Hurricane Ian Insurance Claims

Putting the “Personal” back in injury law

Dramatization, not an actual client

There’s a Light at the end of this Tunnel

Benjamin D. Light has 22 years of experience representing home and business owners in disputed property insurance claims. He has also represented several domestic and international insurance companies in state and federal litigation in Florida. He is admitted to practice in both Florida and New Jersey, where he first began practicing law after attending Rutgers University for both his undergraduate and law degrees where he was an editor of the Rutgers Law Review during law school. Ben has given back to his community by volunteering on numerous special education matters throughout his career, securing needed services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.

Ben moved to Florida from New Jersey in 2018 to work at a large downtown Tampa firm because of Hurricane Irma and the flood of resulting litigation. Prior to that, he maintained his own practice in New Jersey representing policy holders and other injury clients after he spent the first few years of his career at one of New Jersey’s oldest firms.

He has handled thousands of coverage matters from simple water and fire claims to complex business interruption and property damage claims by the resorts, marinas and other businesses damaged or destroyed by Irma, Hurricane Michael and Tropical Storm Eta.

Call: 727-499-9900 Or

Table of Contents

How We Can Help

Hurricane Ian has left a path of destruction throughout our state. We are prepared to handle any Hurricane Ian insurance claim from providing initial notice to your insurance company through delivering you the check to repair your damage and compensate you for other losses. We do not get paid unless we recover.

We will not let you lose out on available coverage under your policy. For example, if you cannot live in your home due to the damage, you may be entitled to immediate payment for Additional Living Expenses under your policy to cover the cost of replacement housing while your home is repaired.

So whether your claim involves hurricane wind damage, water damage, flood damage, business interruption losses, emergency costs, debris removal, extra expenses, actual cash value, replacement cost value or any of the other issues that come with property insurance policies, we are ready to maximize your recovery.

Flood vs. Wind:

WAS YOUR HURRICANE IAN INSURANCE CLAIM DENIED BECAUSE YOUR POLICY DOES NOT COVER FLOOD? Do not let your insurance company get away with this. Even if your property was damaged by flood, the wind and rain from Ian also certainly caused additional damage that should be covered. So if you have received a denial letter on the basis of a flood exclusion, or if you have not reported your claim because you do not have flood coverage, please let us review your policy and the damage before you walk away from the coverage you may have. Or, if you have a flood policy and have any trouble getting full compensation, let us help you get there.

Actual Cash Value:

Most policies do not provide enough coverage to actually repair your home at the real cost in the marketplace. Instead, they provide you with an initial “Actual Cash Value” payment and may provide additional coverage after the work is complete. If you have received an actual cash value payment and do not understand it, let us review it and make sure your insurance company is not shorting you on your coverage amount.

Valued Policy Law:

Most states, including Florida, have a Valued Policy Law. In a nutshell, these laws dictate that the full amount of coverage on a policy must be paid if your property is a total loss. Sometimes, this should be easy such as when a home is completely destroyed by a fire. With Ian, there will be many thousands of properties that are total losses but the insurance companies will not pay the full value of the policy. Instead, they will tell you that the home can be repaired for less that the full amount of the policy. If you think your home cannot be repaired but you have not received your full policy amount, let us handle that fight with your company.

Immediate or Emergency Repairs:

Many property owners will need to make immediate repairs before giving notice of their claim to the insurance company. Believe it or not, some insurance companies will use this against you. They will claim that they could not determine what caused the damage because you repaired it before they could inspect. This is outrageous and if you have made repairs but have not given notice to your company, please let us do it for you. We will present the claim in such a manner as to minimize the chance of giving the insurance company a defense to your claim that it should not have.