Brianna Sacks Profile picture
Mar 13 10 tweets 5 min read
I’ve been reporting on Hurricane Ian since it hit Florida in late Sept. The storm caused $112.9 billion in damage, the second-largest insured loss on record after Katrina. In Nov, I started hearing that something strange was happening with storm victims’ insurance claims…
Veteran independent insurance adjusters said their estimates were being significantly altered: photos deleted, descriptions of damage erased, and the final amounts reduced by over 80% .

They'd had issues with carriers before but never seen this behavior

washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
Hundreds of pages of claims & internal records I reviewed show big changes were being made to Hurricane Ian estimates without adjusters' knowledge or consent. I saw a $488,000 claim reduced to $13,000. Some were cut below deductibles, leaving residents with nothing
After the 90-day deadline insurers have to pay, I tracked down residents from altered claims to see what was going on with their cases

Terry and Mary Sebastian, a retired couple from Rotonda West, had been battling their carrier, Heritage Insurance, for months.
When an adjuster visited the Sebastians’ home in early Oct, insulation was breaking out from their collapsed ceiling. Rain had done significant damage to half the house. It was a ~$200,000 loss. But a final letter from Heritage said it was only $27,000 and damage was erased
Like other families, the Sebastians are stuck in an unsafe home they can’t afford to repair on their own. They could not understand how the damage would only be $27,000. They will not be able to get a new roof. Half of their old one is on their lawn.
Here's a different Heritage claim originally estimated at $231,368. It was altered to $15,469, with the adjuster's name still on it, and sent to the homeowner. The family had a policy for $270,000. They're still waiting for a check

You can see descriptions of damage removed
I'd often see adjusters write the damage they observed from wind, such as cracked tiles or damaged mortar. In the altered versions, it was changed to say that damage was from "age" and/or "wear and tear," meaning it would not be covered.
The Sebastians submitted complaints with Florida’s Dept. of Financial Services, but heard nothing until I contacted. At a Dec special session, whistleblowers spoke out and then gave a lawmaker evidence. He didn't look into it till I reached out. DFS is allegedly now investigating
Meanwhile, Florida residents are getting desperate and running out of patience and savings. They feel helpless, but refuse to give up.

“They're trying to wear me out,” Terry, 69, said. “I told them they picked the wrong person.”

Investigation here:
washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…

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More from @bri_sacks

May 21, 2022
This is huge. The Forest Service is stopping ALL prescribed burns across the National Forest System—nearly 200M acres—bc of escapes

Prescribed burns are essential for wildfire management. So much so that FS wanted to burn 50M acres over the next 10 years fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/lead…
This decision comes after the USFS unveiled a robust new 10-year strategy to combat our wildfire crisis. However, prescribed fire takes skill, and due to staffing/hiring issues, they've had problems filling these experienced roles, firefighters told me.
fs.usda.gov/managing-land/…
While the New Mexico fire sparked from a prescribed burn, stopping them at the onset of what is looking to be another difficult fire season could have serious ramifications, experts say.

We need intentional burning and the people who know how to do them.
npr.org/2022/05/20/109…
Read 4 tweets
May 11, 2022
This is big. The US has released part of its first-ever investigation into its Indian boarding schools. They found:

From 1819-1969, 408 federal schools in 37 states

Marked or unmarked graveyards at 53 schools

Schools mostly focused on manual labor
bia.gov/sites/default/…
Here are some more notable findings from the Department of Interior's nearly year-long probe into this very horrific part of US history
This reckoning with our own cultural genocide has been a long time coming, but it triggers tremendous pain and trauma for survivors and their families.

I reported on why the US needs to establish wide-reaching mental and emotional health services.
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…
Read 4 tweets
May 10, 2022
Now over 4,900 people say they were hurt at Astroworld. Contemporary Services Corp., which helped lead security for that festival, also oversaw Dave Chappelle's show

CSC's been sued dozens of other times for negligence, injuries, and labor law violations
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…
CSC is one of the largest event security companies in North America. It runs thousands of festivals, concerts, and sports games, and has contracted w/ massive venues and events: Coachella, the Super Bowl, presidential inaugurations, FIFA World Cups, huge universities like USC
However, it hires inexperienced people for minimum wage to work long shifts, and workers have complained about inadequate training for such big events. Some have gotten hurt. Most of them are hired as independent contractors, absolving CSC of liability in some cases.
Read 8 tweets
May 4, 2022
Just came out of the Hollywood Bowl where a man charged and tackled Dave Chapelle on stage and got his ass kicked by at least 10 people.

LAPD and LAFD are now loading him into an ambulance
The show was just ending when the man hoppped onto stage and ran at Chapelle, form tackling him to the ground. The comedian had literally just said he now has more security because of all the uproar from his jokes about the Trans community
Security et al rushed and started punching and kicking the shit out of Chapelle’s attacker. He was just about to bring on Talib Kweli and Mos Def for the encode and we in the crowd were like what the fuck is going on. Chapelle kept on while the guy was getting beat in the back
Read 19 tweets
May 3, 2022
A reminder that reproductive rights orgs/abortion funds US were preparing for this and built a network to help people in abortion deserts get services

June 2019: “We say every year, ‘That was the worst year yet,’ and then the next year it’s even worse.”
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…
Going to share stories of people who have struggled to get abortions around the US and what that looks like:

Important work from @o_ema

These Powerful Letters Show Why Women Have Abortions

buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoco…
A 25-year-old woman tried for five months to get an abortion. By the time she made it to the clinic, it was almost too late

also by @o_ema

buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoco…
Read 5 tweets
Jul 23, 2021
Today, as Olympic athletes walked in the opening ceremony, one US fencer, who is in Tokyo, did not participate. That's because he is under investigation for sexual assault.

So why has Alen Hadzic been allowed to compete in these games? We investigated: buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…
Hadzic, a US fencing alternate, was the subject of multiple complaints to SafeSport, an org set up to investigate misconduct claims against Olympic athletes. He was suspended in June due to investigation, but later appealed, allowing him to go to Tokyo. buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…
.@MelissaDSegura and I interviewed 30 current and former USA fencers and officials, including three women who have formally accused Hadzic of sexual misconduct, detailing what they say is a pattern of misbehavior and violence going back to 2010.

buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…
Read 7 tweets

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