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Date: October 27, 2009
Host: Alan Garfinkel View Transcript | Archive Index For All Legal Chats Standing in the street mournfully staring at what used to be your home can leave a person struggling to take the next step. Do you know where, or how, to start rebuilding? Homeowners insurance covers such a wide range of property and liability scenarios, including but not limited to; damage by fire or vandalism to an individual being injured on your property. There are also many types of losses and events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods or "Acts of God" which can be excluded unless specific insurance coverage is in place. It is truly important to have a firm understanding of your policy. Learn more about this vast and sometimes confusing topic with Attorney Alan Garfinkel on October 27th at 2 PM ET (1 Central, 11 Pacific) and start rebuilding.
ALAN GARFINKEL is an Orlando, Florida lawyer and founder of Garfinkel Trial Group, an 22-lawyer plaintiffs' personal injury and natural disaster law firm. A graduate of Florida State University, Mr. Garfinkel is Board Certified and is also "AV-rated" by Martindale Hubbell (the highest possible rating) and is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, Florida Supreme Court and multiple Federal Courts. His associates are licensed to practice in multiple states including,
Alabama, California, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Alan is on the board of directors of Florida's largest charity for families of injured workers. http://www.hurricanejustice.com Live Chat Transcript Attorney Garfinkel: "Good afternoon everyone and welcome to today's property insurance chat"
Attorney Garfinkel: "My name is Scott Dornstein and I will be conducting the session for Alan Garfinkel this week"
Attorney Garfinkel: "As you are all aware, we are still in the middle of hurricane season. Remain vigilant and prepared even though the season has been quiet and is coming to and end in a little over a month. This includes making sure that your homeowners insurance policy is kept ina safe place."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Many of the questions that my office receives involve deductibles so I wanted to take a few moments this week to discuss deductibles in general and then get into any specific questions you may have later on."
Attorney Garfinkel: "And please be advised that this discussion refers to Florida law. While the laws in other states are similar, please consult an attorney licensed in your state for specirfic questions."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Florida law defines a "deductible" as a clause in an insurance policy that relieves the insurer of responsibility for an initial specified loss of the kind insured against."
Attorney Garfinkel: "I'm sure you have all had some experience with deductibles, most likely with your automobile insurance."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Many people often question why insurers are allowed to maintain a deductible."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Basically, your insurance company, despite receiving premium payments, is allowed to alter the point at which its duty to pay you ripens. A deductible is also often referred to as self insurance."
Attorney Garfinkel: "You are insuring yourself for the amount up to the deductible and then your coverage kicks in."
Attorney Garfinkel: "This is usually a simple matter. Your deductible is clearly stated on the Declarations page of your policy and you know you are responsible for all damages below that amount."
Attorney Garfinkel: "When it comes to windstorm/hurricane insurance however, things get more complicated."
Attorney Garfinkel: "The reason it has become complex is because of legislative revisions in response to the deadly hurricane season of 2004-2006, which included Katrina, Wilma, Rita and others"
Attorney Garfinkel: "The Florida statutes require deductible choices be given to homeowners from a flat $500 to up to 10% of the insured value of the home."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Obviously, the price you pay for your premium will be affected by these choices. I'm sure you can imagine the risks and costs involved with making this decision."
Attorney Garfinkel: "One of the most important changes from years past is the use of the "single season deductible""
Attorney Garfinkel: "Basically the legislature determined that a hurricane deductible should only be applied once per season, rather than once per event. This was in response to the massive damage caused by Charley, Frances and Jean in Florida, 2004 which occurred very close together and caused massive damage."
Attorney Garfinkel: "There is a caveat however, in that the law actually provides that, after a subsequent hurricane damages the home, the deductible shall be the greater of the remaining unused dedcutible"
Attorney Garfinkel: "assuming that the first loss was under the deductible or the "other wind" deductible noted in the policy."
Attorney Garfinkel: "For example, let's say you had a policy with a $10,000 hurricane deductible and a $500 "other wind" deductible"
Attorney Garfinkel: "Your home is then damaged in the maount of $7500 in the first storm of the season"
Attorney Garfinkel: "The deductible for any subsequent storm would then be $2500"
Attorney Garfinkel: "If you instead suffered a loss of $20,000 during the first storm, which would clearly surpass the hurricane deductible, the loss for the second storm would not have a deductible of zero."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Rather, you would absorb the first $500 of the subsequent loss. Simply, the law substitutes the "other wind" deductible for the hurricane deductible."
Attorney Garfinkel: "I know that this is confusing, so if you have any detailed questions please consult with your insurance agent or an attorney"
Attorney Garfinkel: "You can see how this rule benefits the insurer, while not being a true "single season deductible"."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Finally, if you have chosen a percentage deductible, you need to know how it is calculated."
Attorney Garfinkel: "It is calculated based on the covered portion of the loss, not the total loss."
Attorney Garfinkel: "So, if you had $50,000 in flood loss (not covered) and $25,000 in windstorm loss (covered), a 2% deductible would be $5000, which is 2% of the covered claim."
Attorney Garfinkel: "The Florida courts have looked at this issue and determined that since the deductible is meant to relieve insurers of a certain liability for those losses it insures against"
Attorney Garfinkel: "and not against all losses to the property it makes sense for the deductible to be calculated only against the value of covered damages."
Attorney Garfinkel: "Thank you so much for your time. I hope this was an informative session."
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