Karen Schiffmiller, a pacesetter and Previous President of the Florida Affiliation of Public Insurance coverage Adjusters, wrote the next observe in response to an article, Miami Home-owner Charged with Defrauding Residents by Claiming Previous Harm:

Why you need to at all times ask questions. All Public Insurance coverage Adjusters have a duty, when doubtlessly representing a consumer, to do your due diligence and ask questions if there have been any prior claims and harm on the property.

All the time, at all times, at all times do the precise factor! In case you are not sure if one thing is roofed, or the harm appears to be like prefer it has been occurring for a time period, or the harm appears to be like outdated, ask questions and do your homework!

The article famous:

Florida authorities have charged a Miami man – who has a protracted file of felony and civil circumstances underneath his identify – with insurance coverage fraud after investigators discovered that some $300,000 in claims had been linked to pre-existing harm to his dwelling.

Damacio Covon Inexperienced, 52, was arrested earlier this month after he claimed nearly $80,000 in harm to his Miami Gardens dwelling from a backed-up drain line in early 2021, based on the Florida Division of Monetary Companies. A Residents Property Insurance coverage Co. adjuster discovered that the harm had occurred earlier than the home-owner coverage was written in 2020, the division mentioned in a press release.

The revelations within the 2021 declare led investigators to find out that $302,000 in earlier claims had been for alleged harm that was outdated and had not been disclosed when insurance policies had been inked, a DFS spokesman mentioned.

One of the best adjustment apply is to at all times decide the situation of the property earlier than the loss occurred. Each adjuster might want to know this simply to find out an precise money worth estimate of injury. By doing so, questions on prior insurance coverage claims, damages from prior occurrences—repaired and never repaired, and the quantity of damage and tear to a property will at all times be inquired in order that claims disputes and expenses just like the above may be minimized or averted.

Is prior unrepaired harm at all times excluded? Typically, the reply is “sure.” However I recommend readers of this weblog re-read this put up: Prior Flood Harm Does Not Must Be Repaired to Have Subsequent Flood Declare Paid.

Thought For The Day

We had been criticized all through that investigation for being too thorough, for taking too lengthy. However time has proved the correctness of that strategy.

—Ken Starr