Tropical Storm Fay lingered on forever, but she never did make hurricane strength, for which we were very grateful.  And now we can be grateful for a different reason:  if your home sustained damage due to the storm, the hurricane deductible in your homeowner’s insurance policy does not apply.

According to Florida law, your insurance company must use the same definition of hurricane as does the National Hurricane Center.  Therefore, since the Center did not declare Fay a hurricane, neither can your insurance company. 

If your insurance company tries deny your claim or imposes a huge deductible due to “hurricane damage”, they are not treating you fairly under Florida law and you should contact an attorney.  Call one of Board Certified Trial Lawyers who have experience in resolving many different kinds of insurance disputes, including homeowner’s insurance disputes.

Tropical Storm Fay is bearing down on the State of Florida.  We can only hope that the insurance companies resolve property damage claims from Hurricane Fay much quicker this time than they did when Hurricane Charley came along the same path 2 years ago.

Once  Fay passes, we certainly anticipate that there will be significantly less damage than after Hurricane Charley came through.  But if the insurance companies remain true to form, regardless of the amount of property damage, they will refuse to pay claims, undervalue the damaged property or deny that the damage was related to the storm.  If they do, you have every right to contact an attorney to get help in having your claim resolved quickly and fairly.  Our attorneys have experience in handling all types of insurance claim disputes, including property damage, and can assist you in getting your claim resolved fairly.