SEMINOLE, Fla. — After nearly a year of seniors living with no AC at Seminole Square Condos in Seminole, work has finally begun to replace the roof and rebuild the lives of those who live here.
It's a story we first brought to you in June after resident Cyndy Donnelly emailed Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Nadeen Yanes asking for help on navigating their insurance claim and to find out why work has not started.
"I was hoping somebody could help us, you know, maneuver through the insurance process," Donnelly told Nadeen. "And maybe put it to point us in a direction of somebody that could help us get our claim processed."
'A PERFECT STORM'
After we emailed Citizens Property Insurance, they told us they had sent several checks to the condo association. Statements showing Citizens sent more than $576,000. However, the public adjuster handling their claim, Craig Kobel with Strategic Claims Consultants, said that it is not enough to cover the damages done to their building.
"Citizens did a fair job in coming out quickly and assessing what the extent of damage was. Certainly, the funding wasn't commensurate with what contractor and market pricing, where there was a really steep gap in that, and that's caused some of the delays."
After our story aired, the public adjusting firm also held an emergency town hall meeting with residents to get finances to cover the hurricane deductible and get work done. Kobel said this case was "for no pun intended, the perfect storm".
Kobel said this case had three different HOA boards under one insurance policy. He also said Cyndy's building's HOA went through four property management companies in the last year alone. He added the HOA was also underfunded going into the storm season and had gaps in its insurance coverage. All of this is causing delays in this case.
"Very tough lessons learned for the board," Kobel said. "I think they need to understand that. Again, their policy was an issue. You had three boards acting independently, but all under one insurance policy. They were not fiscally responsible, and some people just don't have the money in that community. So there has to be longer-range planning."
WORK BEGINS
However, despite the challenges, the public adjusting firm said the contractor on the project is moving forward with replacing the roof, fronting some of the costs.
After delays throughout the summer since our story aired, those crews began work towards the end of August.
"So it was, you know, good news that at least there's work happening. But it's also like, so how long are they going to be working? Are they going to get it done? You know, quick?" Cyndy asked after she saw the workers.
For Cyndy, it's all been overwhelming. She is renting another place and still paying for the bills associated with her damaged condo. She's happy to see work has started, but she was nearly in tears with stress over how long and difficult the process has been.
"Very done, really done," Cyndy said. "It hurts my head to even think about everything. We have been through a lot this past year that we shouldn't have gone through."
'YOU REALLY HAVE TO TAKE PROPER PRECAUTIONS'
Kobel said this case is a good reminder for people and condo associations to make sure their finances and insurance coverage are in place before the storm, especially now, as we are in the middle of hurricane season.
"The storms are not getting easier. The insurance companies are not getting better in their claim payment process. It's elongating. So I mean, if you have your personal assets, your investments, and your property, you really have to take the proper precautions. You have to, I know this gets so redundant about reading your insurance policy, but you have to have a real conversation with your agent," Kobel added.
As for Cyndy, she offers this advice.
"I'm telling you, I'm so thankful and grateful I reached out to you guys," she said. "You definitely need to be cautious about getting a condo. You need to do your due diligence, and I'm telling you, use a microscope to really look at their finances."
We spoke with Cyndy's HOA president and vice president, who referred us to the attorney now handling the claim. As of this article's publication, we are still waiting to hear back.
Share Your Story with Nadeen
As part of her commitment to help you navigate the state of insurance, Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Nadeen Yanes is here to listen to you. If there is an insurance problem you have run into or feel others need to be aware of, we want to hear about it. Just fill out the form below.
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