Condo, insurer duel over storm costs
Nearly two years after Hurricane Wilma blew out windows and buckled walls at the Chalfonte Condominium in Boca Raton, residents of the 21-story twin towers are still waiting for their insurance company to pay them for the roughly $13 million they spent on repairs.
On Monday, they took their dispute with QBE Insurance Co. to U.S. District Court in hopes a jury will order the company to make good on the policy, which cost them about $311,000 annually.
Residents of the 378-unit oceanfront condo claim QBE officials didn’t even tell them how much it was willing to pay until roughly five months ago. And, when insurance officials finally adjusted the claim in March, they said the condo sustained about $400,000 in damages – far less than its $1.3 million deductible, said attorney Daniel Rosenbaum, who is representing the condominium.
The Australia-based company, which does business in South Florida through Florida Intracoastal Underwriters, provides coverage to roughly 1,800 condominiums in Florida with a combined insured value of $33 billion – more than any other insurer in Florida, according to state records.