PA License Number for Florida P197242 | Wind Certified Umpire and Appraiser | IAUA Associate Appraiser | FAPIA Associates Member and Ambassador | Puerto Rico License 3000461294
PA License Number for Florida P197242 | Wind Certified Umpire and Appraiser | IAUA Associate Appraiser | FAPIA Associates Member and Ambassador | Puerto Rico License 3000461294
When you have property damage in the Florida Keys, the hard part is often not recognizing that something went wrong. It is figuring out whether the number the insurance company gave you actually reflects the damage.
At Alconero Public Adjusters, we work with property owners from Key Largo and Islamorada through Marathon, Big Pine Key, and Key West. As a licensed Florida Keys public adjuster, our job is to look at the claim from the policyholder’s side: what happened, what was damaged, what the policy says, what the carrier included, and what may still need to be documented.
We do not start by assuming that every insurance estimate is wrong or that every claim should be larger. We start by understanding how the number was reached. That means reviewing the damage, the scope, the policy, the deductible, and the supporting documentation one piece at a time.
If something does not line up, we explain why.
That matters in the Keys because one loss can involve several different issues at once. A storm may leave roof damage, interior water intrusion, flood damage, damaged contents, or moisture that develops into a separate problem. Those conditions may not all fall under the same coverage, and they should not automatically be treated as if they do.
If you already have an estimate, payment, partial payment, denial, or claim decision that you do not fully understand, we can review it with you. The goal of a free claim review is simple: establish what the documents say, compare them with the property damage, and determine whether there is something that needs a closer look.
An insurance estimate can look detailed and still leave a property owner with questions. You may see line items, measurements, depreciation, deductibles, and a final payment amount, but that does not necessarily tell you whether the full scope of damage was documented.
When we review a claim, we do not jump straight to the bottom-line number. We work backward.
We look at what areas were inspected. We compare the visible damage with the written scope. We check whether related damage appears in the estimate. We review how the carrier categorized the cause of loss, because that can affect which part of the policy is being applied. We also look at the deductible and any previous payments so the owner can understand the difference between the amount of damage, the covered amount, and the amount actually paid.
Sometimes the disagreement is obvious. A room has damage, but the estimate does not include it. A roofing component is shown in photographs but does not appear in the scope. A contractor is discussing work that is not reflected in the carrier’s estimate.
Other times, the issue is less visible. The estimate may include the right room but not the full work required there. The carrier may have documented water intrusion without addressing the source. Wind and flood may have been separated in a way the owner does not understand.
That is why a claim review is useful even before anyone talks about negotiating.
Our approach is to establish the facts first. During a free damage inspection, we can look at the physical condition of the property and compare what we see with the claim documents you have received. From there, we can explain where the numbers appear to line up and where further documentation may be needed.
A public adjuster is not there to invent damage or create a larger estimate for the sake of having one. The job is to document the actual loss and present it properly under the policy.
For a property owner who has already had a difficult week, that distinction matters. You do not need another person telling you that the claim is complicated. You need someone willing to go through the documents carefully and tell you, in plain language, what the numbers mean.
A public adjuster represents the policyholder during a property insurance claim. The insurance company has its own people reviewing the loss. We work for the property owner.
In practical terms, that means our work usually begins with the property and the paperwork. We inspect the damage, review the policy and claim documents, study the insurance company’s estimate, document the scope of loss, and communicate with the carrier on the owner’s behalf.
The exact work depends on the claim.
If the issue is a water damage claim, for example, we want to understand where the water came from, what areas were affected, and whether the resulting damage has been fully documented. If the damage involves the roof, we may need to distinguish the condition that caused the opening from the interior damage that followed. That is different from simply adding “water damage” as one item on a list.
The same principle applies to the policy. We do not look only at what was damaged. We look at how the policy addresses that type of loss, what deductible applies, and how the carrier has interpreted the coverage.
Documentation is one of the most important parts of a property claim because an insurance company evaluates what can be shown and supported.
When we inspect a property, we are looking for the connection between the event and the physical damage. That may involve photographs, measurements, damaged materials, affected rooms, and the relationship between one area of damage and another.
A roof leak claim is a good example. Seeing staining on a ceiling tells us that water reached the interior, but it does not by itself explain how it entered or what else may have been affected. The scope needs to reflect the actual conditions, not just the easiest item to photograph.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
Once we understand the damage, we compare it with the insurance documents.
We look at the scope line by line when necessary. We check how the carrier reached its estimate and whether the documented damage is represented in that scope. We also review the deductible because a large deductible can make the final payment look very different from the total documented loss.
Our role is not to tell you that every carrier estimate is incorrect. It is to give you an independent explanation of what the estimate includes and whether it makes sense in light of the damage we can document.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
When additional documentation is needed, we organize it so the loss can be presented clearly.
That may include a detailed scope, supporting photographs, records, estimates, and other material relevant to the claim. We then communicate with the insurance company about the documented differences.
That process is much more useful than arguing over a single number without explaining where the difference comes from.
Hurricane and wind losses are part of property ownership in the Keys, but the insurance side of the loss can be less straightforward than the damage itself.
A storm can affect the roof, exterior openings, interior finishes, personal property, mechanical systems, and other parts of a building. It can also produce both wind-related damage and flooding. Those issues need to be separated and documented correctly because they may involve different coverage.
When we review a hurricane damage claim, we begin with the same basic question we use on other losses: what happened to the property, and how was each part of that damage addressed in the claim?
We look at the carrier’s scope, the property conditions, and the policy. If the estimate contains roof repairs but does not appear to address related interior damage, that needs to be understood. If the carrier has attributed part of the loss to flood and part to wind, the property owner should be able to see how that distinction was made.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
Florida homeowners policies set the hurricane deductible as a percentage of the dwelling limit. The most common options are 2%, 5%, and 10%.
That means the deductible is not necessarily a small fixed dollar amount.
For example, on a home insured for $700,000, a 5% hurricane deductible is $35,000 before the policy pays.
This is one reason we separate three ideas when explaining a claim to an owner: the documented amount of damage, the amount that is covered under the policy, and the amount payable after the applicable deductible and other policy terms.
Those are not always the same number.
Understanding that distinction can also help when reviewing an estimate that initially looks too low. Sometimes the concern is an incomplete scope. Sometimes the scope is reasonably detailed, but the deductible has a larger effect than the owner expected. Sometimes both issues exist at the same time.
We prefer to identify which one is actually happening before drawing conclusions.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
Storm damage also needs to be looked at as a sequence.
Wind may damage a roof or exterior component. Water may then enter the building. Interior materials can be affected afterward. If moisture remains, additional conditions may develop.
Those pieces belong to the same physical story, but they still need to be documented individually.
That is also why we avoid broad descriptions such as “storm damage” when a more specific explanation is possible. A clear claim explains what the wind affected, where water entered, which areas were damaged, and how the resulting repairs relate to the loss.
One of the most important distinctions in a Florida Keys property loss is the difference between wind-related damage and flood damage.
A single storm can produce both.
That does not mean the same insurance coverage applies to both.
When we review a property after a major weather event, we try to separate the actual mechanisms of damage instead of treating the entire loss as one general hurricane claim. That can mean looking at roof or exterior damage associated with wind, interior water that followed an opening in the building, and separate rising-water conditions that may fall under flood coverage.
For a homeowner, this distinction can feel technical. From the claim side, it is very practical.
If you have a flood damage claim and a property insurance claim involving wind from the same event, the documentation needs to be clear about what damage is being attributed to each cause.
That is especially important when NFIP coverage is involved.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
The National Flood Insurance Program has its own coverage structure.
For residential properties, NFIP building coverage is capped at $250,000, and contents coverage is capped at $100,000.
Those limits are important because they affect what can be available under the flood policy regardless of the overall value of the property or the total cost of the damage.
When we look at an NFIP flood claim, we therefore pay close attention not only to the damaged items but also to where those items are located and how the NFIP form treats them.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
This is particularly relevant in the Florida Keys because elevated construction is common.
Under the NFIP Dwelling Form, building coverage below the lowest elevated floor is limited, and contents in those areas are largely excluded.
For an owner, that can produce a frustrating situation: the physical damage is real, but the available flood coverage may not apply to every damaged item in the way the owner expected.
Our job is to explain that distinction without oversimplifying it.
We look at the location of the damaged property, the type of item involved, and the applicable policy language. We also keep the flood portion of the loss separate from wind or other covered causes so one part of the claim does not get blurred into another.
This is where careful documentation matters most. If several causes of damage occurred during the same event, every area should be tied to the facts we can support.
Some property losses in the Keys involve more than the question of what it costs to replace damaged materials.
They can also raise building and elevation issues.
Under FEMA’s substantial damage rule, when repair costs reach 50% of the structure’s market value before the damage, the rebuild must meet current elevation standards.
The important phrase is market value of the structure.
The calculation is not based on replacement cost.
That difference matters because owners may naturally compare the repair estimate with what they believe it would cost to replace the building. That is not the same comparison used for the substantial damage determination.
From a claim-review perspective, this is one reason we want the repair scope to be accurate. If the property has sustained a large loss, leaving significant portions of the work undocumented can affect more than the insurance estimate. The full scope can also matter when the owner is trying to understand rebuilding requirements.
We do not assume that the 50% rule applies simply because a property was badly damaged. The relevant numbers and local determinations still need to be reviewed.
But property owners in the Florida Keys should at least understand that this issue exists.
It is also another reason the claim should not be reduced to a single payment number.
When we work through a substantial loss, we are looking at the physical repairs, the policy coverage, the carrier’s estimate, the applicable deductible, and any outside requirements that affect how the property can actually be repaired.
For the owner, the useful question is not simply, “How much did the insurance company estimate?”
It is, “Does this scope reflect the repairs that actually need to be addressed?”
That is the question we keep coming back to when we review a claim.
Not every property claim in the Florida Keys starts with a hurricane.
Water losses, plumbing failures, mechanical leaks, mold, theft, vandalism, and other property damage can create the same basic problem: the owner receives an estimate or coverage decision and needs to understand whether it matches the actual loss.
With water-related damage, identifying the source matters.
An A/C leak claim can affect ceilings, walls, flooring, or nearby materials depending on where the system failed and how water moved through the property. A burst pipe claim can create a different pattern of damage, even though both losses may initially be described simply as water damage.
In either situation, we look at the source, the path the water took, and the areas that were affected.
We also pay attention to what happens after the initial loss.
Moisture can remain in materials after the visible water is gone. Where conditions support a mold damage claim, that issue needs to be documented for what it is rather than folded casually into a general water-loss description.
Again, the point is not to create more categories than necessary. It is to describe the property accurately.
The same approach applies to theft and vandalism. The owner may be dealing with damaged doors, windows, fixtures, finishes, personal property, or other physical damage. The claim still comes back to evidence: what was present before the loss, what happened, what was damaged, and what documentation supports it.
In our work, we try to make that process understandable.
Property claims become difficult when several issues are compressed into one unexplained number. They become easier to evaluate when the loss is broken down into individual components and each component can be traced back to the damage and the policy.
That is true whether the property is a primary residence, a second home, a rental property, or a business.
Commercial claims add another layer because the damage can affect both the building and the operation that depends on it.
For a business owner, replacing damaged materials may be only one part of the problem. A building can be physically repairable while access, utilities, equipment, or other conditions still interfere with normal operations.
When we review a commercial property claim, we start with the physical loss in the same way we would on a residential property: what was damaged, what caused it, how it has been documented, and what the carrier’s estimate includes.
Then we look at the business-related issues that are relevant to the policy.
A restaurant, hotel, retail property, office, marina-related business, or other commercial operation may have very different physical assets and operational needs. We do not assume that one type of business interruption works like another.
The documentation needs to fit the property and the business.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
Physical damage can also lead to a separate loss of business income issue.
That part of the claim requires a different kind of documentation from the building repair itself. The property damage needs to be understood, but so does the effect of that damage on operations.
We keep those parts organized rather than mixing them together.
That is especially important when a commercial claim becomes large or involves several coverage questions. A single summary number is not enough. The building portion, contents or equipment, and business-income component may each need their own supporting records.
Our role is to help organize those pieces and present them coherently.
Since 2014, Alconero Public Adjusters has recovered more than $200 million for policyholders. We do not use that figure as a substitute for reviewing the details of a new claim. Every property is different.
What that experience has reinforced for us is something fairly simple: clear documentation usually makes a better starting point than broad arguments.
We want to know what happened, what the records show, and where the carrier’s position differs from the documented loss.
The Overseas Highway runs 106 miles from Key Largo to Key West. Along that corridor, we work with property owners in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys who may be dealing with residential or commercial losses.
That geographic coverage matters because the Keys are not one small neighborhood. A property in Key Largo can present different practical circumstances from one in Marathon or Key West, even when the basic insurance issue is similar.
We keep the claim focused on the individual property.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
For owners in Key Largo, Tavernier, and Islamorada, we can review hurricane, wind, water, flood, roof, and other property claims and explain how the carrier’s estimate compares with the documented loss.
Some owners contact us shortly after the first inspection. Others already have a payment or estimate in hand.
Either is a reasonable time to review the claim if the numbers or scope do not make sense.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
In Marathon and nearby Middle Keys communities, the same principle applies.
If there is a disagreement about scope, causation, deductible, or covered damage, we look at the documents and the property before deciding what needs to happen next.
There is no benefit in making the process more dramatic than it already is.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
We also serve Big Pine Key, the Lower Keys, and Key West.
For property owners who are connected to South Florida beyond the Keys, our Miami office provides another local point of contact within the firm.
Regardless of where the property sits along the Keys, our approach remains the same: document first, explain the claim clearly, and deal with disagreements based on the evidence.
That may sound basic, but it is often what is missing when an owner has been handed a number with very little explanation.
A property claim becomes easier to understand when you separate the process into a few clear steps.
We do not need the owner to arrive knowing insurance terminology. In many cases, the first conversation begins with something as simple as, “This estimate does not look right to me.”
That is enough to start.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
We begin with what you already have.
That can include the insurance estimate, payment documents, letters from the carrier, photographs, contractor information, the policy, and any other material connected to the loss.
We then compare those documents with the property conditions.
The purpose is not to search for a disagreement. It is to understand the carrier’s position and see whether it matches the physical loss.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
Next, we look at the individual parts of the claim.
Are the affected areas in the scope? Are the quantities and repairs consistent with the documented damage? Has the carrier treated different causes of loss separately? Is the deductible being applied in a way the owner understands?
If there are gaps, we identify them.
If the estimate appears reasonable in a particular area, we say that too.
We prefer a precise explanation to a blanket statement that the claim is simply too low.
Where additional documentation is appropriate, we organize the claim around the evidence.
That can mean establishing the scope of repairs, documenting damaged materials and areas, and preparing supporting information that explains why a particular item belongs in the claim.
The goal is to make the disagreement specific.
Instead of saying, “The carrier missed a lot,” we want to be able to point to the items, areas, or coverage issues that need attention.
The Early Detection Program is not a hurricane damage claim. It is not an invitation to report damage that does not exist, and participation does not guarantee that a future loss will be covered.
It is a preventive service completed before a hurricane and before an insurance claim needs to be filed.
The program has two main components:
1. Documentation of the property’s current visible condition.
2. Professional review of the property insurance policy.
Both services are offered free to Florida property owners under the program.
The purpose is to help the owner enter hurricane season with more information and better documentation. A preventive inspection cannot stop a hurricane from damaging a property, but it may help prevent the owner from beginning a future claim with no previous record of the building’s condition.
Once we represent a policyholder, we can handle claim communication with the insurance company.
For many owners, that is one of the most useful parts of hiring a public adjuster. You still know what is happening with your property, but you do not have to interpret every estimate or respond to every technical disagreement on your own.
We keep the discussion tied to the documented loss.
That is how we have approached claims since Alconero was founded in 2014, and it is the same approach we bring to a Florida Keys property owner who simply wants a clear second look at the number in front of them.
Property damage deserves careful review, but it also needs to be reviewed within the applicable claim deadlines.
Under Fla. Stat. 627.70132, a new property insurance claim has 1 year from the date of loss. A supplemental claim has 18 months.
For a hurricane, the timing is measured from the date the hurricane made landfall, not from the later date when a property owner happens to discover the damage.
That distinction is worth understanding.
An owner may notice a condition months after a storm and naturally think of that discovery date as the beginning of the problem. For claim purposes, however, the relevant deadline can be tied to the earlier hurricane landfall date.
We do not use deadlines as a scare tactic. The point is simply that the calendar is part of the claim.
If you are still evaluating whether damage was fully documented, whether additional damage should be reported, or whether a supplemental claim may be appropriate, the date of loss should be one of the first things confirmed.
This is also why we encourage owners to keep their claim documents together.
The carrier’s letters, estimates, payment records, photographs, contractor documents, and communications can all help establish where the claim stands and what has already been submitted.
When we review a file, we look at that timeline along with the physical damage.
A claim can have a valid scope issue and still run into a deadline problem if the owner waits too long to address it. Likewise, a deadline alone does not tell us whether more money is owed.
Both questions need to be looked at separately.
The practical approach is to identify the date, determine whether the matter is a new or supplemental claim, and then review the actual loss.
That keeps the conversation factual and gives the owner a clearer idea of what options may still be available.
You do not need to wait until a claim becomes a dispute to ask for another set of eyes.
A review can make sense when the insurance company’s estimate does not match what you see at the property, when parts of the damage appear to be missing, or when you do not understand how the carrier arrived at its final number.
It can also be useful when the claim involves several causes of damage.
Wind and flood are a common example in the Florida Keys. Another is a roof opening followed by interior water damage. In those situations, the problem may not be that the carrier ignored the entire loss. The disagreement may be about which damage belongs under which part of the claim.
We also review claims when additional damage is discovered after the first estimate, when the owner has questions about the deductible, or when a commercial property loss has created both physical repairs and operational issues.
In our experience, the most productive starting point is not asking, “How much more can we get?”
It is asking, “What does the current claim actually include?”
Once that is clear, we can see whether anything important has been omitted, measured differently, categorized differently, or left unsupported.
That also keeps the owner from making decisions based only on a payment amount.
A check can be lower than the documented damage because of a deductible. An estimate can be higher than the check because certain amounts have not yet been paid. A claim can also be under-scoped even when the paperwork looks detailed.
Those are different situations.
We explain which one appears to apply.
If the claim already makes sense once everything is reviewed, you have your answer. If it does not, we can discuss what additional documentation may be needed and whether representation by a public adjuster makes sense.
There is no need to make that decision before looking at the file.
A public adjuster represents the policyholder, not the insurance company. We inspect and document the damage, review the policy and carrier estimate, identify differences in scope or coverage that need attention, prepare supporting claim documentation, and communicate with the insurer on the owner’s behalf.
The exact work depends on the loss. A hurricane claim involving wind and flood requires a different analysis from a plumbing loss or commercial property claim. The common thread is that we work from the owner’s side of the claim and base our position on the documented damage and policy.
Yes. Receiving a payment does not necessarily answer every question about the scope of a claim.
The useful first step is to review what was paid, what the estimate includes, what deductible was applied, and whether the physical damage matches the carrier’s scope.
If there is additional damage or a documented difference, we can determine whether it should be addressed further. We do not assume that a previous payment means the claim was wrong, and we do not assume it means the claim is finished. We review the documents.
Florida homeowners policies set the hurricane deductible as a percentage of the policy’s dwelling limit, most often 2%, 5%, or 10%.
For example, if the home has a $700,000 dwelling limit and a 5% hurricane deductible, that deductible is $35,000 before the policy pays.
That is why an owner should distinguish between the total amount of documented damage and the final claim payment.
Under Fla. Stat. 627.70132, a new property insurance claim has 1 year from the date of loss, while a supplemental claim has 18 months.
For hurricane losses, the clock runs from the date the hurricane made landfall rather than the date the damage was later noticed.
Under Fla. Stat. 626.854, public adjuster fees are capped at 20% of the claim payment.
The cap is 10% when the loss comes from an event covered by a Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency and the claim is made within 1 year of that declaration.
That one-year condition applies to when the claim is made.
Alconero Public Adjusters serves property owners throughout the Florida Keys, including Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key, and Key West.
If you have already been handed an estimate, payment, or claim decision that you do not fully trust or understand, we can review the damage and the claim documents with you.
We will not start by promising a different number.
We will start by showing you how the current number was reached and whether the documented loss supports it.
Request a free claim review with Alconero Public Adjusters.
