NORTH PORT, Fla. — Tuesday marks six months since Hurricane Ian, and tens of thousands of Floridians are still waiting on insurance companies to hand over money for the damage sustained.
One homeowner in North Port had over $60,000 in damage per an estimate and the damage is still there because his insurance hasn't fulfilled the claim.
At first, his insurance only offered him about $2,000 but after a previous 10 Tampa Bay story aired, he got a $47,000 check.
Unfortunately, thousands of people across the Tampa Bay area are still waiting on those checks.
"It may be appropriate to hire an attorney to represent you," Insurance Industry Corporate Communications and Public Relations Leader Mark Friedlander said.
Friedlander used to be an insurance agent. Now, he works in insurance research.
Current data from the state shows 708,255 claims have been filed with a total of more than $13 billion in damage. Some claims haven't been paid.
"There have been a lot of disputes over whether the claim was a wind loss or a water loss, meaning flood or storm surge," Friedlander explained.
That is the difference between flood insurance and homeowners insurance. If you had flooding and no flood insurance, they won't pay your claim.
There is help from the state available if you feel you’re being shorted or ignored.
"If you feel you have a legitimate dispute from your loss from the storm not being paid out, you have arbitration and a third party arbitrator will assess both sides," Friedlander said.
Six months after Hurricane Ian, there are over 143,000 claims still open. Not a penny hasn’t been paid for over 62,000 of those.
"Try to be and be persistent and don’t let things go," Friedlander added.
Something to look out for are insurance villages that Friedlander said will be coming to the west coast in the coming weeks.
This is where you can talk to your insurance company in person and hopefully settle your claim. Dates and locations should be announced soon.