In 2007, due to increased sinkhole claims resulting in significant financial losses to the insurance companies, the Florida Legislature made changes to the Florida sinkhole insurance laws. These changes made sinkhole damage claims very specific and more difficult to successfully collect.
Florida Statute 627.706 is known as the sinkhole insurance and catastrophic ground cover collapse statute. The law requires that Florida insurance companies provide sinkhole coverage in their homeowners policies. However, the following conditions must be met, before the insurance company is liable to pay for a sinkhole claim:
Any damage to your home or structure, that does not meet all of the above criteria, is not covered as sinkhole damage under the normal homeowners policy. For instance, a sinkhole can cause structural damage to your home’s foundation or walls that is not severe enough to condemn the property or for a governmental agency to order an evacuation. Under these conditions, your normal homeowners policy would not cover the cost of these damages. Without additional sinkhole insurance coverage, the homeowner could be facing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in repairs, all out of pocket.
Outside of the normal homeowners policy, authorized homeowners insurance companies in Florida are required to offer supplemental insurance known as sinkhole loss coverage. While this insurance does come at an extra cost, it will cover sinkhole damage losses not covered by your homeowners insurance policy.
If your insurance company has denied your sinkhole claim, you still have options. Our insurance claim lawyers can review your claim as well as the information gathered by your insurance company and their experts. We can even hire our own experts, independent of the insurance company’s interests, to inspect your property for sinkhole damage. If our expert’s investigation confirms that sinkhole activity damaged your property, we can fight the claim denial and protect your legal rights.
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