Help with flood damage insurance claims in Miami Dade and Broward

Flood insurance is typically needs to be purchased in addition to a homeowner owner policy. More importantly, the term flood has a specific definition that’s often confusing for most people. A flood is when water from an existing water source, like a lake, rises up and enters the property. Usually when property owners see water in the property they’ll say, “my house is flooding!” Actually, this is water damage and is likely from a broken pipe or roof leak. This would not be a flood claim, but rather a broken pipe claim.

Insurance companies have specific definitions for terms that Public Adjusters are skilled in understanding. This is precisely why an insurance claim is best handled by a professional at Stellar Adjusting Services. The coastal areas in Florida are at the most risk for flooding and flood damage. Public Adjusters in Miami mostly recommend homeowners purchase the flood coverage because the residential and commercial areas are near the ocean, lakes, intracoastal, bays, and many other bodies of water. This is also true in areas surrounding Aventura, North Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, Miami Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Hallandale and especially all South Florida cities on the coast.



It’s also common that flooding might occur when a major tropical storm or hurricane visits South Florida. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has a website that outlines a full understanding of flooding - http://www.dep.state.fl.us/geology/geologictopics/hazards/floods.htm

Here’s an excerpt from the website and useful links:

Flooding is related to an area’s topography and surface water features including its coastline. The state of Florida is divided into Five Water Management Districts and their web sites provide flood information pertinent to the areas that they cover. Links to these web sites are provided below:

http://sjr.state.fl.us

http://www.nwfwmd.state.fl.us

http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/levelthree/drought%20and%20flood

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/emergency/floodriskprojects

- Anytime flooding occurs in South Florida it’s usually on a large scale and will require a lot of recovery and maintenance to repair the damages. Get a full understanding of your coverage and of the flood insurance claim process in Florida by contacting a Public Adjuster that’s a part of our team.

Information Needed When Filing A Claim

Try to have as much of the following information as possible available when calling us to file a claim.
To start the claims process, we will need the following information:

Policyholder information: Name of insured, address, phone number, e-mail and policy number Description of loss: Time and date of loss, location of incident, detailed description of damages Authority notification: Please note all authorities notified (fire dept., police, etc.) Emergency Service Companies & Damage Mitigation: Please let us know if you have already contacted any emergency service companies or performed any sort of damage mitigation.

If you are not sure if you need a public adjuster, give us a call at (305) 396-9110 or fill out one of our contact forms.