Lessons learned by Hurricane Michael? (Panama City, Niceville: rental, homeowners insurance, brokers)

[beach43ofus]

Is this the forum area impacted by Michael, or would that be the Talahassee forum?

I'm looking for lessons learned that could be shared with homeowners in other places in Florida.

Particularly interested in which Homeowner insurance company's handled claims well, and which didn't?

Was wind-driven rain an issue in paying claims?

We have Olympus, any feedback on them?

Did flood insurance pay off claims as promised?

Which types of roofing materials held up best? Is metal the best, or flat tile?

Which Hurricane shutters performed well, which didn't? Did the new fabric kind work?

Did the new shatterproof windows work as promised, and were they easily replaced?

Thx!

[Run To The Hills]

I doubt you'll ever see a storm like that again. According to FEMA a storm like Michael wont come again for another 500 years.

[slduvall]

As a former resident of Panama City who now lives over in Niceville, I still have lots of friends in the impacted area. From what I've heard, it literally depended on how quickly you contacted your insurance company. Multiple friends with the same company had varying degrees of success. Some were extremely happy, others were shocked at the poor response time etc. I think it boiled down to by the time people returned to their homes, and were able to actually get through to the companies etc affected the type of service provided. It was just overwheming for all companies.

My current next door neighbor owns an insurance agency and covered multiple proprieties over there. They are brokers so use a lot of different companies and she said the smaller companies that didn't have 100s of properties there actually were more responsive than the bigger companies like Allstate, State farm etc. USAA is a huge insurer over there and I heard varying reports on them. A coworker of my husbands who owns rental property over there was thrilled with how quick he was paid, while others waited months to even get a inspector out. Which caused more mold etc to grow.

For panama city proper this was a wind event, not a water event, so flood insurance didn't play into it. Wind Driven rain would be covered by homeowners insurance. Storm surge like in Mexico beach, where water actually knocked houses off their foundations is only covered by flood insurance. I read that somewhere close to 80% of homes there didn't have flood insurance, due to FEMA placing them in a X flood area with outdated maps.

As for windows, a few friends that had the new windows said the windows stayed in place, but when your roof blows off it doesn't matter. My old boss lost an entire section of new remodeled roof with all the latest requirements. While his neighbor with an older roof only lost shingles. Insurance paid, so he didn't complain to the guy who remodeled it. But he wasn't happy. It just goes to show that this type of storm...very rare...it is mere luck that saves your home, not necessarily the construction. My old house which was build in 2003, sustained minimal damage, yet the next door neighbors house seems to have shifted on its foundation and last I heard was going to be torn down, haven't been back over to see what happened. I know there were big issues with their insurance company, but not sure who they had.

Not sure if any of this helps...

[AustinTraveler]

Originally Posted by Run To The Hills

I doubt you'll ever see a storm like that again. According to FEMA a storm like Michael wont come again for another 500 years.

This is a very dangerous thing to say. A storm like this can happen anytime. Be prepared, not complacent.

Not Hurricane Michael, but Hurricane Ivan in 2004 hit NW Florida and wiped out many homes, including ours. Rising waters was our main damage so we had to rely on flood insurance, which we had. We were insured by State Farm at the time and they did a good job with our claim. Even if you're close to a flood zone but not actually in one, I would get flood insurance. Ivan flooded areas near Pace, Florida, which means the water was pushed from the Gulf, over Santa Rosa Island, through the Intracoastal waterway, over Gulf Breeze, through Escambia Bay, and then onto land. That's a lot of water for a relatively small hurricane. It even took out a section of the I-10 bridge over Escambia Bay.

Our house was completely shuttered with aluminum shutters. Our roof was regular composite roof shingles. Nothing happened to our house from wind damage; it was all from flooding (six feet of dirty salt water in your house ruins everything). Make sure any house you purchase was built with the most current hurricane building codes, and if you're going to live anywhere near the water, make sure you get flood insurance. It doesn't even take a hurricane to cause flood damage. A big rain event or tropical storm can overwhelm storm drains causing local flooding.

I can't comment on any current insurance carriers as everything has changed in Florida since 2004, which is when I left. Hurricane Ivan was the best thing that ever happened to us as we got the hell out of somewhere we didn't enjoy living (only stayed because of family).

Most of all, if you are going to live in Hurricane country, be prepared before a hurricane forms in the Gulf. I can't tell you how stupid it is that everyone makes a mad dash for the grocery store and Home Depot for plywood. Just have all that ready every season because no matter what, hurricane season happens every year. And get ready to watch a lot of the Weather Channel. I sure don't miss watching Jim Cantore, even though we all really liked him. It's just you knew if Jim was in town that's where the hurricane would strike.