Hundreds of Fla. homeowners reach settlement with Citizens over sinkhole claims
By Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The settlement involves policyholders who were challenging the state-run insurance company for failing to agree to the method and cost of repair for sinkhole damage to their homes.
The company has watched as lawsuits have ballooned in recent years because most homeowners were challenging Citizens for forcing them to repair their homes by putting grout in the ground instead of underpinning their homes with steel beams, or both.
The policies included in the settlement were all represented by the
"Our message to policyholders and the courts is if there is a confirmed sinkhole, we do want to repair the home -- but we do not want to write a blank check,'' said
Under terms of the agreement, the repairs would be made according to the recommendation of engineers and contractors selected from a list provided by the Citizens, Sumner said. The homeowner will not receive any money for the repairs; Citizens will pay the contractors directly.
A professional engineer will monitor the work and if the costs of the repair exceed the policy limits Citizens must make the improvements -- both for above ground repairs and below ground repairs. And if a neutral evaluator has made a recommendation, Citizens will abide by the terms of the evaluation and make the proscribed repair -- something the company has often refused to do.
In December, Citizens sent out letters to the hundreds of homeowners who have sued the company over their sinkhole damage urging them to settle their dispute under the company's terms. Most of the cases involved homeowners who challenged the method of repair Citizens wanted to use, or were asking a court to intervene because the company had agreed to repairs recommended by a neutral evaluator and then failed to follow through with those repairs.
But as Citizens worked to get homeowners to drop their lawsuits,
The pending legislation, and the fact that Citizens has coordinated its defense strategy in the 13 jury trials it has conducted since the letter was sent out, helped provide the impetus for these homeowners to settle, Peltier said.
In December, about the same time Citizens was writing to homeowners, its board of governors signed a
Gardner said the settlement will provide closure to property owners by helping them repair their homes and repaired homes will improve property values for local communities and future buyers.
The legal fees and expenses for the homeowners in the settlement will be paid by Citizens, up to
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