Welcome to

Thousands of people are still wrestling with insurance companies more than two weeks after hurricane Hermine. As Matt Galka tell us, at least one unique case has put a homeowner in a bind, and state officials may step in.

If a tree falls in a storm but doesn’t hit a house, who claims it?

That’s the question facing Joe Greiner. A tree from his neighbor’s yard fell during Hurricane Hermine more than two weeks ago.  It broke a fence and it’s now hovering over his home.

“And it’s kind of a weird situation as far as the insurance goes,” he said.

The neighbor’s insurance company told him to call his own provider.  His insurance company sent out a claims adjuster, but they’re not accounting for the tree.  Paying out of pocket won’t be cheap.

“I got a couple estimates, it’ll be in the neighborhood of four thousand,” he said. “If another hurricane came through it would be really bad news, I suppose.”

And state officials could ultimately have a role in settling this. The Department of Financial Services handles consumer insurance complaints. They’ve received six so far.

“We will contact the insurance company, see if we can step in to resolve the issue,” said Danishia Sword with the Division of Consumer Services.

Greiner says it’s a possibility for him.

“In a perfect world, my insurance company pays for the whole thing, but that’s not going to happen,” he laughed.

For now, Greiner just hast to wait as the problem continues to hang over his head.

The state’s Office of Insurance Regulation says there are still just under 9500 open insurance claims due to Hermine damage.