JACKSONVILLE – Months after a burst pipe flooded their condo, a Jacksonville couple is still out of their home, and they blame their insurance company for the delays.

Aubrey Coyle has lived in her one-bedroom condo for 15 years. This past March, just before her wedding, she came home to find water pouring in through her front door.

“We had the hot water heater, the pipe burst on it, and we had about two inches of water in our unit,” Coyle said. “The next morning, we filed a claim, and it’s just been an absolute nightmare since then.” Her insurance company, Chicago-based KIN Insurance, advertises “affordable home insurance made easy.” Coyle’s policy requires claims to go through a managed or direct repair program to access full coverage. Otherwise, claims are limited to a $10,000 payout. A managed repair program means the insurance company coordinates repairs using pre-approved contractors, rather than the homeowner selecting their own. After the claim was filed, KIN dispatched its contractors to clean up and remediate the damage. But Coyle says the work stalled and was never completed.

“As far as what they have done, they have done an incomplete remediation, mold remediation. At this point, that’s as far as we’ve gotten,” she said.

According to Coyle, the insurance company’s vendor passed environmental inspections. But an independent inspector she hired just days later found visible mold growth throughout the unit, reporting that improper drying had made the home uninhabitable.

Coyle says she has been moving from place to place since April, four times in total, and is now paying out of pocket for an apartment after her Additional Living Expenses coverage ran out. After returning from her honeymoon, she says she had just $700 left in housing coverage.

She has since hired an attorney and a public adjuster to help.

“We couldn’t even really enjoy the time leading up to our wedding,” she said. “We were constantly worrying about this and fighting with the insurance.”

During a recent walkthrough of her condo with the I-TEAM, visible mold was still present in multiple areas, contradicting her insurance contractor’s claim that remediation was complete. Coyle says KIN has refused to move forward with repairs.

“I had no idea that this was going to be the journey that it has been,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot. I’m extremely surprised and extremely disappointed, and what I’ve learned most from all this is you are your biggest advocate. You have to fight for yourself.”

In a statement to News4JAX, a spokesperson for KIN Insurance said:

“We have been and are continuing to work diligently with the customer, her attorney, and her public adjuster to reach an amicable resolution of their claim. Regretfully, we cannot comment on the details of an individual’s claim.”

Consumers with similar issues with their insurance provider are encouraged to file complaints with the state Department of Financial Services.

News4JAX reached out to the office of the Florida Chief Financial Officer on the matter and received the following statement:

NEWS PAGE

HOME