Chinese Drywall Update: Is Florida's State Insurance Company Dropping Policies on Affected Houses? ~

Owners of houses built with Chinese drywall have generally not been able to get help from their insurance policies for damage caused by the defective material. But they also face another risk: they could lose their insurance coverage for everything else, too. Associated Press reporter Matt Sedensky reported last week that Citizens Property Insurance Corp, the state-run insurer of last resort, may be terminating policies in houses containing the bad drywall (" Drywall could trigger cancellations," Miami Herald). "Attorney David Durkee, who represents about 300 people with homes containing the defective materials, said Citizens Property Insurance Corp., a state-backed insurer of last resort, has begun issuing notices to alert policy holders their coverage will be dropped," Sedensky reported. Within a day after attorney Durkee took his complaint to the press, however, he issued a press release saying that Citizens had rescinded its non-renewal notice to homeowners James and Maria Ivory. According to Durkee, the insurance company said the notice had been issued in error by the company's automated system (" Citizens Rescinds Non-Renewal Notice€¦"). In other drywall-related news, South Florida builder WCI is back in business after going through a bankruptcy process, and is seeking permission to build 196 houses in Parkland, Florida. But according to a report in the Orlando Sun-Sentinel, owners of homes built before the bankruptcy that contain Chinese drywall are upset that the firm would build new houses while homeowners are still struggling with the drywall problem (" Builder in Chinese drywall case wants to build more homes in Parkland," by Lisa J. Huriash and Paul Owers). Parkland's zoning board, an advisory body, voted 4 to 3 to deny the builder's application to start construction of entry features to its development, the paper reports, even though a city attorney had warned the board that it could not consider the drywall issue in deciding the zoning question.