Three Years Post-Hurricane Wilma, Millions of Dollars in Insurance Claims Still Unpaid

ORLANDO, FL, Oct 27 (MARKET WIRE) --
On the third anniversary of Hurricane Wilma, many Florida homeowners and
condominium associations have yet to be paid for insurance claims.
Natural disaster attorney Alan Garfinkel of the law firm of Katzman
Garfinkel Rosenbaum advises that it's still not too late to file an
original claim from the storm.

"The statute of limitations on filing a lawsuit for unreimbursed insurance
claims is five years from the date of the disaster," said Garfinkel. "Many
homeowners and associations still may have legitimate claims to make from
Wilma, but may be afraid to do so fearing their premiums will spike or
they'll be dropped altogether. These fears are unfounded because state law
and administrative regulations forbid an insurance company from not
renewing or cancelling policies when the insurance claim results from an
act of God, and from selectively raising rates."

On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma slammed into Florida's Southwest
coast and tore a path through Florida exiting between Ft. Pierce and Ft.
Lauderdale, causing billions of dollars in damage. According to Garfinkel,
some insurance companies routinely denied claims or purposely valued
losses less than the hurricane deductible.

"Some insurance companies went out of their way to delay and deny
legitimate claims, forcing homeowners and associations to go to court to
enforce their rights," said Garfinkel. "Meanwhile, three years after the
storm, roofs still have holes, ceilings have leaks and many hard working
people have been pinched paying for temporary repairs out of their own
pocket. With the economy the way it is, they could use that money now."

Katzman Garfinkel Rosenbaum was co-counsel with the law firm of Greenberg
Traurig in the Vantage View vs. QBE Insurance Corporation case, which
recently resulted in a $1.5 million dollar jury verdict to the association
for hurricane-related damages.

Attorney Dan Rosenbaum, a senior partner in the law firm, won an $8.1
million Federal Court Jury Verdict against QBE last year. The firm faces
QBE again in another Federal Court trial in the next few weeks.

Garfinkel said despite the challenges some property owners have had
collecting money from their insurance companies, that should not stop
anyone who thinks the insurance company did not fully pay or refused to
pay their claim. This is true even for those owners and associations who
have previously received insurance proceeds (and cashed their checks) so
long as they did not sign a separate release.

"They have nothing to lose," said Garfinkel. "We will come out with
construction experts and do an assessment. If we think Hurricane Wilma or
any other storm was responsible for property damage and they were not
fairly compensated by their insurance company, we'll file a claim at no
cost to the property owner or association."

Attorney Alan Garfinkel has devoted his practice for the last 19 years to
disaster law civil litigation. He has written and lectured frequently on
the topic. For more information call 800-393-1529 or visit
www.askthefirm.com.

About Katzman Garfinkel Rosenbaum:

Katzman Garfinkel Rosenbaum is a law firm that focuses on community
association and natural disaster law. With offices in Fort Lauderdale,
Miami, Orlando, Naples, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, the firm
offers residents living in all types of common interest ownership
communities with a complete set of services including general corporate
representation, collection, first party insurance claim recovery and
construction defect litigation. It was one of the first firms to advance
all fees and costs on behalf of communities that are forced to pursue
collection of delinquent assessments. For more information log on to
www.askthefirm.com.

Contacts:
Todd Templin or Michelle Friedman
954-370-8999
cell: 954-290-0810
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