Disaster Recovery

The Becker Disaster Recovery Practice Group assists clients with all aspects of catastrophic incidents that may befall a condominium association or any shared ownership community, including hurricanes, windstorms, tornadoes, fires, floods, lightning strikes, mold, pipe breaks, major leaks, sinkholes, etc.

The Disaster Recovery Group has handled thousands of claims issues, including dozens of hurricanes in Florida, New York and New Jersey. Our team approach provides a comprehensive set of services for all pre- and post-disaster needs in conjunction with our firm’s esteemed Community Association Practice Group and Construction Law & Litigation Practice Group, which includes board certified construction law experts, specific structural engineering experts, electrical/corrosion engineering experts, general contractor experts, estimators, adjusters, plumbing and other specific experts that know how to find damage and process claims. They are experts in what they do and our substantial experience tells us that to maximize recovery, you are best served by using a team that brings a wealth of experts to your rescue.

Our Disaster Recovery Group attorneys can readily assist with document rewrites, contract review, legal opinions for repair and replacement projects, assisting with banking needs including SBA loans, passing special assessments, and more. We can review your current insurance policies to determine whether those policies fully adopt the current statutory scheme in your state or have broader coverage available. We can also arrange a basic investigation for your community, at no cost, sufficient to determine whether you need to take the next step and notify your property carrier. The team offers a Disaster Preparedness and Recovery course that provides information about what to do prior to and after any kind of disaster.

We can likewise assist you with any of the following:

• Arranging documentation of your community (via video, photos and/or memoranda) for building components and critical records in order to facilitate your future insurance claim
• Contract review to ensure pricing, performance and insurance protections are in place
• Review of your insurance policies to identify requirements and financial obligations
• Developing a comprehensive Hurricane Plan
• Filing a lawsuit should your claim be denied or underpaid

As a client of the firm, if you call us within the first 48 hours after a disaster, and should that turn into a claim requiring the assistance of a public adjuster, the public adjuster will assess the damage at no cost, and then advocate on your behalf to the insurance carrier to get you the monies you are entitled to. Public adjusters usually charge between 10-20% on a contingency basis to advocate a claim, which means they do not get any money unless they are able to secure money for you from the insurance carrier; however, if you call within 48 hours after disaster, they will reduce that to 7% contingency, and no more than 10% in the event that an appraisal is required.

For more information, contact us at 1-844-BP-ASSIST (1-844-272-7747), or at the Client CARE Center toll-free at 1-844-CAREBP1 (1-844-227-3271) or by email at care@bplegal.com.

Hurricane and Disaster Recovery Webinars

Disaster Planning for the 2011 Hurricane Season: Are You Ready to Weather the Storm?
06/01/2011 Presented by William Strop, Sanjay Kurian and Robert Rubin

Hurricane Preparedness During A Restoration Project: How to Protect Your Structure In the Wake of a Hurricane
08/25/2010 Moderated by Steven Lesser
Running time: 59:43

Anatomy of a Disaster Claim
07/23/2010, Presented by Herb Brock and Rick Slider. Moderated by Steven Lesser.
Running time: 1:05:52

Hurricane Preparedness
12/15/2009, Presented by Steven Lesser. Running time: 58:34

What Your Insurance Carrier Doesn’t Want You to Know: Preparing and Presenting an Insurance Claim for Maximum Recovery
06/20/2009, Presented by Ken Direktor and Sanjay Kurian.
Running Time: 1:10

Community Update Articles
Tips on Preparing your Emergency Operation Plan
Hurricane Insurance Claims: What do you Need to do to Recover Insurance Money?

Hurricane and Disaster Recovery Blog Posts
http://www.floridacondohoalawblog.com

Disaster Resources & Links

Federal Emergency Management Agency for federal disaster response and recovery information

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for information about federal flood insurance

Home Inventory Checklist

Information about Flood Insurance

Flood Insurance Writers

Flood Resources: National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Contact Information: Phone: 1-888-FLOOD29 or 1-888-356-6329

Flood Claims Process

Filing a Flood Insurance Claim

Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation

Notice of Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation

Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form

Homeowners insurance toolkit

Are you prepared for Hurricane Season?

Preparing for Natural Disasters, and Recovering from them

Disaster Preparedness at Home: Filter Out the Damage 

Disaster Prep & Self Storage – What You Need to Know

PA DMV Emergency Driving Tips 

Emergency Preparedness for People Requiring Special Assistance

Humane Society – Protect Your Pets

Contacting FEMA

Who needs Elevation Certificates and Why

Wind Damage v. Flood Damage

National Assn of Insurance Commissioners Disaster Preparedness

Florida’s Largest Property Insurance Companies

Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Consumer Services, which handles all consumer-related questions and problems concerning insurance:

Florida contact information*: 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1- 877-693-5236)
*This is a toll-free helpline number and only available to consumers calling from a Florida number

Florida Division of Emergency Management for the latest emergency information

Information on Sinkholes

Catastrophic Ground Collapse in Florida

Florida Dept of Environmental Protection info about sinkholes

Florida Dept of Environmental Protection frequently asked questions about sinkholes

Property Casualty Insurers Association of America

Insurance Information for Consumers-what it does and how it works

Get quotes for Assn coverage and 7 Steps to Purchasing Insurance for a Condo Association

DISCLAIMER

Becker provides access to information on this website page as a public service. Although reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that all electronic information made available is current, complete and accurate, Becker does not warrant or represent that this information is current, complete and accurate. All information is subject to change on a regular basis, without notice. Becker assumes no responsibility for any errors in the information provided, nor assumes any liability for any damages incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of the website page. The inclusion of, or linking to, other website URLs does not imply our endorsement of, nor responsibility for, those web sites, but has been done as a convenience to our website visitors.