JACKSONVILLE, Fl -- Black Creek Hills was one of the hardest hit areas in Clay County during Hurricane Irma.
Jason Dukes' home was badly damaged, but getting his insurance company to make repairs was not an easy task.
"My home was a wreck and I was stressed out because my insurance didn't want to do what it was supposed to do," he said
Dukes' home is elevated more than 20 feet and sits 30 yards from Black Creek, even so during the storm the creek rose and his home was flooded.
"My kitchen and all of the appliances had to be replaced," he said.
On Your Side first met Dukes in October, a month after the storm. He was very frustrated.
His home was gutted but he could not move forward with the repairs. Dukes had just learned he did not have flood insurance, this even though he had paid his insurance premium.
Why this happened is still a mystery. He has a receipt that he paid the premium, but apparently, the National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA) was not paid.
"No one ever came up to the plate to say 'hey' we forgot to mail your premium in," Dukes said.
The Middleburg homeowner decided to fight back. He contacted On Your Side and Congressman Ted Yoho. We contacted FEMA and so did the Congressman's staff.
Dukes said he was offered $43,000 to settle the claim, but he refused. The discussions went back and forth.
"They finally settled for $107k which there is still a shortfall there," he said, "but I'll be able to get my house back into livable condition."
The new drywalls are up and they're now being painted. He said new wood floors and carpeting are going in next week.
"It has been quite difficult, to say the least," Dukes said.
Dukes said being persistent has paid off, and he encourages others to take the same path.
"There has been hundreds of others I have spoken with that have had similar issues," he said.
Lessons he learned over the past few weeks that can be summed up in three works, never give up.
His home will be finished in March and this year he paid the insurance premium himself and did not rely on his mortgage company to get it done.
