DAY Adjusting & Consulting offers tips for commercial property insurance coverage

Hurricane Ian changed the landscape in many different ways for Southwest Florida. One of those major changes is in the insurance industry. Insurance claims and insurance policies have been the topics of discussion for many businesses as insurance rules and coverage prices have dramatically changed for commercial real estate owners in Florida.

Blake Day, President of Day Adjusting and Consulting, has a passion for helping policyholders overcome the challenges they face with insurance claims. With 15+ years of in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry, Day is recognized as an expert in property insurance claims. He offers advice to commercial and residential property owners and would like to share a few tips to those in the process of renewing their coverage or seeking new coverage.

Day’s tips on the importance of getting the correct commercial insurance policy type.

RCV vs. ACV Policies: A Replacement cost value (RCV) policy covers the amount of money needed to repair your property at today’s prices of building supplies. An Actual Cash Value (ACV) covers the cost to replace your roof or other items at the price of materials when originally installed. Most policies in Florida are RCV policies. Unless the property is brand new, we suggest always getting a RCV policy.

Know your Deductibles: Your deductible is the amount you’re responsible for before your insurance company starts to pay and in Florida, you are REQUIRED to pay your deductible. Your all-perils deductible applies to any event that would occur to your property EXCEPT a hurricane. Hurricane deductibles apply to named storms such as Hurricane Ian. Your named deductible can be a flat specified amount, or it can be based on a percentage of your property’s insured value. If your commercial property has multiple buildings make sure to clarify with your agent if your deductible is per building or per occurrence. It’s imperative to ask your agent what kind of deductible you have.

Importance of O & L Coverage: Make sure you have coverage for O & L (Ordinance and Law). If a building code requires an update, O&I coverage means the insurance company would be responsible to bring the building up to code. If you do not have O&L, any building code upgrade would be out of pocket as the insurance company would only be responsible for the expense of building back to the original state prior to the damage. Due to the ever-changing nature of Florida building codes, we suggest that you ensure that your policy has O & L coverage.

Appraisal Provisions: Appraisal is an alternative dispute resolution that allows for an independent third party to assess the value of damages. Having this provision can often times prevent having to sue your insurance company for a dispute. We highly suggest having Alternative Dispute resolution provisions.

Coinsurance Penalty:
Does your commercial policy have a coinsurance penalty? Coinsurance penalties often range from 70%-100%. A 70% coinsurance penalty would require that your property is insured for at least 70% of its total value. A 100% coinsurance penalty means that your building must be insured for 100% of what it is worth. If your insurance company decides at the time that you submit a claim that you are underinsured, they can assess a significant penalty and not pay you the full value of your claim. To ensure that you are insured properly.

ABOUT DAY Adjusting & Consulting
Day Adjusting & Consulting is locally owned and operated. The team of adjusters advocates for policyholders when filing an insurance claim, residential or commercial. Whether the claim has already been filed, needs to be filed, or has been closed with an unsatisfactory payout, Day’s company can represent the policyholder at any point in your claim process, even if your claim has been denied.
For more information about DAY Adjusting & Consulting, please visit www.DayAdjusting.com or call (855) 729-0838.