When you pay insurance for years, you expect the company to do what you’ve paid them to do. Unfortunately, insurance is a scam of the worst kind. Insurers are happy to take your money but refuse to help their customers when the services are finally needed. This is the nightmare Floridians now face as they struggle to rebuild their lives after recent hurricanes took everything from them. 

Most people affected by the storms will experience almost total financial loss. Flooding caused a lot of damage, and most homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flood damage. 

An NBC News analysis of U.S. government data showed that only about 25% of residents in the hardest-hit areas of Florida had separate flood insurance before the storms hit. Flood insurance was even less common in lower Appalachia, which was also affected by Helene. 

Dealing with the impact of both storms will create major complications for those who do have insurance,  

Rick Tutwiler, president of the claims adjusting firm Tutwiler & Associates, noted that many people are trying to get the most accurate damage estimates and hope the insurance companies will pay their claims. He cautions that they aren’t fully aware of the challenges they might face. 

Hurricane victims in Florida are struggling to file claims after the damage caused by the storms Helene and Milton. The insurance industry is treating these storms as two separate events, so if someone couldn’t prove damage from Helene, they might have an even harder time getting their claim approved if they were affected by both storms. 

In addition, changes in Florida meant to bring insurance companies back into the market have left victims with few options to challenge claim decisions. 

The insurance industry views Hurricane Helene as a flood event, meaning many Floridians lack the proper coverage to file a claim. Since much of Helene’s damage was caused by flooding, the losses that insurance companies expect to face from that storm are considered “modest,” according to Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications for the Insurance Information Institute. 

Although Hurricane Milton involved both wind and rain, experts warn that property owners without flood insurance might not be covered for water damage from Milton either. Amy Bach, executive director of the consumer group United Policyholders, said that insurers are likely to deny claims right away if a homeowner doesn’t have flood insurance in situations like this. 

It’s still too early to know how many homes there will have claims from both Helene and Milton. However, Friedlander noted that it could be “challenging” to determine which storm caused what damage and what should be paid. 

Adjusters must determine whether any water damage from Milton came “from below,” which would be considered flood damage, or “from above,” caused by wind-driven rain. 

Even in cases where damage comes from rain, coverage might be denied if it’s found that the rain got in because of pre-existing problems like a leaky roof. Many insurance policies also typically exclude damage from wind-driven rain. 

Many victims dealing with significant losses from water damage from either storm simply give up. Most people can’t realistically afford to rebuild their homes without an insurance payout. 

Even victims with flood insurance are finding out that they are facing severe financial problems. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) covers 95% of flood insurance policyholders in the U.S. and only pays for losses up to 50% of a property’s value. If damages exceed 50%, homeowners must completely rebuild their homes to meet FEMA flood regulations. Victims will pay most of the costs to rebuild their homes to meet FEMA standards out of pocket. 

Further complicating matters, the NFIP does not provide financial assistance for victims to find temporary housing. 

When faced with claim denials, policyholders might consider suing their insurance companies. However, homeowners in Florida must pay out of pocket to start legal action against insurers. This change came from reforms passed in 2022, which aimed to limit many contingency cases insurance companies said were making it hard to do business in the state. 

Now that the threat of lawsuits is reduced, many insurance companies will likely automatically deny claims, according to Martin Weiss, president of Weiss Ratings, an independent insurance ratings agency. 

For Floridians, the devastating impact of two back-to-back hurricanes marked the beginning of a heartbreaking nightmare, leaving them with nothing and crushing their hopes of ever rebuilding. Meanwhile, insurance companies, quick to accept customers’ premium payments, now seem determined to exploit every loophole to avoid paying claims.