Hurricane Wilma dealt a heavy blow to South Florida this year, affecting NIA and Kornreich-NIA’s Miami Lakes and West Palm Beach offices and the lives of their clients.

Three hours after the storm, many Miami Lakes associates were already back to work. Some of them waited on gas lines for hours at a time and drove through dangerous roads in order to make it to the office and service their clients. The West Palm Beach office was unable to resume business for a week.

"After the storm, we made it a priority to contact and personally try to visit many of our clients to ensure their safety," stated Bill Bittner, Executive Vice President of NIA’s Florida Region. "We set up a separate claims desk to deal with hurricane claims quickly. Our Miami Lakes office was immediately bombarded with phone calls. We knew it was our job to get to every one of them so we enlisted the help of NIA’s Somerset, NJ office to handle the influx of claims."

NIA’s two Florida offices, alone, received a total of 694 claims. Unfortunately for 80% of clients, claims could not be covered because the hurricane damages were below their windstorm deductible. Another problem many Floridians faced was the lack of adjusters available to assess damage and write checks to cover repairs. The availability of adjusters was very low due to the demand for them in Louisiana, Mississippi and other hurricane-stricken areas.

As a result of this year’s unrelenting hurricane season, windstorm deductibles are expected to increase. Property insurance premiums are also expected to increase by 20 to 40%. Additionally, several insurance carriers are changing their position on writing insurance in the state of Florida.

After witnessing the devastation caused by Wilma, Bill advises Florida residents and anyone with homes located on the eastern seaboard to take hurricane warnings seriously. "Fill gas tanks in your car to the top, shop early for food, and stock up on water. In the long-term, to help prevent or minimize damage caused by hurricane winds, consider replacing home construction materials with more resilient building structures, such as impact-resistant windows or shutters."

For further information on hurricane prevention tips, contact your NIA insurance broker or NIA’s Florida offices at 305.823.2777 for Miami Lakes and 561.242.8844 for West Palm Beach.