News Releases

Florida Family Experts On The Front Line

Naples, Florida, April 2000... Florida Family is pleased to be a participant in the Insurance Disaster Preparedness Process, working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Florida Department of Insurance, Florida Emergency Preparedness Association, Florida Department of Community Affairs, Division of Emergency Management (DEM), and the Florida Insurance Council. This front-line cooperation ensures that Florida Family policyholders will be at the vanguard of disaster claims evaluation and restitution.

Florida Family's Claims Department has participated in the State Department of Insurance Disaster Preparedness Process since the program was first implemented during the 1996 Florida storm season. The objective of the program is to develop procedures to expedite settlements and rapidly deliver policyholder relief following a Florida disaster.

Along with state agencies and local governmental authorities, participants in this important forum include insurance company claims management personnel, independent adjustment firms and various vendors involved in the loss adjustment process. The State of Florida’s Insurance Disaster Preparedness Process provides for heightened levels of emergency relief for Florida policyholders, including:

• Direct communications among Department of Insurance, the Emergency Operations Center, and the insurance industry.
  
• An insurance industry liaison team, supervised by the Florida Insurance Council, is dispatched to the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee during a tropical storm or hurricane threat. The team responds to insurance-related questions from emergency management officials and the news media, forwarding information to the insurance industry and via the Internet through Florida Insurance Council's home page.
  
• Early, accurate damage assessment by the insurance industry.

Florida Family is a member of the Insurance Disaster Assessment Team (IDAT), which is deployed to the disaster area within hours to evaluate insured damage and adjuster needs. IDAT works in cooperation with local emergency managers, the state Emergency Operations Center, the Department of Insurance, and the insurance industry.

Following a storm or natural disaster, the IDAT team is first to enter a disaster area, conducting preliminary surveys of insured damage and making determinations as to the number of adjusters needed.
Company adjusters are then generally admitted into the area within 24 hours, carrying "State Emergency Response Team" (S.E.R.T.) passes to enable them to enter restricted areas. From start to finish, the State Department of Insurance Disaster Preparedness Process ensures speedier claims assistance to affected Florida property owners and the safety of all concerned.

For more about the State of Florida Insurance Disaster Preparedness Process participants:

Florida Department of Financial Services. www.fldfs.com
Florida Emergency Preparedness Association. www.fepa.org
Florida Department of Community Affairs. www.dca.state.fl.us
Florida Insurance Council. www.flains.org