A home insurance customer said that her provider dropped her flood and hurricane coverage following Helene. Jo (@just.jo.things) said the company, in what seems like a bid to save itself from paying customers, denied coverage. She found the timing after Hurricane Helene a little too convenient, especially since another storm was on its way.
Now, Jo says she’s been left without coverage, and the United States government does nothing to regulate companies. She posted about her experience in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 163,000 views on the popular social media platform. Several folks who responded to her video, however, said that what her insurance company did was illegal, adding that State of Emergency declarations prevent insurance companies from changing policies on customers.
Law firm Velasquez and Associates states that insurers are not allowed to alter policies while state of emergency orders are in place. Furthermore, any damage sustained at this time is “considered covered, even if the insurance company tried to cancel your policy.”
It is unclear if Jo’s county in Florida is one of the 41 counties Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for ahead of Hurricane Helene or the 57 counties declared under a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Milton.
Dropped without warning
Jo opens her video talking about the insurance company’s decision to drop her hurricane coverage. “One week after Hurricane Helene, my homeowner’s insurance policy decided to drop any sort of hurricane and flood coverage, and also a few days before a new hurricane coming through. So that means not just ocean water, we’re talking about rainwater. So, if it is a flash flood and rainwater gets in our home, they’re saying, ‘Forget it. We’re not covering it.’”
The TikToker continued to discuss the ways in which her insurance company is getting out of providing clients coverage. “If rainwater somehow breaks through the roof and then creates a bubble in our ceiling, they’re not covering it. I think it’s going to be nearly impossible for us to try and get a new plan implemented before the storm on Wednesday.”
She added that getting this done before it “comes through” would be a tall order for her and her family. This means that they’re going to be left without coverage and footing the bill for any damage that’s sustained to their home as a result of the storm. According to her, she’s not the only one dealing with this issue, either. “But in reality, like, this is happening to so many people.”
At this point in the video, she appears to see someone off-camera. She informs them of the subject matter of her video. “I’m telling them about how we got dropped our flood coverage.” The person off-camera can be heard sighing; they simply say, “Yeah.”
@just.jo.things Interesting timing to get coverage DROPPED #homeinsurance #floodinsurance #floridaweather #floridastorms #hurricanehelene #hurricaneseason #hurricanewarning #homeinsuranceclaims ♬ Chopin Nocturne No.2 Op.9-2(1391533) – 314P
“Our government does nothing about it.”
She goes on to speak about the situation she’s been placed in by insurance companies. “And I know that the insurance companies are inundated with claims right now, and they’re not prioritizing, obviously, rewriting new plans. We do have a broker we go through, and so we’re gonna reach out to them, but I highly doubt that we’re able to get coverage before this new storm comes through,” she says, looking into the camera.
“But yeah, I just thought I’d share with what is going on because, apparently, insurance companies can just do that whenever they want, and our government does nothing about it.”
Having insurance coverage in case a natural disaster occurs doesn’t always mean you’ll receive a prompt payout. Speaking from personal experience, my family and I dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Sedgwick wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to give us our claims money. We went through several adjusters and inspectors. When they finally did say they were going to cut us a check, it wasn’t enough to repair our home.
Next, we had to enlist the help of a claims specialist to argue for more money on our behalf. They got a cut of that added amount, of course, but following the payout, Sedgwick refused to do business with us ever again. So, like Jo, they dropped us from their coverage entirely.
FEMA blasted online following Hurricane Helene
On Aug. 29, 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA took five days to get water to displaced citizens in the Superdome. That’s just one of the criticisms the disaster response team was slapped with following that natural disaster. It appears that years later, others are criticizing the government agency for its lack of assistance toward affected individuals.
For example, this woman said her father was only going to get $2,600 from FEMA after his home was destroyed by a hurricane. Others have said that they’ve had to rely on the kindness of individual citizens and not government workers for help post-storm. Then, there are reports from individuals that FEMA is “actively blocking aid for victims of Hurricane Helene.”
Some have said that reports of FEMA’s inefficacy uploaded by victims online are nothing but misinformation. For instance, this X user highlighted how a news conference held by President Biden is proof FEMA’s doing its job.
Many folks who are still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene caught wind of another storm: Milton. The Category 3 tempest touched down near Siesta Key, Florida, but “diminished to Category 1 as it moved inland across the state.”
TikTokers chime in
According to one commenter who replied to Jo’s video, insurance companies can’t alter plans during states of emergency. “When did they drop you? They can’t legally change anything during a state of emergency. That’s what my broker told me. No changes can be made during a state of emergency either.”
Someone else questioned whether or not the move was legal. “Is that legal? Honestly I would contact the state board of insurance immediately.”
Another replied that they, too, went through the same rigmarole with insurance companies while they were subjected to numerous storms. “Insurance companies are EVIL. they did this to us in 2004 when we had Charley-Frances-Jeanne back to back. We had to get a second mortgage to fix the house bc they wouldn’t cover the hurricane policy.”
Then, there were those who said that this was the nature of the business. “Flood damage is always a separate policy. What does the notice say?”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jo via email for further comment.
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