PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Decades of hard work, and a lifetime of memories…tossed to the curb. That’s been Kris Yarborough’s reality since Hurricanes Helene and Milton left her home uninhabitable.
“I don’t ever want to have to go through this again,” she said. “There are so many sleepless nights. I wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning and I’m making lists. ‘Who do I have to call today? Where do I have to go? Do I need to go over to the house and take care of this?’ It’s just been nonstop.”
Yarborough says year after year, she’s continued to pay her rising property and flood insurance premiums, but she is still waiting for her final claims payout from the insurance company as bills pile up.
“The contractors want money upfront,” she said. “For each stage, you have to put money upfront.”
While homeowners have fought with rising premiums over the past few years, insurance expert Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute says, Florida’s home insurance market was showing signs of stabilization before the storms, which will help in their aftermath.
“Don’t be alarmed, the market is in a much better position than it’s been in many years,” he said. “It might take a little bit longer to make determinations if it was flood loss versus wind loss, but if it is covered under your home insurance policy, it will be paid. You don’t need to be concerned about claims not being paid.”
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, echoed the same sentiments, adding that his office is open to help homeowners who are facing excessive waits for their claims to be paid out.
“If you’ve got a problem with your claim, call our office,” he said. “Let us get every dollar we can for you, that is our job, and we’re very good at it. If you get to a point that you don’t like what we’re able to do for you, then we pay for mediation for free. We bring in a third-party mediator and you work it out with your insurance company.”
As so many recover from the devastation of the storms, Ellie’s Mental Health in St. Petersburg is offering free disaster relief support groups for all Tampa Bay residents. The next session is from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 25.