1. FIGA, Florida Insurance Guarantee Administration will take over your insurance company’s claims.
2. If your homeowners insurance goes bankrupt (receivership) you will get a letter from the Florida Department of Financial Services notifying you of the receivership and they will ask you to fill out a Proof of Claim form. That letter will have a header saying FIGA, Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.
3. What is a Proof of Claim form? It’s a 1-page document you fill in with your basic contact information and your date of birth. You also, need to fill in how much money your insurance claim is for. In other words, “how much money you need to fix your home.” Whatever number you put down; you’ll need to support with documentation. There’s no secondary bite of the apple, be sure you know your total costs. – we recommend that hire QT&T’s experienced Homeowners Insurance attorneys to help you through this process.
4. FIGA will assign an Adjuster, who will eventually readjust your insurance claim.
5. FIGA may ask to reinspect your damages and take your statement.
6. You will have to give FIGA all photos, reports, invoices, estimates and other information you have that supports your claim. – don’t hide the ball.
7. FIGA may or may not make you a settlement offer.
Yes, but not immediately. Just like all other bankruptcies, there is an “automatic stay”. An Automatic Stay stops all lawsuits, all debt collection, all foreclosures, and all sales from continuing or happening.
How long is the automatic stay? At a minimum, 6 months after the day your insurance company went into receivership. However, in recent insolvencies, Florida has agreed to extend the automatic stay to a year.
Only then if FIGA breached their statutory duties can we sue FIGA. – Remember, FIGA is not an insurance company, they are like FEMA but for insurance. It is a lot harder to sue FIGA than your typical Insurance carrier.
The lawyer answer is “it depends.”
If you have good supporting documents and promptly respond to your FIGA adjuster, you I will likely get coverage; eventually. (FIGA can be slow)
This is why you should hire QT&T to guide you through the process and increase your chances of getting coverage.
Call (407) 452-4918 today for a free case evaluation!