&
Courtesy Of
&
|
TO REPORT PRICE GOUGING Call the Price Gouging Hotline at 866-9-NO-SCAM UTILITIES
INSURANCE COMPANIES Floridian Insurance: 1-800-547-8676 OPERATION BLUE ROOF You may be eligible for blue tarps
for your roof from FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers. The toll-free BLUE
ROOF hotline number is 1-888-ROOF-BLU or 1-888-766-3258. For this
information in Spanish, call 1-800-403-0573. To qualify for BLUE ROOF
services, damage to the roof must be less than 50 percent and the area to be
covered must be structurally sound for the safety of the crew working on
it. Hurricane Hotline:
954-831-4000 Animal Care and Regulation
Division: 954-359-1313 Emergency Management
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY Answer Center, Emergency
Management Office: 305-468-5900, TDD: 305-468-5402 Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Answer Center hot line open for calls: 311. Outside Miami-Dade County, dial: 305-468-5900. TDD Line: 305-468-5402. For more disaster-related information: www.miamidade.gov/emergency
MONROE COUNTY Information Hotline:
FACTS ABOUT THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENGY (FEMA) FEMA provides disaster assistance to individuals, families and businesses whose losses are not covered by insurance. It does not pay for insurance deductibles, but will provide grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other “necessary expenses and serious needs caused by the disaster.'' Such expenses can be for medical, dental, moving and funeral needs. Residents of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties have been declared eligible to receive individual financial aid from FEMA. FEMA's individual assistance
program can cover damage to your house, its contents, rental assistance and
lodging expenses resulting from the hurricane. It can also cover medical,
dental and funeral expenses. You may receive up to $26,200.00. If a decision on your insurance
settlement has been delayed 30 days or more from the time you filed your
claim, you may get an insurance advancement from FEMA. This is considered a
loan and must be repaid to FEMA once you receive your insurance settlement. FEMA's disaster assistance program does not cover secondary or vacation homes. If you rent out the home, you may be eligible for assistance from the Small Business Administration. FEMA does not pay for lost wages. For more information in this regard, please contact unemployment and disaster unemployment assistance at 1-800-342-3450. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ's):
HOMEOWNER ISSUES:
Question: I live in a condominium complex or subdivision (administered by a homeowners' association) that sustained damage to its common-area facilities (i.e., pool, gym, playground, parking areas) during a recent Florida hurricane. Can I withhold payment of my homeowners' association dues until the homeowners' association makes repairs to these common areas, since I cannot use these facilities in the meantime? Answer: No. While the homeowner's association is certainly obligated to arrange for the repairs to these common areas, you and every other homeowner are jointly the members of this homeowners' association, and repair issues should be pursued with the homeowners' association itself. Moreover, the means and budgeting for these repairs may require the input of the homeowners collectively. Any unexplained failure to address repairs must be pursued through the homeowners' association itself in accordance with its rules, by-laws, and voting rights. If the homeowner's association still fails to deal with the repairs, a lawsuit against the homeowners' association may be necessary to legally enforce these remedies. Q: As a result of the hurricane, I am not able to pay this month's mortgage installment. I don't want my property to go into foreclosure. Is there a law requiring the mortgage company to excuse my payment due to the hurricane? A: NO. There is no law excusing mortgage payments because of hardship from a hurricanes. The mortgage company may foreclose upon a default. However, many mortgage companies are offering grace periods as a matter of customer service to allow homeowners to get back on their feet and resume normal payments. If your mortgage company grants you an extension, try to get confirmation in writing. If not, you may be eligible for mortgage payment relief by contacting FEMA at 1-800-621-3362. Additionally, if you have lost employment income, seek assistance from the Unemployment Compensation division. Q: Who is responsible for damages caused by a falling tree and for removal of the tree.
|
|
|
|
A: If the damages were caused by a tree falling as a result of an act of God and there was no prior knowledge or ability to anticipate that the tree was a hazard and likely to fall, the damages are usually the responsibility of the owner of the damaged property. Additionally, the removal of the fallen tree will in most instances be the responsibility of the property owner upon whose property the tree fell, even if the tree fell from a neighbor's property across the property boundary. Whether liability insurance should pay the costs will depend on the individual policies. Generally, even if covered, there will be a high deductible on damages resulting from strong winds and other natural causes. Q: I have hired an individual or company to complete my repairs and have been told that a permit is not required or it is my responsibility to obtain a permit from the local governing authority. A: First, we strongly suggest that you only hire State-licensed or County-certified contractors to work on your property. Such a license or certification has been issued to the contractor because the contractor has demonstrated a necessary level of competency to do the particular work and maintains required insurance. Before entering into an agreement, we suggest that you ask for and receive the contractor's license number. Please note that many contractors will provide you with a copy of an occupational license issued by a city or county. This is NOT a license that indicates competency, it is merely a tax imposed by a local government on individuals who conduct business in the geographic area. As such it can be obtained by anyone who pays the appropriate fee, not just reliable contractors. Unless you have minor repairs, most repair projects will require a City or County permit. As a general rule of thumb, a repair project less then $500 and not electrical, plumbing or structural in nature may be considered minor. Please note that the failure to obtain a required permit may ultimately become the problem of the property owner because it may subject the owner to administrative fines and liens if pursued by the local government. Therefore, if the person you hire advises you that you do not need a permit, we urge you to contact the building department at your City or County and obtain written confirmation. If the individual you speak with advises you that a permit is not required, and will not give you written confirmation, we suggest that you obtain that person's name and title, and record the time and day that you spoke with him or her for your use in the future. If you confirm that the information your contractor has given you is incorrect, we suggest that you hire another contractor. Additionally, in certain instances, homeowners may act as their own general contractors, even if they do not have a license, and obtain certain permits. This may be the basis, if your contractor asks you to obtain the permit, but there are restrictions that you will have to address. For instance, a homeowner can only obtain a permit if it is for work on a house in which the homeowner actually resides. In addition, if the work is electrical, plumbing, structural or related to a major roof repair, it may still be necessary for a contractor who is licensed in those areas to obtain the permit under his license number. Finally, you should be aware that the contractor licensing restrictions have been relaxed in recent weeks to allow out of state contractors to do business in the State. Although, we recognize that hiring an out of state contractor may be the only option available, it is suggested that you proceed with caution since, if you have a problem with the repair work after the contractor has left Florida and returned home, it may be very difficult to obtain a remedy.
LANDLORD/TENANT ISSUES Q: What can a tenant do if the landlord has not repaired hurricane damage? A: The tenant must mail or hand deliver a 7-day notice to the landlord to fix or repair the damages, unless the repairs are the tenant's obligation under the lease. If the landlord makes a reasonable effort to cure the violation within 7 days, or if the noncompliance is beyond the landlord's control, the tenant cannot terminate the lease unless the unit is uninhabitable. However, the tenant can, after providing the notice, withhold all the rent if the premises are uninhabitable. Or, if the tenant still lives in the premises, an amount in proportion to the loss of rental value caused by the noncompliance may be withheld. Remember, a tenant does not have any of these rights until the 7-day notice to fix or repair is mailed or hand delivered to the landlord. Q: If I am renting an apartment and my personal property is damaged, what recourse do I have? A: Hopefully, you have renter's insurance. If so, you should contact your insurance company and report your loss. If not, you should see if the landlord's policy will cover your losses. If not, you may be eligible for a FEMA Individual or Family Grant. Q: Am I as a tenant liable for damage caused by a hurricane to rental property? A: We will need to review your lease. Generally, however, the landlord will be responsible unless you were negligent in some aspect, and the damage resulted from your negligence. INSURANCE ISSUES Q: Can my car or health insurance be canceled or renewal denied? A: By order of the Office of Insurance Regulation and because Governor Bush declared a State of Emergency, auto and health insurance policies cannot be canceled or denied renewal unless the insured requests the cancellation or non-renewal. Please contact the Department of Financial Services Insurance Claim Hotline: 1-800-22-STORM (1-800-227-8676). Q: How long do I have to wait until an insurance adjuster assesses the damages? A: Due to the number of claims being filed you may experience some delay. Thus, it is suggested that you follow-up your telephonic request with one in writing. However, if the delay is unreasonable, you should contact the Florida Department of Insurance at 1-800-342-2762. Q: My insurance company sent me a check payable to my name and that of the mortgage company. Why must the mortgage company endorse the check? A: As a general rule insurance companies issue this type of check because mortgage documents list your mortgage company as an additional insured on the insurance policy. The mortgage company includes this requirement as a condition to loan because it has a lien on your property in the amount of the outstanding mortgage and therefore has a vested interest in seeing that all the necessary repairs are completed in a workmanlike manner. Therefore, most mortgage companies have the right to require a homeowner to endorse the insurance check and deliver the funds to the mortgage company to be disbursed by the company periodically as the repairs are made. The mortgage company also may have the right to inspect the repairs before it releases the money. Depending on the extent of the damage and the amount of equity that the owner has in the property, the mortgage company may not require that it hold the funds and may endorse the check and provide the check to the homeowner. It is suggested that you contact your mortgage company to discuss their specific rules. Q: What if, after I obtain repair estimates, the payout amount I receive from my insurance company is less than my repair estimates? A: At the time you receive your payout amount you should not sign any release or satisfaction of claim without contacting our office. In most instances, your repairs will not have been completed and therefore, if you sign a release, you may be waiving valuable rights and claims that you may have against your insurance company. You should only be asked to sign a release or satisfaction of your claim after all of the repairs have been made and, once again, you should not do so without first contacting our office. In the event, after your deductible has been taken out, the amount of your repair estimates exceeds the amount that your insurance company has agreed to pay you, most insurance companies will review the additional information and, if the additional costs are legitimate will supplement your claim amount. You will likely be required to provide to your insurance company copies of the estimates. As with any part of your claim, it is important that you keep copies of all documents and correspondence, including e-mails that you provide to or receive from your insurance company. The insurance company is entitled to review the information and estimates you provide before making a determination. If your claim is denied or the insurance company fails to respond, we urge you to contact our office for assistance. As provided under Title I of your PPL plan, we will review the documents that you provide and, in most instances, send a letter on your behalf to the insurance company. You may also hire a public adjustor, who will assess the damage independently and then work on your behalf with your insurance company in the hope of a settlement. Please note that public adjusters work for a fee based on the amount of your settlement. By law, a public adjuster's fee is limited to 10% of any settlement. If you elect to use a public adjuster, you are advised to ensure that the public adjuster is licensed, to pay nothing up front, and to check driver's license upon arrival to make sure the person you hired is the one who performs the work. If you are interested in retaining such an adjuster, you can obtain names by going to the Florida Association of Professional Insurance Adjustors website at www.fapia.net. Q: If my insurance company refuses to approve my claim is my only option to file a lawsuit? A: You can request mediation with your Insurer through a program set up through the State of Florida Department of Financial Services (formerly called the Department of Insurance). The DFS Mediation Program can be contacted by calling the Consumer Help Line at 1-800-342-2762. If you elect to avail yourself of this service, we urge you to contact us to discuss the process and the information you may need to have available to present to the mediator. MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES Q: Do I need to be a U. S. citizen to apply for disaster benefits? A: No. There are non-cash FEMA Programs that are available to non-U.S. citizens.
|
|
|
|
This information has been gathered
from various sources and articles for your personal Help
information!
To Bombolini’s®
Home Page
To View Our Online
Mall Contact
Us!
|