’s free) capacity, representing as many as 71 homeowners in about 5 counties, to see if he can shut this guy down or make him resolve the problems so many of these people are having. I know from my experience that cracking, settlement damage, or subsidence at homes cannot be resolved by simply painting the cracks. You have to resolve the problem be it related to sinkholes, clay damage, or construction defects. Taking money from elderly people and then painting their driveways for such large sums of money appears to be getting Mr. Stanko into a lot of heat.
As a homeowner, is there is solution to the sinkhole problems and damage we read so much about? The most any property owner in Florida can do about sinkholes is about as much as a California property owner can do about earthquakes. While there are things we can do as communities to avoid creating these…
