ReleaseWire

Major Property Management Company in Florida Earns $30 Million Hurricane Insurance Settlement

Check Presentation to Condo Board Members to be held on Monday, March 26th at 11 a.m.

Posted: Friday, March 23, 2012 at 11:09 AM CDT

Hollywood, FL -- (SBWire) -- 03/23/2012 --The Continental Group (TCG), a FirstService Residential Management company, will host a historic check presentation to celebrate the successful culmination of years of their efforts on behalf of 65 Independent Condominium Association (ICA) at Kings Point in Delray Beach on March 26th at 11 a.m. at The Continental Group Corporate Offices at 6300 Park of Commerce Blvd. Boca Raton, Fla. The ICA will receive the last of a $30 million insurance settlement from Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA).

When Wilma hit South Florida in 2005, the Kings Point Delray Beach retirement community as a whole was devastated. The ICA buildings and their 3120 units suffered extensive damages to the roofs, siding, patios, expansion joints and meter rooms. TCG cleaned up the destruction as best they could and suggested to the ICA that they hire a public adjuster to represent them. The fact that the ICA had the FFI-obtained Ordinance/ Law coverage, allowed them to ask to have the damaged buildings brought up to new code requirements. Over the years, repairs had been achieved with materials that were no longer considered safe and, in some cases, were no longer manufactured. TCG and public adjusters Goodman, Gable & Gould (GGG) pursued the insurance company to replace roofs and siding completely rather than perform patchwork and bring everything up to new code requirements. Although board members did not expect to surpass the building’s 3% windstorm deductible, they put their faith in the public adjuster and allowed TCG to guide them through the process.

It took three years, but thanks to GGG, Rolyn Restoration Company, CPA firm Gerstle & Rosen and Attorney George W. Bush Jr., FIGA agreed to replace the roofs in June 2008. In addition, over half of the ICA buildings received new siding and/or significant allowances for siding replacement. The process was drawn out because the insurance company adjusters refused to acknowledge the extent of the damages and do what should have been done from the onset. Thanks to the key players’ perseverance and the patience and trust that the ICA boards placed in their management company, the ICA received a $30 million settlement for the damages and upgrades needed.

Residents of the ICA now live in safer units that are stronger and better built than before the devastating storm. In addition, the ICA is now able to receive better quality insurance because of the structural upgrades.

About The Continental Group, Inc.
Founded in 1990, The Continental Group’s corporate headquarters is located in Hollywood, FL.

It also has regional offices in Boca Raton, Miami, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Vero Beach, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and Destin. The company is the largest manager of condominium and homeowner associations in the state, and one of South Florida’s leading private sector employers.

Today, The Continental Group manages and maintains 1,500 Associations and more than 310,000 residential units. As the leading community association management company in Florida, Continental pioneered many of the practices widely utilized throughout the industry today.

The Continental Group is a subsidiary of FirstService Residential Management (FSR). FSR is the largest manager of residential communities in North America, overseeing more than 5,600 properties and over 1.3 million residential units. FSR is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV, TSX: FSV), a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, providing a variety of services in commercial real estate, residential property management and property services. More information about FirstService is available at firstservice.com.

To learn more about The Continental Group, call (954) 925-8200, toll-free: (800) 215-2316 or visit tcgmgt.com.