Florida Update #1

FLORIDA UPDATE #1

August 27, 2004

Carol and I arrived in Orlando on Saturday, 21 August 2004. We left Omaha Thursday the 19th and drove through rain from St. Louis almost all the way to Orlando. At times we had to pull over as the rain was so heavy we couldn't see. Stayed in Paducah, KY Thursday night and Tifton, GA on Friday night.

We arrived in Orlando around 1 p.m. on Saturday, stopped at our storm office, got our assignments, talked to another adjuster who gave us the name of a broker through whom he had rented a furnished condo, called the broker, met him at the condo and moved in . . . again all in a driving rainstorm. But it was great to find this place right away so we could get settled in.

We have about 150 files between us, a combination of homes and small businesses. We are just amazed at the damage here in Orlando in the middle of central Florida. Charley was still a Cat 2 when it hit and as we drive around we see thousands of oak and palm trees uprooted, huge piles of debris along the curb, and shingles missing from almost every structure. We've only seen about a dozen houses so far but the first one we visited had a flat roof and the rolled roofing was completely gone as well as several sheets of decking. When we went inside there was still an inch or so of standing water in every room. All of his furniture and personal possessions are saturated with water. We've estimated the damage to his home around $100,000.00 and his possessions around $45,000.00. The county has condemned his house so he's been staying with friends and family until his adjuster arrived. We've requested a $5,000 advance for him so he can find an apartment as he will be out of his house for at least 6 months

We're learning to live with the 90+% humidity and you can set your watch to the afternoon rains and storms. We can only see properties in the a.m. as the afternoons are just too hot and humid to work, plus we can't be on roofs in the rain.

All things considered, all is going well. We do have language problems as many of our claims only speak Spanish and some Oriental, so we have to wait to talk with them until they have a friend or family member who can interpret.

Time to get back to work. Will try to do additional updates as time permits. Drop us a line.

Bob & Carol