Tim Aten Knows: FDOT plans flyover ramps at Davis-951 intersectionInterim Lee County School Superintendent attends State of Our Schools breakfast
Tim Aten Knows: FDOT plans flyover ramps at Davis-951 intersection The Florida Department of Transportation intends to provide motorists with more options to alleviate the traffic congestion in that busy intersection of county, state and federal roads.
FORT MYERS Interim Lee County School Superintendent attends State of Our Schools breakfast The Lee County School District has had a tough school year amid a teacher shortage, pay problems, bus problems, and new leadership changes.
Immokalee Immokalee High School students learn financial lessons amid tough economic times The Suncoast Credit Union Finance Academy at Immokalee High School is taking a proactive approach to teaching students about money.
CAPE CORAL Mother of teenager accused of the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to appear in court The mother of a 16-year-old accused of being involved in the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller is set to appear in court for obstructing justice.
The Weather Authority A breezy onshore wind keeps coastal communities cooler this Friday The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer Friday morning, then a breezy offshore wind will cool off the coastal areas of Southwest Florida in the afternoon.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Vinnie, Miley For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
NAPLES Collier County JROTC instructor fired for alleged sexual misconduct A teenage girl claims her JROTC instructor made sexual comments, touched her, asked her on a date and told her to keep her mouth shut.
EAST FORT MYERS Redeveloping plan to modify East Fort Myers Southwest Florida is often called paradise, but some areas like East Fort Myers don’t live up to that. Now, the city is looking to change that.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High School works to beat the heat during spring practice Spring practice is heating up in more ways than one. High school teams are braving the elements right now.
Collier County Escaping an abusive partner – the ins and outs of injunctions for protection Survivors of domestic violence often seek an injunction, but for some, it may not be the best option to get out of a bad situation.
ESTERO Gulfshore Business honors 10 women for their contributions to business and Southwest Florida Lois Thome emceed a Gulfshore Business luncheon Thursday recognizing 10 local women for their contributions to SWFL.
NORTH NAPLES North Naples golf pro will have his sister caddy at PGA Championship Evan Bowser, the first assistant golf pro at LaPlaya Golf Club, will have his sister Elayna caddy for him at PGA Championship.
Person airlifted after crash on SR-31 near Bermont Road At least two people are hurt in another wreck on the roads on State Road 31 in Charlotte County.
Palm Beach Blvd. crash caused massive backups Two lanes are closed on Palm Beach Boulevard because of a crash near Orange River Boulevard.
Getting people back into their homes after storms For months, parts of our community have been involved in a back and forth with FEMA over the 25% flood insurance discount.
Tim Aten Knows: FDOT plans flyover ramps at Davis-951 intersection The Florida Department of Transportation intends to provide motorists with more options to alleviate the traffic congestion in that busy intersection of county, state and federal roads.
FORT MYERS Interim Lee County School Superintendent attends State of Our Schools breakfast The Lee County School District has had a tough school year amid a teacher shortage, pay problems, bus problems, and new leadership changes.
Immokalee Immokalee High School students learn financial lessons amid tough economic times The Suncoast Credit Union Finance Academy at Immokalee High School is taking a proactive approach to teaching students about money.
CAPE CORAL Mother of teenager accused of the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to appear in court The mother of a 16-year-old accused of being involved in the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller is set to appear in court for obstructing justice.
The Weather Authority A breezy onshore wind keeps coastal communities cooler this Friday The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer Friday morning, then a breezy offshore wind will cool off the coastal areas of Southwest Florida in the afternoon.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Vinnie, Miley For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
NAPLES Collier County JROTC instructor fired for alleged sexual misconduct A teenage girl claims her JROTC instructor made sexual comments, touched her, asked her on a date and told her to keep her mouth shut.
EAST FORT MYERS Redeveloping plan to modify East Fort Myers Southwest Florida is often called paradise, but some areas like East Fort Myers don’t live up to that. Now, the city is looking to change that.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High School works to beat the heat during spring practice Spring practice is heating up in more ways than one. High school teams are braving the elements right now.
Collier County Escaping an abusive partner – the ins and outs of injunctions for protection Survivors of domestic violence often seek an injunction, but for some, it may not be the best option to get out of a bad situation.
ESTERO Gulfshore Business honors 10 women for their contributions to business and Southwest Florida Lois Thome emceed a Gulfshore Business luncheon Thursday recognizing 10 local women for their contributions to SWFL.
NORTH NAPLES North Naples golf pro will have his sister caddy at PGA Championship Evan Bowser, the first assistant golf pro at LaPlaya Golf Club, will have his sister Elayna caddy for him at PGA Championship.
Person airlifted after crash on SR-31 near Bermont Road At least two people are hurt in another wreck on the roads on State Road 31 in Charlotte County.
Palm Beach Blvd. crash caused massive backups Two lanes are closed on Palm Beach Boulevard because of a crash near Orange River Boulevard.
Getting people back into their homes after storms For months, parts of our community have been involved in a back and forth with FEMA over the 25% flood insurance discount.
“I think they’re a bunch of crooks. I feel they’re… How would they feel if this were their family or their house?” Elaine Damiano, Cape Coral homeowner A Cape Coral couple is demanding answers and accountability. It’s been 16 months since Hurricane Ian made landfall and they say they still haven’t received the insurance money they need to fully restore their home. Elaine and Michael Damiano are in their late seventies and say they’re draining their retirement savings to make their home livable. To make matters worse, they fear the people who should be working for them, are withholding key information that may shed light on why their insurance claim is still open and unresolved. WINK News Investigative Reporter Céline McArthur has been delving into the couple’s case for almost a year and finds out what’s going on—now. RELATED: Florida CFO responds to WINK News property insurance investigation: ‘This is why I fight for people to get their claims closed.’ The Damianos are livid. It’s been 496 days since Hurricane Ian stormed through their home, and they say their insurance company, public adjuster, and attorney are keeping them in the dark about what’s going on with their claim. The couple believes some clues can be found in a document they haven’t gotten their hands on. Elaine Damiano is a hobbyist with a passion for crafting home decor. Elaine Damiano, Cape Coral homeowner “I am a Jack of all trades, master of absolutely nothing,” said Elaine. The Damianos fear their insurance provider—Cypress Property and Casualty Insurance Company—lacks the incentive to close the case. Elaine suggested, “Maybe they’re just waiting for us to drop dead so they don’t have to pay anything.” Cape Coral homeowner Elaine Damiano And now the senior couple is in debt. Michael shared, “I have a lien on my house, you know, first time in my life.” He went on to say, “They don’t want to pay the vendors that did work for me. In my opinion, they’re obligated to do that.” Cape Coral homeowner Michael Damiano Nine days after the storm, the couple hired public adjuster Scotty Moland of Tailored Loss Consultants. He submitted a claim for $384,000 on their behalf two months after Ian. Cypress paid about $51k to begin renovations soon after. Scotty Moland, Public Adjuster “It was enough money to replace the roof. It’s enough money to get something started,” said Moland. It wasn’t enough to get the job done, and Moland admits he could not get Cypress to shell out any more money. Moland explained, “Everything that could be negotiable, or workable now becomes a fight.” In March of 2023, I challenged Cypress. The executive vice president admitted his company dropped the ball and issued the Damianos a check for about $113,000. Moland collected his 10 percent fee and brought in attorney David Sholl to represent the couple and attempt to settle with Cypress or sue. He acknowledges it’s a costly strategy. “If an attorney is looking to go to litigation, they’re going to charge anywhere from 25 to 33%. So if they do the full 33%, the homeowner loses 43 percent of their claim, just to get to the end,” said Moland. Last year, Sholl argued that every Southwest Florida homeowner should partner with a public adjuster-attorney team to collectively challenge their insurance companies. Attorney David Sholl (left) and Public Adjuster Scotty Moland (right) interviewed by McArthur on WINK News | March 2023 “They come in with a whole team of people in their interest to determine, how can I say this… You should never rely on the person who has to pay you money to tell you how much they owe you. You should have your own team of people telling you how much that person owes you,” said Sholl. The Damianos hoped Sholl would make some headway with Cypress. Months went by with no more payments to repair their damage. “We pay the attorney. We pay the public adjuster, who has gotten quite a bit of money. We pay premiums to the insurance company, so we pay them; they hire attorneys… and nothing is going the way it’s supposed to go,” explained Elaine. Examination Under Oath In August, lawyers representing Cypress questioned Elaine and Michael about their storm damage, in what’s called an Examination Under Oath. EUOs are allowed under the insurance policy, but Sholl couldn’t figure out what information Cypress wanted that they didn’t have before. “I think that some of this is being done to potentially push the case under the rug,” said Sholl. Micheal Damiano during virtual Examination Under Oath with Cypress Property and Casualty Insurance | August 2023 Elaine suggested, “I think what they were looking at was for a way to say we went above and beyond ripping our house apart like, yeah, everybody wants to rip their house apart.” Elaine argues her public adjuster advised them on what needed to be torn out as he was evaluating their damage. These are images of Moland from his 3-D walkthrough of their home! Image of Public Adjuster Scotty Moland inside the Damiano home assessing the damage after Hurricane Ian. Photo provided to WINK News by Moland. “Our public adjuster was here with everything,” said Elaine. “Everything was being torn apart, ripped apart. And nobody’s advising. Nobody’s advising that this shouldn’t come out. They’re all saying it should come out.” Where’s the transcript? Moland was also ‘examined under oath’ by Cypress, which legal experts say is not unheard of. However, the results of that EUO remain a mystery. The Damianos repeatedly directed Moland and Sholl to secure a recording or transcript of the interview. She insisted, “That is ours! That’s ours. Okay, they have it, we would like a copy of it, all you have to do is just send us a copy.” They never got it. I also asked Moland, Sholl, and Cypress for a transcript, and I didn’t get it. Moland claims he asked and didn’t get it. Sholl tells us he’ll look into it and get back to us. Cypress didn’t respond to us. Céline McArthur’s requests to Moland, Sholl, and Cypress for the transcript of Moland’s EUO. Elaine pointed out, “Somebody’s hiding something because normally, that public adjuster would be glad to give us this information. Our attorney would be glad to turn this information over.” The Damianos refuse to back down from their repeated calls for responsiveness and transparency. Expressing frustration, Michael implored, “Would you please keep us as informed as to what’s happening? We have no one calling us. There’s no information whatsoever as to what the next step is.” While the Damianos battle for the money they say is owed to them—based on their policy—Cypress has raised their annual insurance rate 39%. Céline goes to Tallahassee Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ office in the Florida Capitol Complex I drove up to Tallahassee to talk to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who regulates insurance in the state. We watched the Damiano story together. “Seeing people hurting… it’s not a fun part of the job, but seeing them be made a whole? That’s why I show up every day,” shared Patronis. Stay tuned to hear what else he said about the Cape Coral couple’s claim. In the meantime, share your thoughts or be part of the discussion! Email Céline at celine.mcarthur@winknews.com.