TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Better Call Behnken is helping a St. Petersburg family who is trying to rebuild after storm damage.

They were first told their flood claim was denied by insurance because of the previous homeowner’s claim.

They were left on the hook for flood damage and questioned the disclosure form the sellers provided them.

Homeowner Danielle Jensen said she feels she was sold a worthless policy.

A Pinellas County family thought they were protected with a $8,600 flood policy through the program, which is administered through FEMA, but after their home was flooded by Tropical Storm Debby, their claim was denied.

The family said FEMA cited prior loss on the property that the previous homeowner collected on but did not repair.

Jensen bought the St. Petersburg home from a California-based investment company, AJX Homes FL, LLC, in June. Public records show AJX bought the home in October 2023, two months before their flood claim.

On the disclosure form, the seller did check “yes” to whether water intrusion affected the property but did not document the damage or say that there was an insurance payout or that the damage was un repaired.

In fact, that “yes” is the only “yes” on the form for every single other question, including “have you ever had any claims filed against your homeowner’s insurance policy?” The investor representative checked “I don’t know.”

After our original Better Call Behnken story shed light on a loophole in the law, the case got a second look, and now they are getting help fixing their home. $28,000 in losses that were originally denied will be covered now.

Jensen said FEMA needs to change its policy to protect future home buyers.

“Certain steps within the process are probably in place to make it easier for people that are affected by damage, and they don’t want to close the loop or maybe they don’t have the bandwidth to close the loop to the claims to make sure the damage was repaired,” Jensen said. “But in the end, it’s going to put them at risk to exposure like this. That, I’m sure, they don’t want, and it’s also going to put new homeowners at risk.”