After long fight, Pembroke Pines condo receives $8 million insurance check for Wilma damage

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Joe Kollin

Published June 30, 2007

 

For 18 months, the patched roofs leaked at the Park Place condo complex while the board of directors tried to get its insurance company to fix the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma.

Southern Family Insurance had offered the Pembroke Pines association only $160,000, according to the public insurance adjuster for the 1,028-unit complex. On Friday, the board's battle paid off. It received a check for almost $8 million from the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, the state-created agency that handles claims for insolvent insurance companies,.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Andy Fuxa, president of Sunrise-based Epic Group Public Adjusters. "It was a 1 ½-year nightmare. Almost 18 months ago, we demanded the money and we got almost what we claimed. It was a happy ending."

And it shows the value of persistence, he said.

"All the roofs had been leaking, all had water penetration," said Dr. Harry Topolsky, president of the complex of six buildings run by a single 18-member board. "We had three roofing contractors who all said the only thing that would work is total replacement."

Topolsky said the settlement was for the cost of roof replacement at current prices and the new roofs will have estimated lifespans of 25 years.

"Do you know what each roof costs?" he said. "Do you know what kind of assessment that would have been?"

On Monday, when the check clears the bank, the condo association will start getting bids for the roofs, said Topolsky.

No special assessment will be necessary. Any money needed to cover the deductible will come from the association's reserve fund.

The payment wasn't the largest Wilma claim made to a Florida condo association.

Robert Besserman, president of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, said he knows of one association that received two $50 million payments for damage from back-to-back hurricanes Frances and Jean in 2004.

The claim approved by Florida Insurance Guaranty for roof replacement was $10.5 million. The check Fuxa handed Topolsky was for about $8 million because the association's $2 million deductible and expenses weren't included.

Fuxa said the key to proving a claim is providing documentation. To do that for Park Place, he hired engineers and used thermal imaging to prove moisture damage, something the original insurance company wouldn't do.

Besserman said there are three kinds of insurance adjusters: staff adjusters for insurance companies, independent adjusters who work for insurance companies as needed and public adjusters who work only for the public and aren't allowed by law to work for an insurance company.

He said the best time for any individual, association or business to contact a public adjuster is immediately after the loss, even before contacting the insurance company.

"When you're arrested the first thing they do is pull out a card and read you your rights. When you have a claim, the first thing you should do is contact a public adjuster to learn your rights," said Besserman, who operates Consumer Protection Inc. in Boca Raton.

CONDO ARTICLES HOME NEWS PAGE