How to increase odds of getting your hurricane insurance claim paid

When Hurricane Helene hit Southwest Florida in September followed by Milton, many people filed insurance claims.

Some cases have been more extreme than others, but they all share one thing: loss.

A big question homeowners have following hurricanes: what’s the first thing you should do?

Hunter Felknor of Walker & Felknor Law Firm advises, “Have that free inspection of your property, that free valuation of your policy.”

Even if you’re not sure if you received damage or maybe you’re hesitant to file a claim, fearing your premiums will go up, doing nothing is never the right option.

“The worst thing that can happen is if there’s a loss down the road and you never took action for the subsequent hurricane loss you’re dealing with, and the insurance company says this is pre-existing damage, you should have filed a claim before,” explained Felknor.

• RELATED: Fort Myers Beach couple sues insurance over Hurricane Ian claim

Felknor said it’s a common excuse being used by insurance companies to not pay you what you’re owed, which is why you need to take action sooner rather than later.

“If you go through a Cat 4 hurricane, have your property looked at by an independent adjuster, get involved with your attorney to review your policy contract,” said Felknor. “Make sure that nothing is overlooked or misinterpreted, and then take away that argument for the insurance companies that ‘this is all pre-existing damage.'”

As for anybody filing a claim for a total loss, meaning your home is completely gone after a storm, the big thing to prove is you lost your home due to wind— not flooding or storm surge.

“The flood provision in policies is an exclusion that basically says, no matter what, if flood causes damage to the property, the claim is excluded,” explained Michael Cassel, attorney with Cassel & Cassel. “Fortunately, there’s a carve-out with the valued policy law that says if the total loss was caused by a covered peril, then there’s still coverage, even if there’s a flood.”

That means you have to prove wind, a covered peril, is the culprit.

Something Cassel did— back in September— winning the first Hurricane Ian insurance claim by jury trial in Fort Myers. Most settle.

“What we’ve been able to prove in the two cases that I’ve tried is that the total loss occurred before flood got there, and you simply can’t have a second total loss after a first total loss has occurred,” said Cassel.

While you may think you can do this all on your own, a fair warning from the experts: it’s not easy.

“Every case is a little different,” explained Felknor. “Different set of facts, and the policy language can greatly vary and change. Policyholders aren’t expected to be experts at anything. It’s a matter of getting the right team involved.”

And it’s something you should do before it escalates to the point where you need to go to jury trial, which can take years.