After Hurricane Ian, our client had damage to her mobile home that was not fully repaired. Before the repairs could be finished, her mobile home sustained further damage by Hurricane Milton, causing her home to be uninhabitable due to the roof and water damage. That’s when she reached out to Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. (FRLS) for help reviewing her insurance claim and negotiating a settlement with her insurance company.

FRLS is a non-profit law firm that provides free civil legal aid to qualified individuals, families, and vulnerable communities across 13 Florida counties and to farmworkers statewide.

Our client, who couldn’t bear to go through another hurricane season, was eager to sell her mobile home. To do so, all insurance negotiations must be finalized. Our team advised her to gather any receipts, photos of the damage, estimates for repair, and invoices for all out-of-pocket expenses she may have so we could negotiate a settlement with the insurance adjuster.

The FRLS team worked diligently to get our client’s settlement finalized for the sale of her home to close. Although our client was not able to provide some receipts and photos of her home before the damage, FRLS was able to negotiate an additional settlement of $1,937.13. This victory allowed our client to leave behind years of constant home repairs and step into a new chapter, just in time for the upcoming hurricane season.

Disaster legal services are vital to recovery. At FRLS, we work to have our clients covered in both areas offering legal help with insurance claims, FEMA benefits, and home repair fraud, as well as offering education about disaster resources at our community outreach events. Apply for help at FRLS.org or by calling 1-888-582-3410.