Insurance Coverage Amounts for Hurricane Ian Damages: Is It Enough for Florida's Construction Industry Costs?

Hurricane Ian caused some of the most significant damage in this country's history; and certainly devastated Southwest Florida. The insurance claims are up to $65 billion. 

Florida construction pricing and availability of product and labor are some of the industries impacted by this hurricane. However, Hurricane Ian damages have impacted  the property insurance market in this state.

What are the pitfalls with insurance in Florida? Is there a clear road to recovery? 

This article breaks it down. 

Cost of Materials 

One thing that resulted from Hurricane Ian was for supply demand for construction products to go up. The devastation in many areas were on islands that were inaccessible as the bridges were completely demolished from this storm.  There was no ingress and egress to people or property on the Southwest coast of Florida.

The inability to get barges of construction material to the devastated area is one of the issues.  Covid shut down many imports for the past 3 years causing a backup in materials.  The Hurricane Irma claims are still not completed and then Hurricane Ian in the mix has created a loss for the insureds who have suffered damage.  

There is difficulty in retaining laborers as well. The extra costs are passed down to the homeowners who may not have either the amount needed for coverage through the policies of insurance and the insurance companies not paying the amounts required under their policies to do the repairs consistent with the damage. 

That leads us to the next issue. 

Florida Insurance Companies Instability

Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017 (which followed Hurricane Michael, Matthew, & Sally) had the Florida insurance market in a significantly curious position.  Now add the devastation of  Hurricane Ian to further expose insurance companies to payments in Florida. 

The significant amount of damages as claimed to insurance companies after Ian, at one time may not have been anticipated by the insurance companies nor the reinsurers.   Some insurance companies went insolvent through the office of insurance regulation in Florida.  

In Florida, there were many insurance companies based in the state that went out of business in 2022. Bigger companies had the sense to diversify their assets and decrease their exposure to Florida and take strategic steps to allow them to continue business. 

What does this mean for people that have properties who want insurance in Florida? Property insurance rates continue to rise, and coverage under the policy continue to go down, and the carrier choices become sparse.  

Hurricane Ian’s storm damages and previous catastrophic events is a reality check for insurance companies.  Florida had not had back to back devastation for quite some time.  Hurricanes are capable of causing a tremendous amount of damage, and Covid with other factors in the recent years have caused pricing to rebuild has doubled.  Florida is  a peninsula, and one of the most exposed states in the country when it comes to hurricanes, property owners need to ensure they are properly protected and insurance companies should be doing the same.  

Get Help With Florida Property Claims to Repair and Reconstruct Properties 

Hurricane Ian was a devastating natural disaster that impacted thousands of lives in Florida. If you were in its path, you know what kind of damage it did to Florida as a whole. As a result, it could get costly to rebuild your  property and the need for insurance coverage is important in the future. 

Many property owners’ claims from Ian are being delayed in the processing of the insurance claims or grossly underpaid and not allowing property owners to start rebuilding. 

If you have a claim and have not been properly paid by now, you may need legal representation. Schedule your consultation here.