During the 2011 hurricane season, South Florida dodged another bullet getting missed by so many tropical storms and hurricanes. Some brought heavy rain storms with high winds, while others passed us without any signs of their existence. On September 9th, 2011, one unnamed rain storm caused several roof leaks to the Sousar Family’s Miami-Dade county residence located in Palmetto Bay, FL near SW 144 St and 82nd Avenue. After reporting the damages to their insurance company, many close friends advised them to hire a Public Adjuster and not handle this insurance claim alone. On September 15th, 2011 the Sousar Family decided to hire Intellaclaim Public Adjusters to take over the claim process after interviewing two other Miami Public Adjusters. Within 24 hours Intellaclaim Adjusters began discussing the claim with the insurance company and scheduled a re-inspection of the property for September 19th. we discovered and documented damages to the kitchen ceiling and cabinets, and ceiling in the garage. We provided the insurance company with a detailed estimate for the required repairs, and showed numerous pictures illustrating the damages. On September 22nd, 2011, the Insurance Company sends out a denial letter quoting the “Wear and tear, deterioration, latent defect” exclusion in the policy. Knowing that this denial decision was improper, we wrote a letter quoting the policy language that did in fact cover this type of loss. On September 31st, the undisputed amount of $14,898.28 was issued. Not bad, considering they wanted to pay zero just 9 days prior. Knowing this amount was still short, and not enough to cover the Sousar Family with 5 children, to live outside their house during the repair process, we negotiated an additional $7,000 for fully furnished temporary housing for 2 months, which was paid shortly thereafter. In the end, the Sousar Family was more than pleased with the outcome of their claim and glad they took their friend’s advice in hiring a Public Adjuster.
