There is no bigger sporting event in the U.S. than the Super Bowl.  On Sunday, Feb. 7, Super Bowl LV will take place in our own backyard.  Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers, in Tampa, Florida.  

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first NFL team to play the big game in their home stadium.  The Bucs will face-off against the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs.  Full disclosure:  CBTG Founder and Partner Ted Corless is a longtime, proud member of #ChiefsKingdom.  

Bucs quarterback Tom Brady looks to capture a seventh ring in his NFL-record 10th Super Bowl appearance while Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to go back to back as the youngest QB to appear in consecutive Super Bowls.

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first team in league history to host the Super Bowl, they won’t have a home-field advantage.  Raymond James Stadium, where the Bucs play, features a large pirate ship which fires off multiple rounds from cannons when the team scores a touchdown. However, in an effort to make the site as neutral as possible, the NFL has informed Tampa Bay that the team will not be allowed to fire cannons during the game. 

The Face Mask Rule

The big game is set against the backdrop of a raging pandemic with new strains emerging every day.  Tampa, a city of 388,000, has had more than 55,000 coronavirus cases. To stop the spread of COVID-19, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (D) issued an executive order making masks required outside Super Bowl event areas such as downtown, the Riverwalk, Ybor City, Channel District, and neighborhoods around Raymond James Stadium.  Face masks will also be required to attend the game, as well as for all those who pass through Tampa International Airport. 

Touchdown 

Corless Barfield Trial Group is a high-stakes insurance dispute and property damage law firm located in Tampa.  We advocate on behalf of insureds throughout Florida, and aggressively represent policyholders whose insurance claims have been underpaid, delayed or denied.  

We work as one team from the office and remotely in order to offer clients the best of both worlds in the age of coronavirus. With safety measures firmly in place, our office at 6812 W. Linebaugh Ave. remains a vibrant and vital space for collaboration, client meetings, Continuing Education classes, hearings, as well as mediation, arbitration, and trials.  Our goal is always the same:  Help solve your toughest and most complex legal issues …. wherever you are.

You can’t play today’s game with yesterday’s rules.  We are devoting the full breadth of our combined capabilities, skills, and experience to help clients through their insurance claims and lawsuits.  CBTG continues to adapt to a virtual courtroom.  If you believe you could benefit from speaking to a lawyer about your insurance dispute or property damage claim, please call us at 813-258-4998.   We’re open and available 365 days a year. 

Game Plan 

We want you to have a safe game plan for the Super Bowl.  The Super Bowl is the No. 1 at-home party event of the year but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has consistently warned against hosting large, indoor gatherings with people you don’t live with.  Remember to wear masks; stay 6 feet apart; use hand sanitizer; avoid crowds and poorly ventilated places; and wash your hands.  Taking precautions today can significantly help you tomorrow.  

When you’re faced with a fire in your home, the last thing you want to think about is the insurance company. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil. However, there is something you can do: you can prepare. While a house fire is not necessarily inevitable, having the knowledge of how to handle fire damage may very well come in handy one day.

Prepare for the worst case scenario

The first step to preparing for a life-altering fire is to educate yourself on fire prevention and protection. Most of these strategies involve utilizing common sense, but you never know what you may be forgetting, so be sure to be aware if you are creating hazards in your home.

If you do find yourself a victim of a fire and you need to file a claim with your insurance company, you’ll need to be crystal clear about the items you own and their value. Make sure you know what you own, and make sure you’ll be able to provide proof of ownership and proof of their value. This means collecting receipts, photos, and any other documents that you might submit to the insurance company.

Timing is of great importance, as well. Collect evidence of anything you may claim once a year. Take pictures of your home, and confirm the date of your photos; you want it to be so obvious that a child could pay your claim. Your insurance company may try to get out of paying for certain items, so the more information you have, the better your chances. If you do not have this documentation, your home and belongings will be assessed at average value.

Find the right contractor

If the worst does happen, there are steps that you need to take to handle fire damage. The first step is finding a fire damage restoration contractor that you can trust to do the job well. A fire damage restoration contractor will:

• Save as many of your personal belongings from incurring more fire damage as they can
• Document everything they remove from your house with photographs, written documentation, or both
• After any salvageable items are restored to pre-fire conditions, return them to your home
• Work quickly and carefully to return your quality of life to as close to your pre-fire lifestyle as possible 

To ensure you hire a quality contractor, you need to approach the market in a way that means you hire someone who will get the job done. When you bid for a contractor, do not get too many bids – this will cause the contractors to compete with each other. When they compete, they may bid low, which means you won’t get the work you need to restore your home. For example, instead of replacing items that need to be replaced, they may just do a faulty fix, or they may leave your property looking patched and unprofessional.

Do remember that your insurance company should be responsible for restoring your property to the state it was in before the fire. When you hire a contractor that can do the work right and is able to explain their decisions and repairs to an insurance adjuster, you’ll find you can handle fire damage without a problem. We always suggest you check your insurance policy to make sure your insurance company will be covering your needs.

Make sure you’re safe

Depending on the severity of the damage caused by the fire, you may or may not be safe residing in your home until the damage is repaired. Fortunately, your insurance company may pay for unforeseen expenses like housing and food. Contact your insurance company to see if they’ll provide you with an advance – they may provide you with a check right away to secure the safety of you and your family.

However, this isn’t free money. This advance will be applied to your overall claim, so keep spending conservative. This advance should only be used to cover your bare living essentials; the money you spend on things like housing is money that you likely won’t be receiving to cover the repair of your home.

Defend your rights

Do you feel that you are getting less than you are entitled to through your insurance company? Is that the money taking an unusually long amount of time to arrive? If you have any uncertainties regarding how you are being treated by your insurance company, contact us. As your experts on how to handle fire damage, our attorneys will make sure you receive the recompense you are entitled to.

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