Have You Really Received All The Money You Are Entitled to for Your Hurricane Ike Wind or Flood Claim?

Eight Common Misconceptions About Hurricane and Flood Insurance Settlements

I am only entitled to what it cost me to fix my house, but some of the work was done by me or friends or church groups and volunteers so I cannot get paid for that.

Wrong. While the actual amount of money paid to fix damages is evidence of the cost of repair, you are entitled to the total amount of your damages. The insurance company or TWIA are not entitled to benefit from your work or the good work of volunteers. My expert appraisers prepare reports as to what the actual damages are regardless of how the work was done or who did it. Think of it this way. If I have a wreck and it is someone else’s fault and they ruin my bumper and it costs $800 to have a body shop repair it, then the insurance company owes me $800. They owe me $800 even if I have a brother-in-law who can fix it for $500. Or I can simply drive around with the messed up bumper and pocket the $800. Or I can go to another body shop that charges me $1000 and put up $200 of my own money. It is my choice. The same is true with your hurricane claim. I have church clients whose members did a lot of volunteer work to clean up the church and even some carpentry work because the insurance company or TWIA took so long to settle the case the church could not wait. But the churches are still entitled to their total damages no matter who did it or how much they charged.

1. Once I have received a settlement from my insurance company I cannot re-open the claim.
   
   
2. On my flood claim I have to take what they offer me because it is FEMA and lawyers don’t want flood claims.
   
   
3. The insurance company or TWIA only owes me my actual damages and maybe my attorney fees for my damages.
   
   
4. I hired a public adjuster and he got me all the money I am going to get.
   
   
5. If I hire a lawyer to handle my windstorm claim he will take a fee and take some of the money that I need to fix my house.
   
   
6. I had a beach house on the Bolivar Peninsula that got blown away. TWIA has some report from experts that says that the storm surge came ashore first and destroyed my beach house and the high winds only did about 11% of the damage to my home. I guess 11% of the cost to replace the house is all I can get.
   
   
7. I had broken windows and rain coming in through my roof. You can see water stains on my ceiling. But I also had flood water in my house and the insurance company or TWIA is saying that the flood caused most or all of my damage.
   
   
8. I am only entitled to what it cost me to fix my house, but some of the work was done by me or friends or church groups and volunteers so I cannot get paid for that.