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A MUST FOR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS TO UPHOLD FIDUCIARY DUTIES: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF PUBLIC ADJUSTERS

By Daniel Odess, CEO and Founder of GlobalPro

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CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION HELP FOR RECOVERY: COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Most local, state and federal emergency orders consider construction an essential business and most construction sites remain open. Traffic on and off site must be monitored, and many jurisdictions have implemented strict guidelines, which if not followed, can result in an immediate shutdown.

EXPOSING THE MYTH: CAN YOUR INSURANCE AGENT HELP YOU RECOVER?
By Daniel Odess, Founder, GlobalPro

March 16, 2020 will likely be recognized as one of the most significant dates to ever plague the insurance industry and, as a result, the global economy. Over the last few months we have watched policyholders and insurance companies square off in the media and ultimately, the courtroom on various policy and legislative issues. At the crux of this battle stands two true questions: (1) What constitutes business interruption and (2) how does my policy protect me in the event of the greatest Pandemic in 100 years.

At a time when the policyholder desperately needed their insurance to protect them, most insurance companies turned their backs on them and their broker could not do anything to help them with their claim.

HOW TO ACCOUNT FOR LOSS OF INCOME IF A STORM HITS
By Craig Applebaum, Senior Vice President, GlobalPro

When a storm hits, most insureds are focused on the majority of what their property policy coverage is allocated for, the damage to physical property. However, if you are a restaurant, hotel, or other business, an integral part of the loss sustained from any major storm claim will be the loss of income suffered. It is imperative that businesses review their policy to know just how much they should expect to recover, and even more important, to make sure they have obtained adequate coverage.

INSURETECH: WHAT WE LEARNED FROM COVID AND PAST STORMS
By Elliott Carter, Vice President Technology, GlobalPro

As the world continues to navigate through this global pandemic, we find ourselves adapting and adjusting to a ‘new normal’. Insurance and most businesses continue to operate, but the traditional “go-to-the-office” routine, has been replaced with remote working. Technology, more than ever, plays a key role in keeping us all productive and in many cases, in business. We are relying on technology for everything from educating & informing to daily team meetings and virtual events.

IF THEY BUILD IT, THE DAMAGE WILL COME

By Craig Applebaum, Senior Vice President of GlobalPro
Everyone knows that South Florida is a large market for land development and new construction. It seems there is a new building added to the skyline every day. These new projects are built in very close proximity, some only a few feet away. Consequently, damages to the existing properties as a result of the new construction are unavoidable. Owners of damaged property have often turned to litigation to be compensated for their loss, however, the litigation process for cases such as these can require an immense investment in time and money. Thankfully, there is a better option.

WHEN THE WATERS RISE, YOU SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISED

By Allison Feidin, Vice President of GlobalPro
The FEMA flood policy commonly purchased by property owners strictly limits coverage if your property is located in one of those high-risk areas. There are several key elements that determine how comprehensive your flood coverage will be. Most of these are beyond the control of the property owners! It is imperative for policy holders to consider these factors when engaging in new construction in high risk zones.

RECAP GLOBALPRO’S INDUSTRY LEADING 2018

By Daniel Odess, President of GlobalPro In 2018, GlobalPro
Recovery set the bar high and achieved industry leading results. A number of factors, events and accomplishments fueled our continued growth and success. Our team tackled unforeseen challenges and rose to the occasion when various parts of our country suffered record breaking damages from storms and fires. Our success was further highlighted by a tremendous amount of charity, community outreach and a series of video testimonials from clients that we will continue to release in the coming months.

OLD ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS NOW DOA AFTER NEW BILL PASSES
By Craig Applebaum, Senior Vice President of GlobalPro
Florida’s Legislature recently passed HB 7065, now codified as Florida Statute §627.7152. The freshly minted statute makes large changes concerning the use of assignment of benefits (“AOB”) agreements. This has a widespread effect for the insurance industry as AOB’s have become commonly used by contractors doing work on behalf of an Insured. Important in understanding the statute is knowing what is covered.

HOW IT PAYS WHEN THE INSURANCE COMPANY DELAYS
By Allison Freidin, Vice President of GlobalPro
Despite the fact that we are approaching the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma, several Insurance companies maintain that they are still in the process of “investigating” these claims. Florida Statute §627.70131(5)(a) sets forth that Insurance Companies must pay or deny a claim within 90 days of the claim being reported. If they do not pay money owed within 90 days, the Insured is entitled to interest as long as (1) the policy covers a residence of any size or a commercial space less than 10,000 square feet, and (2) there are no factors beyond the control of the Insurer that are prohibiting payment.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM UNFAIR CLAIM SETTLEMENT PRACTICES
By Joshua Bochner, Vice President, GlobalPro
Not every claim is a GlobalPro claim. Some claims you may choose to handle yourself. For those occasions, you will want to be armed with the knowledge necessary to make sure that your Insurer is handling your claim fairly. The Florida Statutes successfully codified what constitutes unfair settlement in Section 626.9541. If an Insurer commits or performs certain acts with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice, they are guilty of committing an unfair claim settlement practice.

LEVERAGING ON-HAND TECHNOLOGY TO AID THE CLAIMS PROCESS
By Elliott Carter, Vice President Technology, GlobalPro
As an insured, it is very important to document the extent of your damages as part of the insurance claims process. Insurance carriers, adjusters, contractors and estimators will rely on these pictures to verify and fact check the damage as estimates are produced.It is therefore important to not only take good pictures and video of the damage, but also to be able to properly organize your information so that you can present it to your carrier or the public adjuster you’re working with.

GLOBALPRO LAUNCHES NEW BRAND LOOK, WITH FRESH INTERACTIVE WEBSITE!
By Daniel Odess, Founder & President, GlobalPro
With our client’s needs top-of-mind, the new site brings forth a more interactive space where current and potential clientele can learn, engage and access resources to help them get a better understanding of who we are, what we do and who we work with. We can now truly showcase our 360-degree signature process: Ready.Recover.Rebuild. by giving visitors access to more in-depth explanations of our capabilities, tips on best practices and client testimonials.

PROPERTY INSURANCE LOSS RUN AUDIT
Don’t Leave Money on the Table
Over the past two years, GlobalPro has identified more than $1,000,000 in claim payment short-falls. These audits were performed at no out-of-pocket cost to the Association. While, we may not always find an issue with the claim payment, you can’t possibly know that you have properly paid until it has been verified by GlobalPro.

FIRE SPRINKLER FAILURE LEADS TO BILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT
A Scary Situation for Any Condominium Property Owner
In a recent lawsuit filed on behalf of two Condominium Association’s located in South Florida, they are suing a dozen manufacturers, suppliers and distributors behind the sprinkler systems installed in their buildings.

MARKET NEWS
What’s Trending
Changes in policy forms and legislative agendas have taken form in what should have been a very consumer friendly environment for Florida policyholders. However, savings on premiums are being traded for policies with less and less coverage and the continued commitment by Carrier’s to deliver profits to investors and shareholders has resulted in increased pressure for rate increases.

DON’T MAKE A COSTLY MISTAKE WHEN HIRING A MITIGATION CONTRACTOR
Associations Need to Maintain Their Liability and Fiduciary Responsibilities
By Daniel Odess
Think about the last time your Association spent thousands of dollars without moving for a vote or hiring a professional to ensure the scope or price of a service provider or material supplier. Probably never, right?

However, when an Association suffers a loss all of this careful planning goes out the window along with the usual concerns relating to Board of Director’s liability and fiduciary responsibilities to the Association. In a hurry, the Board will typically assign all of the mitigation, reconstruction, and claim responsibilities over to a contractor. This “hurry up and get back to business” approach can easily lead to costly mistakes.

In this volume of CLAIMS ADVOCATE we take a closer look at this growing issue and the mistakes routinely made by Associations:

• By-Law Violations
• Why Mitigation Contractors May Put Their Interests First
• How Construction Values Should Be Determined
• Who pays for the work?
• What’s The Solution?

GET LOWER PREMIUMS, EVEN AFTER LOSS
Loss History Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Increased Premium
by Daniel Odess
Market conditions and politics have more to do with rate increase or the likelihood that an Insured gets dropped following a major disaster than whether or not an Association, business, or home suffered a loss. Fear of getting dropped or increased rates can lead to inadequate recovery from a loss.

INDUSTRY TRENDS: FROM BUYING INSURANCE TO RECOVERY
Premium Hikes and Claims Handling Practices are Causing Concerns for Policyholders
by Travis Ozga
The only reason people buy insurance is to protect against potential financial loss. They trust their insurer to treat them fairly and decently. Today, the insurance industry is in grave danger of losing that sense of trust due to its misplaced focus on minimizing claims.

UNDERSTANDING DEPRECIATION
The Devil is in the Details
by Daniel Odess
Incorrectly applying depreciation can be used as yet another tool to hold back money or to underpay a claim, if it is not recoverable. Most policyholders don’t even realize that depreciation can account for 20%, 30%, 50% or even higher deductions in the total value of their claim.

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
Building on the Success of 2014 – A Snapshot of Pivotal Recoveries
by Daniel Odess
GlobalPro Recovery sets the bar when it comes to protecting the interest of their clients. In 2014, GlobalPro Recovery reached new heights by overcoming the odds for its clients. A snapshot of pivotal recoveries for a few of the many policyholders GlobalPro Recovery represented in 2014.

THE ROLE OF A LOSS CONSULTANT
An Alternative to Going It Alone
by Daniel Odess
Proper representation from the onset of the loss is essential to ensuring a full financial recovery from any first or third party loss.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION: THE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR ADJUSTERS
GlobalPro Recovery’s World Class Service and Support Continues to Improve
by Daniel Odess and August Forte
An in depth analysis of what GlobalPro Recovery is doing to train it’s insurance adjusters to provide the world class level of service our clients deserve. Insurance adjusting is a complex professional discipline that requires both in-depth specialized knowledge and broad communication skills.

PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS
There Is No Substitute For Understanding Your Insurance
by Daniel Odess
Preparation is the key to any success in dealing with an insurance claim. It means having the on-site management team maintain thorough documentation of the condition of your assets and update that documentation on a regular basis. Those two steps will go a long way to managing the claims process and provide a solid foundation for an equitable recovery following a disaster.

LOSS OF INCOME FOR MULTIFAMILY BUILDING OWNERS
Few Multifamily Building Owners Are Prepared For The Worst
by Daniel Odess
Regaining that flow of rental income involves many more factors than the simple formula the carrier may lead you to believe and may try to use in determining the extent of a loss at a multifamily building.

PLACING INSURANCE FOR MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
The Devil Is In the Details – Save Time and Money
by Daniel Odess
It takes careful review of the policy and a keen understanding of each of these issues to determine how coverage should be determined for any one claim.