How are homeowners affected when a sinkhole opens near their home or on their street? Since 2011, because of heavily lobbied changes by, you know who, insurance carriers are not required to offer homeowners/policyholders sinkhole coverage any where in the state. Do some insurance companies still offer their customers sinkhole coverage today? Yes, just not many. Furthermore, if you are offered sinkhole coverage it is either astronomically expense or comes with a huge 10% deductible. There are two kinds of sinkhole coverage; regular coverage, like what we are speaking about previously that costs extra as well as catastrophe coverage that still comes with all policies at no additional cost. The difference boils down to prevention. When a homeowner sees signs of damage like cracking or shifting, inside or outside their home that should not be there, regular sinkhole coverage would kick in to help that homeowner get their property properly tested by an engineer to determine if the damage is from sinkholes. In turn, then getting the sinkholes fixed to prevent further damage and keep the home safe. The other type of coverage, catastrophe coverage is for when it is too late and a sinkhole opens on a persons property AND touches their structure. If the hole does not touch their structure and the homeowner does not have the supplemental sinkhole coverage, there is no policy that could help get the problem fixed and the homeowner is left to deal with the sinkhole alone. Isnt insurance suppose to be there when you have a problem? Of course, but insurance companies are also in the business to make money. Relating everything to this article, if a homeowner wakes up to a huge sinkhole in the front of their driveway, which did not touch their home structure and they do not have the supplemental sinkhole insurance, their insurance will not help them with the problem. Sinkholes can cost anyway from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to fix, no wonder insurance companies spent so much to be able to not offer their customers coverage that protects their homes. If you want further information or a free consultation contact an experienced Public Adjusting firm like ours to discuss. wfla/story/26061627/sinkhole-opens-in-spring-hill-neighborhood
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 10:13:55 +0000
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