Businesses, with confirmed sinkhole activity under them, taking insurance money and not fixing the issue! (Hernando: homes, transfer)

[The Villages Guy]

Just saw this on the news and was very surprised. I "thought" things had changed about pocketing the insurance money and not fixing the sinkhole issue........especially when the unkowing public enters these buildings every single day.

Wonder what will happen to the owners, if someone eventually gets hurt?

40+ Hernando commercial buildings designated as ‘unrepaired sinkhole activity’ | WFLA.com

[HWTechGuy]

Interesting read...

[Hawksphins]

Sounds like insurance fraud to me. The insurance companies also should not pay out until the the work is completed. My roof had hail damage and they only paid a portion until the work was completed and inspected. I would think sinkholes would be even more concerning due to liability issues.

[floridagirl777]

This happens all the time up there (and probably other places as well). Our neighbor had confirmed sinkhole activity under his home got paid well over a hundred thousand dollars by his insurance company. He didn't fix anything; he paid off his mortgage, then he took the rest of the money and bought a cabin in NC and then quickly sold his home for a fraction of what he paid for it. This helped to plummet the home values in our neighborhood, especially because he wasn't the only one doing it.

It really ticks me off that people do this, but what is the alternative? My home had a sinkhole, we were paid by our insurance company to fix it, and we used every dime to do so. What did we get for it? A home that we can't sell because of the stigma of having had a sinkhole. Sometimes I wonder if we should have done what so many others did instead of doing the "right thing."

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by floridagirl777

This happens all the time up there (and probably other places as well). Our neighbor had confirmed sinkhole activity under his home got paid well over a hundred thousand dollars by his insurance company. He didn't fix anything; he paid off his mortgage, then he took the rest of the money and bought a cabin in NC and then quickly sold his home for a fraction of what he paid for it. This helped to plummet the home values in our neighborhood, especially because he wasn't the only one doing it.

It really ticks me off that people do this, but what is the alternative? My home had a sinkhole, we were paid by our insurance company to fix it, and we used every dime to do so. What did we get for it? A home that we can't sell because of the stigma of having had a sinkhole. Sometimes I wonder if we should have done what so many others did instead of doing the "right thing."

Obviously I am wrong, but I thought they passed laws to stop this type of thing.

[DWMachineshop]

I don't know....if you wreck your car and get the ins money and are willing to ride around in a smashed car, so be it. I certainly don't think there is a law against that!

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by DWMachineshop

I don't know....if you wreck your car and get the ins money and are willing to ride around in a smashed car, so be it. I certainly don't think there is a law against that!

The problem is when it comes to a business, the unkowing public is at risk every time they enter the building. Is that fair to them?

[floridagirl777]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

Obviously I am wrong, but I thought they passed laws to stop this type of thing.

I thought so, too. It's a little surprising that these businesses are able to get away with what they did, but I suppose once the money is paid out, the insurance companies don't care what the people do with it. We had State Farm when our sinkhole was repaired, and they required inspections and receipts all throughout the process of the repair. I don't think we could have taken then money and had our way with it even if we wanted to do so.

[floridagirl777]

The problem with all of this is, the people who don't repair their sinkholes ruin housing values for their neighbors. Homes with unrepaired sinkholes sell for a fraction of what those with repaired sinkholes do! My neighbor who didn't repair took off with the insurance money sold his home for around 40K. He was one of several neighbors who did this, unfortunately, and it drove everyone else's values down.

[EngGirl]

What an a&%$ls these people are... Basically they know about sink holes, got money and did NOTHING! No imagine their stupid buildings will collapse and people will die... I home this people will be jailed for the rest of their lives.


I think insurance companies should stop paying people directly and rather transfer money towards companies who do repairs....