Class action against State Farm and others

[Guest guest]

To anyone interested,

I am looking for anyone in central Florida who feels they have gotten

the run-around by insurance adjusters.

I have recently been working in central Florida in the hurricane

ravaged areas. I have tested homes and found unacceptable moisture

content levels (0.7 Aw or higher) in gypsum board above the 4 foot

line. We have been told by every State Farm insurance adjuster they

will only cover 4 feet of wallboard removal - even though the water

sat in the house for several days to a week.

One adjuster claimed FEMA mandated the 4 foot level for coverage

under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). We have made

calls to FEMA and found this to be a complete fabrication. A State

Farm adjuster even admitted this fact to several witnesses when we

put them on the spot at a later date.

State Farm adjusters are saying their is no coverage for mold even

though FEMA's website says otherwise. The truly sad part is the

knowledge gained from North Carolina after they were hit by 2

hurricanes in one year is public knowledge. One of my partners is a

former independent adjuster. He indicates the adjusters of today are

poorly trained and told the canned response when they are dealing

with a catastrophic event like a hurricane. From what I've seen, he

is right on mark. They can't even read a simple document for the

amount of coverage for additional living expenses (ALE).

What the homeowners don't know is the part that is a kick in the

pants:

If an adjuster lowballs the cost to fix covered damages, the

structure will not be done right. If the structure is not done

right, you can't sell the property. You will now have an economic

loss since you will be forced to sell at a lower price or no sell at

all.

You might buy one of these home and find it moldy. Your insurance

will not cover any pre-existing problems while you go belly-up.

More than one resident in Port Orange FL have publicly complained at

a town hall meeting about the behavior or State Farm and Allstate.

The mayor has told the residents to go after them for bad faith if

they are lowballing the jobs. The mayor is a general contractor and

understands the dilemma.

Even worse, there are firms who are engaging in remediation according

to their own scope of work. These firms do not have professional

insurance. Usually CGL policies do not cover professional acts.

This means a homeowner has no one to pursue if the job is botched and

the house left moldy. I find it ironic an insurance company like

State Farm allows contractors to engage in activities that put the

policy holders in economic and/or financial risk due to insurance

coverage issues.

Regards,

Greg Weatherman

aerobioLogical Solutions Inc.

Arlington VA 22202

gw@...