C.J. Braden • 4 Minute Read
Our Hurricane Ian Story Part 4
Update: 12/30/22: We no longer recommend Tailored Loss Consultants (or the public adjuster Chad Schmitt).
We are posting videos of our home and Sanibel post Hurricane via our TikTok account @carolynjbraden Follow our visual story there by clicking here.
This is our part four of our very long experience in dealing with Hurricane Ian and it's aftermath. We hope to get back to our Sanibel Island home soon and this article describes our insurance process, working with FEMA, working with a public adjuster, our RV experience and more. Read on to learn how we've dealt with this life altering situation in a positive and hopeful way.
For those that would like to hear our story, we’ve included our weekly video VLOGS as well.
Weeks 11 and 12: December 8 - December 21, 2022
Our Hurricane Ian YouTube video VLOG: Week 11
Our Hurricane Ian YouTube video VLOG: Week 12 via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden
We are combining weeks 11 and 12 of our Hurricane Ian story simply because there isn’t much to report. In our recent video updates (see above), we spoke about having to continuously reapply for help from FEMA, as they just can’t seem to get it together. We supply them with information and then someone does something incorrectly with it on their end, and etc.
Nine Penny Branch Nature Preserve
We still haven’t received one single check from our flood or wind insurance. In the state of Florida, they legally have 90 days to give us any sort of payment (it could literally be $1) before we can proceed with further action on our end. We have a public adjuster, as we’ve said before, and he is doing the best he can.
Our Maine Coon prince, Ross
The SBA loan we applied for was approved (you can apply for this Small Business Association/ PDC Disaster Assistance if you are a home owner in need of assistance with anything insurance doesn’t cover), but now we are reading the fine print. They sent us a packet this week which is the size of a lengthy book and we are going over the details with a fine-tooth comb. It has some language in it that we don’t quite like, so we may need a pair of legal eyes on it before we proceed.
Our love of shopping for vintage fashion definitely helps keep us staying positive
Though we are still in limbo, we still are hopeful to be able to return to our house in January 2023. Annie the Ark (our new-ish motor home that we purchased several weeks ago) has a repair completion date of on or around January 3rd, 2023. We partnered with LuminAID to promote their 2-in-1 solar lantern/charger throughout this hurricane mess, and I would recommended it to anyone living in a weather disaster-prone area.
We will proudly be taking it back to Florida, and though I hope we don’t have to deal with more weather disasters any time soon, it’s a great thing to have on hand.
We’ve enjoyed testing our LuminAID product
In my quiet moments of meditation, I still try to remain positive. My most recent thought came out as a little prayer/story that I hope you’ll enjoy:
Dear God, please help the next chapter of my life book be the best one yet. 💖
I often think about my life being a book. It’s a book that I am writing, but I have help of ghost writers named God and The Others. I have never met my ghost writers, but I hear them on a daily basis. They help guide me to write the very best story, full of twists and turns, sad times and happy times; basically a book that someone just can’t put down.
Minnie Pearl is my fluffy sweetheart of a fur baby
My life. It’s a page turner that I hope I can finish with my own sort of happy ending, whatever that may be. I don’t expect life to be boring, which also makes for the best story.
If you ever think you have writers block, are stuck or just aren’t writing the best life book, there’s plenty of time for rewrites. My story outline did not look like how I planned, but it’s okay. I strayed from the norm in an unexpected way because me and my ghost writers thought my latest plot twist would be better.
I embrace the unknown. I am comfortable with being uncomfortable. Cheers to writing the best life book ever.
My best friend and I hiking at Nine Penny Branch Nature Preserve
Christmas is this weekend. If you find yourself alone, sad, or distraught this holiday season, please know that I am here with you. While I try to remain positive, the human in me has its share of sad moments. My husband I spend moments hiking, laughter and joy with our pets, and talk extensively with many family members and friends. May you have at least one thing in your life that can help pull you through the holiday season and into 2023 with a sense of joy, hope and a new perspective.
Weeks 13 and 14: December 22, 2022 - January 5, 2023
Firing a public adjuster during Hurricane Ian recovery
Our Hurricane Ian YouTube video VLOG: Week 13 via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden
Our Hurricane Ian YouTube video VLOG: Week 14 via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden
As I type up our update for weeks 13 and 14 of our Hurricane Ian journey, it is Friday, January 5th, in the new year of 2023. Before 2022 ended, we had to end our relationship with Chad Schmitt and Tailored Loss Consultants, our public adjuster and hire a lawyer. Unfortunately, his services and communication fell apart and ourselves, along with many of his clients, decided to let him go. Sometimes that happens. Whether it be a contractor or anyone you do business with, don’t be afraid to let them go if they aren’t giving you the service they said they would.
Ringing in 2023
Make sure you always read through a contract before signing it and know how you will let them go if needed. We did this and followed the contract in order to terminate it in a lawful way. If you do not read the fine print nor follow the “rules”, you can open yourself for lawsuits and more. We only hired a lawyer to help take over what Tailored Loss Consultants were supposed to do, which was to work with our insurance companies to get us what we need, financially, to put our house back together the way it was before the storm.
Minnie Pearl loved the snow and cold weather of southern Indiana
We actually learned a lawyer has way more negotiating power than a public adjuster, so we would hire a lawyer over a public adjuster in the future if needed. Not that all public adjusters are not good, I just know our particular insurance lawyer is much more informative and, well, legal.
Johnny Cash wasn’t as pleased with the super cold temps
We got Annie the Ark back and will set our sights on getting back to Sanibel Island, where our full-time residence is, in mid-January 2023, weather permitting. Tommy and I feel happy to have made some good progress towards our journey back home, but it’s kind of overwhelming. We have a lot to learn still about motor homes, as this is our first ever. We also still have so much to do to put our house back together too. It’s a hard pill to swallow in a way because we had just completed renovations on it right before the storm hit. We did everything ourselves, and it was hard work.
Our digital Christmas 2022 card
We moved to Sanibel Island in 2020 and said goodbye to our friends and family. After 14 weeks of being surrounded by them again, it feels like we are moving again. We love our friends and family and will truly miss them. We have adventure in our hearts though, which is the only thing pulling us away again. We hope we can get our house, or a new one, going for us soon so we can have them come visit again, as they often did.
Our Bob Ross Happy Tree cookies
I can only think that all of this happened for some reason, as I got to be close by when one of my best friends lost his job right before the holidays. I was able to be a shoulder to cry on and an ear for listening with extreme empathy, as I too have gone through a lot of loss with Hurricane Ian.
We got to help my in-laws unpack some things and put some more of their home together, as they moved into it 2 years ago. Anyone that has moved after 40+ years of living in the same home knows how it can take years to settle into a new one. Through this experience, I also realized how much I’d like some land and a larger home, a studio/creative space, to be closer to our family and friends, and maybe start a family of my own soon.
Minnie Pearl helping me with my digital content
I look forward to what 2023 will bring. I am hopeful, yet still trying to wrap my head around how much work (on top of my own actual career I am working hard to build) and strength I will need to make the next chapter the best yet. I still believe the best is yet to come. I have hopes and dreams for our future and know that hard work and time is the only way we can achieve it. Okay, Universe, I get it and I’m ready.
While you wait for our next update, enjoy this cool DIY project we created: How To Make a Folding Pet Gate or Baby Gate
For our full Hurricane Ian story:
Click here for Part One of our Hurricane Ian story, which tells about our experience in weeks 1-6.
Click here for part two of our Hurricane Ian Story, which tells about our experience in weeks 7-8.
Click here for part three of our story in week 9-10.
Click here for part four of our story in weeks 11-14.
Click here for part 5 of our story in weeks 15-18.
C.J. (Carolyn) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.