FORT PIERCE, Fla. — It's been more than five months since Hurricane Milton caused destruction across our region, leaving many homeowners feeling ignored and abandoned by their insurance companies.
Amid ongoing frustration, it seems help is arriving too slowly for those affected. Our investigation reveals that holding insurance companies accountable has become increasingly difficult due to recently passed legislation.
WATCH: WPTV's Kate Hussey looks into 2022 legislation affecting insurance
"Depressed, frustrated, hopeless, helpless because we can't get it fixed," Brittani Littlejohn told Investigative Reporter Kate Hussey.
The Littlejohns, whose home was hit by an EF-3 tornado, have been wrestling with their insurance claims for months. After submitting a request for additional money to rebuild, they shared emails showing a lack of response from their insurance company.
Despite reaching out multiple times, it wasn't until Hussey's team intervened that the Littlejohns finally received an additional $200,000 — two months after filing the necessary paperwork.
“I don’t know what happens from here. I don’t know where we go,” said Brittani Littlejohn. “It’s hard, you know, you have two young kids... we have another baby coming and it’s hard.”
"We’re hearing these stories all the time of people who just feel completely ignored by their insurance companies," added West Palm Beach insurance attorney, Aaron Bass.
Bass isn't affiliated with their case, but explained that when a follow-up claim is submitted along with a private engineer's report, it’s known as a “supplemental claim.”
WATCH: WPTV spoke with the Littlejohns about their insurance struggles
Florida law allows insurance companies an additional 60 days to investigate these claims — a timeframe he says that, from his experience, many companies exploit.
"Insurance companies do not make money from your premium dollars," Bass explained. "They make money by taking your premium dollars and investing it. The longer they hold onto those dollars, the more money they make. The longer they can stretch these things out in litigation, that’s their tactic so that people just give up."
"So then a family like this, what options do they have?" asked Hussey.
"That's a good question," replied Bass. “Sometimes they have to borrow money — take out home equity loans and make the repairs themselves. What you really need to do is consult an attorney."
For many families, however, that's not a viable option due to a law passed in December 2022 following Hurricane Ian.
This legislation, known as Senate Bill 2A, eliminates the ability for insured policyholders to recover attorney fees, forcing them to cover these costs regardless of the outcome.
“It is a lose-lose for the consumer,” Bass stated.
WATCH: A breakdown of Senate Bill 2A
We went to the state's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, to address the concerns surrounding the legislation.
"The legislation was an initiative we had seen abuse in," said Patronis.
Patronis said prior to enacting the bill, one law firm sued Citizens Insurance more than 5,000 times in a seven-year period, charging what he said were outrageous fees.
"There were some attorneys claiming absolutely ludicrous fees," agreed Bass.
"There were about 25 firms who were ruining it for everybody in the state," Patronis said. "Because they found a loophole, they were exploiting it, so the one way you close that is with one way-attorney fees."
"Do you think we can find a middle ground?" Hussey asked Patronis.
"Possibly. Me personally, I think there's room for improvement on both sides," Patronis replied. "Was it an overcorrection of the system? You may be right."
The Littlejohns hope that these discussions could lead to change that assists families like theirs, who may also be overwhelmed by the aftermath of the hurricane.
“Because we pay all our money into this insurance company for them to just ghost us when we need them the most,” Brittani said.
Patronis said currently, there is pending legislation that may address these issues, including a bill proposed during the 2025 legislative session that would require mediation between property insurance companies and their clients for every claim dispute prior to court involvement. This initiative aims to ensure clients receive answers while limiting claims litigation.
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