LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — Drive down Paradise Trail in Loxahatchee, and you'll see scar after scar. Each one a story — a testament — to the raw power of an EF-3 tornado.
“That is the most horrifying sound and pressure in your ears," said Pam Fix. “I mean, there was a horse killed behind us.”
Yet, as Pam and her husband, Bob,— their five huskies in tow — watch new roofs rise around them, they stand in the shadows of their still-shattered home. Feeling forgotten, and left behind.
“I'm happy for them but it sucks for us," said Pam Fix.
“It’s not fair. You pay a lot of money to have this insurance," said Bob Fix.
The Fixes were left vulnerable after the Oct. 9, 2024 twister tore through ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall. It ripped off shingles, shredded their solar panels, and flattened trees with 140 mph winds.
“There was tree debris underneath the shingles, there’s ripped off shingles in different places, you can see in the middle of the solar panels where the tree across the street hit,” said Bob Fix.
On Oct. 11 — two days after the tornado — the Fixes filed a claim with their insurance company, Universal Property & Casualty. Documents show that on Oct. 24, an adjuster came out and inspected the damage.
“I thought things were moving along really quick. It was like, OK, I think this is going to happen," said Pam Fix. “He said we needed a new roof, he said we needed, new, you know, the solar — get estimates on everything.”
The Fixes did exactly what they were told — collecting nearly a dozen estimates.
WPTV Investigative Reporter Kate Hussey read through all of them — roof repairs averaged over $20,000, with some as high as $35,000.
Replacing their solar panels cost anywhere from $10,000 to $44,000, and their hot tub? Another $4,000 gone.
But this letter from their insurance company, dated Nov. 2, offered just $4,500 — later bumped to $7,000. A drop in the bucket, they say, compared to what they've lost.
“We’ve provided all the documentation that they've requested to the best of our ability, but yet they've just sat on it and done nothing except for change us from adjuster to adjuster to adjuster to adjuster,” said Bob Fix.
“Have they given you any reason why they keep switching adjusters?” Hussey asked.
“No, no," Fix replied.
And with hurricane season looming, time was running out.
“I'm worried with just the rainstorms we've had. I mean, all it is, is plastic up there,” said Pam Fix.
“Yeah, this isn’t going to hold up to another major storm," added Bob Fix.
“And where are we going to go with five dogs?” said Pam.
Desperate and running out of time, they turned to Hussey for help, who reached out to Universal Property to push for answers.
The next day, we got a call back from a company representative — who told us they were looking into the Fixes’ case. The very next day — the Fixes got a call from the company of their own.
“They said they had spoken to you the night before," Bob Fix told Hussey. “He explained he didn’t know why everything happened the way it did, but he was going to work on fixing it.”
The Fixes then received a letter from the claims administrator. Dated April 11, the very day after we called Universal Property, it approves the Fixes for $41,000 — what they need to finally begin repairs.
“That was a big weight lifted. Huge. Huge weight. I mean, you’re talking over triple what they were trying to settle with us for," said Bob Fix.
Finally — silence broken. Help — long overdue.
“Now we have a roofer scheduled!” Pam Fix laughs in relief.
The Fixes were seen at last. Because silence wasn’t an option.
“Thank you," said Pam Fix. "Because we weren’t getting anywhere. Until you guys stepped in, we were not getting anywhere.”
"Relieved," added Bob Fix. "Fortunately there are people like you that are willing to step up and help the average Joe when they need it. It shouldn’t have to come to that."
Universal Property & Casualty tells us they’re not sure how — or if — the Fixes’ case was passed between adjusters.
But again — they did step in to cover damages upfront — sparing the family from paying out of pocket before repairs began, and for the Fixes, it meant finally moving forward.
