Has your home been damaged by water? If you have a homeowners insurance policy under Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Managed Repair Program, you might not be able to choose who does repairs.
Since 2017, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has been encouraging its policyholders towards a new program designed to handle claims for water damage stemming from sources other than storms. The reason this program is necessary, the not-for-profit government entity claims, is that non-storm water damage claims are driving up insurance rates and claims abuses by independent contractors are to blame.
While it is true that some claims abuses do occur, the Managed Repair Program takes power away from policyholders. Here’s what you should know.
What Is a Managed Repair Program? Check Your Homeowners Insurance Policy
To summarize, managed repair programs are special homeowners insurance programs that encourage policyholders to use a contractor chosen by the insurance company to make repairs.
According to the Citizens website, their program “offers valuable services to customers with eligible policies whose homes have been damaged by water not caused by weather.” The services that the company offers to new and renewal homeowner (HO-3) and dwelling property 3 (DP-3) policyholders include emergency water removal and repair services from their Managed Repair Contractor Network.
Here’s how Citizens Property Insurance Corporation says it works.
After noticing water or water damage from a non-storm source, an eligible policyholder calls to file a claim, during which they are told about the water removal and repair program. Either the policyholder agrees to participate in the program, or they refuse. If they refuse, they can choose their own contractor to remove the water and make repairs.
Of course, there is a catch—by refusing to participate, the policyholder is subject to a $3,000 limit on water mitigation services and a $10,000 sublimit for permanent repairs.
Additionally, even if a policyholder opts out of the Managed Repair Program, Citizens can still exercise their “right to repair” or “option to repair” using one of their contractors in lieu of covering the costs of a contractor you choose.
In essence, policyholders under this program do not really have any control over who repairs the water damage in their home. Regardless of their decision to participate in the program, they could end up with repairs from a contractor they did not pick.
You Should Not Be Required to Use a Contractor You Don’t Trust
The Managed Repair Program from Citizens claims to save policyholders time, reduce the hassle of finding a contractor, and give policyholders peace of mind. For some claims, this may be the case, but the way that the program is structured leaves many people subject to poor-quality work and underestimated property damage.
Are you a Citizens Property Insurance Corporation policyholder? If you have filed a claim for non-storm water damage, we can help you if you feel your insurance provider has taken advantage of you. We recently won a ruling for a client under this exact program.
Get in touch with us so we can discuss your needs.