General Insurance Claim Questions

181 Responses to “General Insurance Claim Questions”

September 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am #marian hamilton

I would like to know if your car is in a flood and water get into your car and starter andother place . Should your car be total
September 24th, 2008 at 2:07 pm #admin

Hello Marian,

Yes, it should be a total, in my opinion. There are two arguments: mold concern and mechanical and electrical concern. The insurers “restoration company” cannot get inside the inner sheet metal panels of your car to clean them since they are spot welded together. And they will not guarantee in writing that electrical components will not fail prematurely. If the engine had water in it for over 24 hours, most mechanics will tell you that the crankshaft main bearings will fail prematurely.

You should take five minutes and give the adjuster, insurer and their body shop or cleaning company ratings on our “Rate Your Adjuster” page.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:16 pm #susan

My husband and 6 of his band members were injured in an automobile accident when a cow was standing in the middle of the road at night. The cow owner had insurance and his landowners insurance has accepted responsibility for it. They say that there is a $500,000.00 cap on the policy to be split between the 6 men. But my husband has numerous injuries and still has 3 surgeries that we know of to go. They are asking us to submit a “demand” for the amount that we would like to receive from them on an individual basis. Even though they say that they only have 500,000. to work with we need to know if they can go above that if they need to in order to cover everyone costs. They have missed time at work and still have many outstanding medical bills to cover. We just need some advice before we give them an answer. Thank you
February 24th, 2009 at 10:23 pm #admin

Hello Susan,

First of all, I’m no expert on liability insurance claims. And I suggest you check with an attorney. If you can’t get 10 minutes of free advice on this question from an attorney after calling around, give them $75.00 for a few minutes of their time. Be careful about hiring an attorney on contingency who will get 1/3 as soon as you sign the contract. He can sit back and do nothing other than collect his money. It sounds like the damages are well over the $500,000.00 and the insurer is willing to pay. If the insurer agrees to pay the full 500,000, look for an attorney who is willing to take his fee from the amount “over” the insurance offer. 50% of the amount over is fair, in my opinion.

Now here is my advice, go ahead and make a demand for an amount for each of the 6 members. List each members claim on a separate sheet of paper. Medical bills, lost work, etc. and describe why the injury will affect future earnings or appearance. A damaged throat on lead singer may be worth more than a similar injury on a drummer who does not sing.

Now, DON’T sign any release from the insurer if it releases the policy holder (the landowner) also. Only release the insurer. And ask to see a certified copy of the policy. Don’t just take their word for it. Adjusters can lie. Also, you don’t want to give up your right to sue the landowner, since he may have assets over and above the insurance limit of $500,000.00 and or an “umbrella” policy.

And find out what the statute of limitations (time to file a lawsuit) is. Its usually 1 or 2 years from the date of the accident. Some insurers will delay the negotiations just so you accidentally forget, and then they won’t pay one dime. Pay a lawyer for an hour of his time to fill out a pre-printed complaint form to file at your local court, to “protect the statute”.

Again, get a lawyers advice for 1/2 hour.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:41 am #Scott Reich

I have home owners insurance with two questions.
1-I have a patio door that had leaked about a year ago, fixed the leak with minimal damage to the carpet and subflooring, recently began leaking again ad carpet has started to mold and leak still countinuing. Is this a valid claim.

2-Believe televison was hit by lighting during a storm was a pop and burning smell. Would this be covered and how would Iprove that was the case?
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:42 am #admin

Scott,

1. If the water is from a broken pipe or plumbing fixture, then it should be covered. But if it is from rain or flood or sprinkler water, that’s called “surface water” and excluded in most policies.

2. Most policies cover electrical surge, but not to appliances (so what good is it right?). And lightening damage is covered, but I suspect the adjuster will say it must be a “direct hit”.

Ask an electrician to read that part of your policy to see if he can come up with a creative explanation for the lightening damage that is not electrical surge.
August 31st, 2009 at 6:13 pm #Larry

I have a 2nd story outside deck (attached to the house) which has two drains at deck level. One of the drains drained into the supporting column and developed wood rot. This also spread to the entire deck under the concrete and tiles so that it was not noticed. It also spread to the other column and horizontal wood beam. The entire deck needs to be replaced. There was no way to know there was a leak. The way I found out was the one supporting column suddenly one day showed a sign of compression in the stucco. Should State Farm cover this and to what extent if so?
Thank you.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:02 pm #admin

Most insurers don’t cover rot, even if it was hidden from view. First try the sympathy route. If that fails, try to find a “concurrent cause”, another covered cause of loss that could have contributed to the loss. Be creative if you have to. Most home policies say they cover “everything except”, so this puts the burden and cost to disprove your claim on the insurer. If it cost more to hire an engineer to disprove your claim, it may be cheaper for your insurer to just pay you for your damages if you sign a release. Its called a “compromise settlement”.
September 10th, 2009 at 2:58 pm #Laurie

I am getting a new roof from a Hail Storm. I don’t really need a full new roof, but they don’t make the same roof so I get a full new one. What If I want to use the money for other home improvements instead? Can I do that or would I get in trouble?
September 10th, 2009 at 9:26 pm #admin

Hello Laurie,

You can use the money they gave you to go to Hawaii if you like. But keep in mind, that if they deducted depreciation from your settlement, and if you have replacement cost coverage, you can’t later recover that depreciated amount if you don’t do the repairs, and there is usually a time limit like 180 days to do the repairs.

Now for you other readers, sometimes you can “shift” money around if there are several trades in the repairs, and you get the adjuster to agree in writing before doing that. But in the case of a single item, like a roof, most adjusters won’t agree to it. Of course it won’t hurt to ask the adjuster, but make sure you have the money in hand before asking, because the adjuster could “change his mind” on the depreciation if he thinks you will “cash out.”
September 17th, 2009 at 6:33 pm #Larry

See previous question dated Aug 31st.

The wood rot on the decks was caused be a breakage in the “hot-mop” which was per code in 1989 when the house was built. With the tile flooring over the hot-mop, one cannot see the damage. I would therefore think that the insurer would be responsible for all wood rot and water damage since it was caused by this breakage. What do you think?
September 17th, 2009 at 7:46 pm #admin

Larry, go ahead and make the argument and hope for the best. If they deny the rotted wood, ask them to cover what it would have cost to access the repairs (which could include replacing the tile floor, etc.) and what would have been “non rot” damage at the time of the break. What could have caused the hot mop to break, something other than “wear and tear”, like a 400 pound guy walking on the deck?

And make sure the hop mop break occurred within your State Farm policy period. If not, go to the prior insurer.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:39 pm #toyia

i receive a insurance claim check for storm damage it had my name mortgage company, and the contractor. I sent it to the mortgage company to see if they would endorse it first can they hold the check if they refuse to endorse the check if so for how long.
November 17th, 2009 at 11:30 pm #admin

Toyia,

I don’t think they are allowed to hold onto the check, but its worthless to them if you have not signed it. Once the repairs are done, tell the mortgagee the job is done. After they send their own inspector out to confirm the repairs were done, THEN, legally they have to sign the check and return it to you.
December 12th, 2009 at 11:38 am #Jerry Gahan

In 2005 I received a notice from the IRS that Prudential Insurance had filed a1099-R in the amount of $32,329.27 for a loan against my life insurance policy that Prudential was “writing off/paying off”. Prudential never sent me a copy of the 1099 (the IES did), so I also had to pay penalties.
I ended up paying the IRS approximately $3,500 for this, $ 3,051 plus interest, and the California Franchise Tax Board about $1,500. I also had liens placed on my house, and my bank account.
I tried, for quite some time to get a statement of my account from Prudential
with little results. My last 2 (yearly) statements were completely blank.
I started getting suspicious and I called Prudential several times to get a statement, and kept getting all sorts of OTHER forms instead. After insisting, I finally got a statement from Prudential.
Prudential states that I STILL OWE THEM THE MONEY (plus 5 years of interest added to it, about $2,000 per year).
In a letter from Prudential (Dec. 2009), they state that they are required to report any taxable gain. Yet as of December 31, 2004 there was NO gain (the end of tax year 2004). In their letter dated 2009 they verify that the policy was reinstated and the loan “pay off” was reversed on March 4, 2004, 9 months before the end of that tax year (just barely over one month after payments were missed), and Prudentials account statement dated March 2005 (for the previous year) also verifies that the loan “pay off” was reversed. March 4, 2004 is 9 months before the end of that tax year, yet Prudential filed a 1099 anyway. Why did Prudential file a 1099 when they ADMIT there were NO gains for 2004?
Prudential explains that the reportable tax gain is the loan repay amount minus the cost basis, then in the next paragraph they again verify that the “pay off” was REVERSED.
Prudential says that they have no responsibility in the fact that I had to (wrongfully) pay
$5,000 in State and Federal taxes on the gains that they (falsely) reported. Even they have verified (in writing) that this was falsely reported, and that there was NO gain. Prudential gave an explanation of their actions by explaining the “letter” of the law that justifies their action. Of course the objective of that law, and their ethics were never mentioned, nor was there any apology for costing me $5,000.
I had liens placed on my house, my bank account, and the IRS threatened to attach my Social
Security checks, all because of a fraudulent 1099 from Prudential.
I would like to see a copy of the letter informing the IRS and me that the “pay off” was reversed. Let me guess, they are not required by law to inform anyone that they screwed up. The IRS says that my only recourse with them is to obtain a tax attorney, at my expense of course.
This policy has been in effect for 46 years, yet payments 5 minutes late, and the policy goes into default, in the hopes that they can find cause to cancel the policy and pocket the money.
My mother had a life insurance policy with Prudential for over 40 years, when she died I called Prudential (I’m the beneficiary), they said that the policy had lapsed just before she died, how convenient, they pocketed about $75,000.
How many people have they screwed using these practices?
Prudential was obviously not acting in “good faith”, on in my interest.
There is this new thing out, it is called Ethics, look it up.
Prudentials actions are illegal, unethical, and despicable. You are defrauding the IRS and me, and on top of that you are stealing from me.
The people of this country are sick of business practices like yours, if you have not noticed.
December 12th, 2009 at 4:43 pm #admin

Hello Jerry,

The volunteers at this website are more likely to answer short questions if you want to condense it, but I’m posting your question anyway.

Does anyone want to take a crack at TRB’s post?
January 7th, 2010 at 1:19 am #paras nath chaturvedi

if the vehicle parked in open ground without safty arregment did insurer repudiated the claim in the ground of neclgency
January 8th, 2010 at 1:52 am #admin

Paras,

I don’t think your insurer can deny your claim because of your negligence, unless they can prove you intended for your car to get damaged by doing something like parking it in the middle of a road, or on a railroad track or a ghetto.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:17 pm #Joseph Del Medico

I have hail damage to my roof (Ohio). My policy provides for cash value of repairs. Cash value is defined as the cost of repairs minus depreciation. the problem is that the Building Code will not allow the repairs therefore I will need a new roof. The insurance company has denied my claim for a new roof. What should I do.
January 10th, 2010 at 11:59 am #c Lauerman

I was getting out of my parked car in a parking lot when a strong gust of wind came up and my car door flew out of my hand and into the car door of the car parked next to me. The damage was minimal, but enough that I waited in the car for the owner. I requested that I try to pay for the damage out of my own pocket since it was minimal, but we both still went through our insurance policies. He decided he wanted to have the insurance cover the claim in case there were issues with the body work and went ahead and submitted the claim and body shop he was working with. The next day he called me to say he changed his mind…he was willing to let me pay for it. The damage was $75 — I paid him, he called the body shop and told them not to cash the insurance check when they received it. They did not cash it, but I now have an incident on my record with a zero payout, and have lost my good driver’s discount.

Is there any way to dispute this claim that wasn’t even paid by insurance to clean my record?
January 12th, 2010 at 2:30 am #admin

Lauerman,
I don’t know. Ask your agent.

Anyone else know?
January 12th, 2010 at 2:39 am #admin

Joseph,
Check to see if you have code improvements coverage or endorsement in your policy. Are you sure you don’t have RCV coverage on structure?
January 19th, 2010 at 4:38 pm #admin

Dear Visitors who regularly monitor this website via RSS feeds or other methods. Because of the burden of increasing visitors with questions, your answers are needed. Questions will be posted, but Admin responses may now either be delayed, or not given at all. Here is your chance to give back. Your involvement in the Discussion Forum of this website is also desired. Thanks.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:08 am #Ryder

Hello,

I have a home that I am buying currently in escrow. Recently, there was some water damage from heavy rains…leaking roof…bedroom damage. The sellers made an insurance claim and they seem to be dragging their feet getting things fixed. My escrow runs out in 4 days. Is it possible to close escrow and continue with the repairs with new ownership even though its not my claim? Thanks.

Ryder
February 1st, 2010 at 7:35 pm #admin

Ryder,

Insert a clause or provision in the escrow agreement that the seller assigns his interest in “the claim” to you, and that seller agrees to cooperate to fulfill his duties in the claim, eg. give statement, etc. In most states this does not require approval by the insurer. Only assignment of “the policy” requires prior approval from the insurer. Check it with an attorney in your area. And don’t forget to put your own insurance on the house. I had one client whose house burned down 3 days after escrow close.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:25 am #rob

i had bad ice dams on my roof this year and water was coming inside my house through my windows. the water was bad enough to cause plaster in a front closet to actually cave in exposing the wall behind it which lead me to see rotten wall boards. i just bought the house three years ago and havent had this problem until we got this amount of snow. will they cover this being that it was already happening over a period of time. i had no way of knowing?!!
February 21st, 2010 at 3:16 am #admin

Rob,

It depends on your state and your policy. Some policies actually make an exception to the rot exclusion, if it was out of sight. So first read your policy.

I have heard that some northern states have special ice dam endorsements. Check with your agent if you don’t have that endorsement.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:32 pm #Herb Andler

My sons home recently burned to the ground and and was determined by the inspectors to have been caused by an electrical short .
It has now been nearly three months waiting for a settlement. Last week he got a call from Sterling Bank whoholds the contract that they would be puttng the home into foreclosure. (at the time the home burned his home payments were current.
In addition, while trying to get a payoff from the bank he was advised he has been chged interest since the fire
when does the insurance company assume responsability for costs incurred after the fire loss ?
March 16th, 2010 at 11:15 am #Lee Albert

If a car is stolen with the keys in the ignition, will the insurance company not pay out on TPFT?
March 16th, 2010 at 11:03 pm #admin

Herb,

1. The bank is still entitled to get their mortgage payments even if the house burned down and the insurance claim is not settled. Your insurance ALE or Rental Value payments should offset the mortgage payments.

2. If the fire was accidental as you say, the insurer should have issued a payment for the repairs or the value between two and four weeks after the fire. If they suspect arson or your son, then it can drag on for months and possibly be denied. Get a written status.

If you are going to do this yourself without a public adjuster or attorney, look at the table of contents of the eBook at http://www.UClaim.com entitled Homeowners Loss Advice Deluxe. Its guaranteed and includes free consultations with the author.
March 16th, 2010 at 11:07 pm #admin

Lee,

I don’t know what “TPFT” is. But if you have comprehensive coverage, then it should be covered, unless your policy has an exclusion for that. Most don’t have such an exclusion, and if yours does, get another insurer.
March 19th, 2010 at 11:35 pm #jen

Hi,

We have a slab leak in our kitchen (hot water). The adjuster came out on Tuesday, he sent out a leak detection company come out and says he is going to send a furniture repair guy out to look at cabinets. Sink cabinet completely rotted, sink looks like it is going to cave in. Hot water was pouring out through back wall of house. No mention of Serv Pro or water damage specialist or mold specialist. What are our rights? He has us turning water off and on at curb all day since Tues. No hot water. Can you tell me the process?

Thanks
March 20th, 2010 at 2:04 pm #admin

Jen,

Well you said the magic word “rot”. They may deny your claim based on that. So be careful what you authorize their people like ServPro to do, because they may come after you for their bill. Tell them they must get their payment from the adjuster, not you.
April 7th, 2010 at 11:39 am #andy

My home has a pitched roof and a flat roof. We had a bad hail storm last week and the flat roof now has holes. In addition, the beams holding up the flat roof are rotted. To get up on the flat roof to fix, the beams will need to be replaced. Would this be covered or am I hosed because the beams are rotted?
April 7th, 2010 at 6:54 pm #admin

Andy,

Well, a “quality insurer” might replace the rotted beams with new ones as a way to complete the repairs, but a cheap insurer might say they will just pay to install scaffolding or temporary support and let you decide if you want to replace the rotted wood. That cute little Geico green Gecko ain’t so cute anymore, is he.
April 23rd, 2010 at 2:56 pm #R Fowler

I am curious. Today someone was parked in our driveway. My husband, in attempting to pull into the garage, hit the side of the garage doorway. It has done significant damage to the garage door frame and the wall it is attached to. He also has some paint that hopefully can be buffed out of the car’s bumper.

My question is this: Can I claim the damage to his car and the garage door on his car insurance, or do I have to claim the damage on the car to the car insurance and the damage to the garage to the homeowners insurance. We have a $1000 deductable on our homeowners and do not want to make a claim against it.

Can the car insurance cover both the car and the garage? If he had hit someone else’s house, it would cover it, wouldn’t it?

Thanks in advance for your help!
April 26th, 2010 at 3:27 pm #admin

Fowler,

For your own property, you have to make the claim on the separate policies. Yes, if it was someone else’s house, the car insurance would cover both, the house under liability and the car under collision.
May 14th, 2010 at 7:08 pm #cooper

we received a check from insurance co for claim of pump failure due to power outage during flooding rain storms. our rental in-law apartment was completly damaged and has so much damage that the 5000. dollars we received will not cover the amount of damage. The check came with both our names on it and the mortgage co. and the second mortgage co names on it. Are we allowed to put this in the bank or do we have to send it to the mortgage companies? we will use the money to fix as much as we can but will be doing it ourself to save money.
May 18th, 2010 at 10:35 am #admin

Cooper,

Usually you give the check to the mortgagee, they have to pay it back to you as you do the repairs up to the 5000.00. But in your case it might be easier to send them copies of your repair receipts along with the 5k check, without your signature, and let them endorse it and return it to you, and make an inspection if they like.
May 24th, 2010 at 11:17 am #Anita

We had severe storm damage to our home May 8, 2009. We had to have a whole new roof, etc. The insurance company was American Family and the insurance actually expired midnight that same day. We had to switch to vacant house insurance with another company- so it was covered. The storm damage claim was made to American Family and the work has been completed. The problem is, right before the year deadline we discovered inside water damage. We called American Family who sent out an adjuster. I just found out they are denying the water damage claim and said it’s a new claim. What do I do. I do not feel it should be a new claim, because we did not have water damage prior to the storm. Since the house is vacant, no one noticed the water stains until March 2010. What do I do?
May 24th, 2010 at 3:16 pm #admin

Anita,
I would say the prior insurer should cover it if not an excluded loss.
May 25th, 2010 at 5:42 am #Anita

How should I approach the American Family Insurance company about feeling it should be part of the initial storm damage? They are saying since it wasn’t reported in the first adjuster’s estimate, that it wasn’t part of the original claim.
May 25th, 2010 at 2:48 pm #admin

Anita,

If I understand, you want the prior insurer to cover the claim. Now if they say the damage was “before” the storm, then they can still cover it, as long as it is not excluded (rot, etc.) and apply a new deductible. Their denial letter is supposed to state “specific” reasons for denial. You can scan and email a copy of the denial letter to info@insuranceclaimhelp.org if you like, for us to review.
May 26th, 2010 at 5:52 am #Anita

No – they are saying the water damage happened after the storm and want us to file a new claim. However, we no longer have them as our insurance company, thus they would not be responsible for the claim. We are saying the water damage happened during the storm and should be included in our original claim. The storm came, pulled up our roof, the roofer’s tarped the damage and we waited in line for 9 months for the roofers to put on the roof. The water damage happened during the storm, but did not come to anyone’ attention until the roofers were hammering on the roof and part of the ceiling sheet rock fell. The ceilings are 12 – 20 feet high throughout the house, so no one looked up apparently as time went on. So, we believe the water damage was caused by the storm – we had no damage prior to the storm.

Thanks for any help you can give us.
May 27th, 2010 at 11:19 pm #admin

Anita,

Well, if the damage allegedly happened during that storm and you have an all risk policy with named exclusions (as do 99% of policy holders), then the burden to disprove your claim is on the insurer. If they can’t disprove it, and persist in the denial, then you sue them, or give up, or continue to pester them.
June 5th, 2010 at 2:13 pm #Bradley

We purchased about 1 year ago with a spot of water damage in one of the rooms. Closing conditions were for the seller to repair. Through the course of the past year, it has become apparent that seller only repaired the symptoms of the leak, not the cause. In addition, the roof in general is in pretty bad shape, with some rotten shakes, missing shakes, old hail damage, moss, etc. We had a home inspection prior to purchase but the roof had snow on it during the inspection so condition of the roof was not inspected. Seller disclosed that roof was in good shape, other than the one isolated leak.

It is apparent i cannot delay on this roof any longer, but I am wondering if I have any options for claims with either the prior insurance company or current insurance company. I do not know if the previous owners got insurance money for the roof previously, but I doubt that I myself would be able to get any money from them without getting the courts involved which I would prefer not to do.

Any help appreciated
Thanks
June 8th, 2010 at 11:28 pm #admin

Bradley,

Insurance won’t cover wear and tear. You will have to sue the seller for making false representation.
June 14th, 2010 at 7:41 am #Dina

We had lighting hit our home a year ago and had to replace the AC and Electrical box in our house. Now my car has been giving us one serious problem after another and the mechanic feels that it was from an eletrical surge. The damage to the car is the brain of the transmission and the brain of the car amoung some other things. Would an electrical surge be covered under car insurance? The mechanic is saying there is nothing else he can do to fix the car.
June 16th, 2010 at 10:27 am #Sally Edwards

Hi I had a accident at the beginning of the month. A car drove into my drivers side wing dented and scratted and scratted bumper. He admitted liability. My insurance company called today and as the damage is nearly as much as the car value they said it was a write off. I was at work and couldn’t talk properly so they are calling me back on Friday. Can I insist on getting 3 off my own quotes to have the vehicle repaired? I am fully comprehensive and am claiming against the other parties insurance. My vehicle is a ford fiesta S reg.
Please any advise. Many thanks.
June 21st, 2010 at 3:39 pm #admin

Sally,
They may pay you based as a total loss, but you can still keep the car and repair it. For extensive details on how to do this without getting burned get one of the eBooks at http://www.UClaim.com on Total loss Auto.
June 21st, 2010 at 3:44 pm #admin

Dina,
Should be covered under comprehensive. But you will need the mechanic to put his opinion in writing. This is unusual. Was the car plugged into the house electrical system? Exactly how could lightning get the car? I thought cars being on rubber tires should be immune from lightening?
July 5th, 2010 at 1:31 am #Matthew

Dear All.

I was recently at a BBQ party where i was helping to erect a tent with the other party goers. I accidentally hit someone in the forehead with a tentpole resulting in a small cut and a scratch on his glasses. I was very apologetic and offerd to pay for the damages but the person insisted that there was no need, it was an accident and he was wealthy enough to pay for it and said this in front of witnesses. Two days later he has changed his mind and now wants my insurance details. Can i now refuse to compensate him?
July 5th, 2010 at 10:21 pm #admin

Matthew,
IMO, he can sue in small claims court for negligence for as long as your state allows. I myself would not turn in such a small claim to insurance.
July 14th, 2010 at 5:42 am #tony

my daudater was in a motorcycle acciendent she was not at fault. she had comp only so the other insurance company is paying . her bike was a complete lost. she broke her leg cant work , or drive her truck , it is a stick shift. the drivers insurance copmany has totaled her bike , provided her with a car, they contacted her a week ago , informed her the bike was a complete lost but did not give her amount for settlelment, wanted promission to pick up the bike , she said no , not with out a amount for the bike . told her that she had three days to return the car , and told her that she had to pay storage from that point on to the shop where the bike is . it was over a week from that point that the insurance company gave her a amount, is this legal. please help
thanks tony
August 11th, 2010 at 4:54 pm #Trisha

My son was driving home from work in a storm and lightning hit the driver side mirror, blew the mirror itself out along with a small panel on the inside of the door, and disabled the car. It wouldn’t start, interior lights, windows, etc would not work…but battery had to be disconnected to turn the headlights off. The spot where the mirror was connected is charred looking and our son had a hard time hearing for a couple of days due to the sound of the strike. Long story short…the insurance adjuster now says that unless we can prove there was a storm with lightning they will deny the claim. How do you prove that sort of thing?
August 17th, 2010 at 10:45 pm #admin

Trisha,

Well first find an expert who will say that lightening can hit a car with rubber wheels, because all I have ever heard is that you are safe in a car. Then maybe get a weatherman from a TV station who will say there could have been lightening on that day? And it may be that the “burden to disprove” the claim is on the insurer since the auto policy comprehensive coverage says “we cover everything other than collision.”
September 6th, 2010 at 6:34 am #W badowski

I work as a independent bookkeeper on contract and fell at one of my clients stairs (the railing came away from the wall and threw me off the stairs. I have a fractured pelvis and have been out of work for 3 weeks now. Can I sue my client for loss of wages and for my suffering and inconvenience such as not being able to drive etc.
October 6th, 2010 at 2:57 am #Kyle

Hi. I was in a recent accident. Driving in the winter, and it was not easy, but not too difficult. The ground was covered in a sheet of ice when we got home, could hardly walk. There was alot of other things to consider as the accident appeared “partially socially desired” and the other driver was rather studdering on saying why wasn’t I dead.
What troubles me is the other driver admitted to being on the phone in that storm and letting go of the wheel. And later when talking to the other drivers insurance… amist all the technical and otherwise talk… the dude was stuttering atleast close to the same sentence. After the accident I tried for a claim, but due to my head hurting like crazy, I felt weak and claimed it partially might have been me. I now don’t think it was me after all the fog in my mind has left. I was wondering if you had any ideas.
November 16th, 2010 at 4:44 am #Gary

I have a name of cow owner and could I against them for reponsbility damage of my truck in pretty total?
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:29 pm #Curtis

I had a water pipe break due to cold tempatures. The insurance is replacing the wall but not the carpet. He did a moisture test and found none but it took him three weeks to come to my house for the claim. Should my carpet still be covered even though it took three weeks to dry?
February 13th, 2011 at 4:02 pm #Janet Fild

I called my insurance company to ascertain coverage for bariatric surgery. I was told that the surgery I was interested in was covered and I didn’t need prior authorization and that as long as I met the qualifications for the surgery through the doctor’s office and the insurance company, that it would be covered. She said that I did meet the qualifications through the insurance company. We discussed the doctors in the practice I was planning to use and determined that they did indeed participate with my plan. I felt confident after our discussion that I would be safe in proceeding down the path toward having this surgery. I in fact did proceed and went through several doctor appts. as well as testing procedures and meeting with a behaviorist to determine that I was a good candidate for the surgery. It was determined that I met the qualifications and that indeed was a good candidate and all that was left was for the insurance to officially approve the surgery and then to set a date. I was then notified by the doctor’s office that the insurance company had denied the pre authorization stating that this surgery was excluded from my policy. I of course knew this couldn’t be the case, per my discussion with the customer service representative for the insurance company who had told me I would be covered. My husband called them on the date I was notified of the denial, to figure out the problem and was told that according to the notes of the customer service representative I spoke with, she had told me that this surgery was not covered under my policy. I was shocked, as this was in direct contrast to the conversation I remembered! My husband called again the same day and asked for a supervisor to review the conversation. A woman identifying herself as a supervisor, called him back very quickly the same evening and informed him that I had been correct in my recollection of the conversation and that not only had I been told that the surgery was covered, but that the customer service representative involved had falsified her notes re: our conversation. I was also told that had this mistake been realized after I had already had surgery, that the insurance company would have covered it, but since I had not actually had the surgery yet, they were not obligated to cover it. I spoke with the supervisor again myself and was told the same information. She seemed sympathetic to my situation, but offered no assistance as far as resolving the grievous error that had occurred. I did request a transcript of my original phone call with the customer service representative, and they are working on getting that for me. I was/am devastated by this whole experience, having done the right thing in determining if my desired surgery was covered prior to going forward with the process, and having gone through the whole process of being approved for the surgery and also having paid money out of pocket to the doctor’s office toward the surgery, only to have the whole process come to a screeching halt at the last minute due to misinformation and deceit on the part of the insurance company employee! I would like to know if there is any culpability on the part of the insurance company that would require them to proceed with coverage as the error was on their part and especially as, not only was I given incorrect information, but also that the information was falsified on the part of the customer service representative. Do I have any recourse in this case? I thank you for your attention as well as any and all help you can give, as it is an error that has caused me great emotional distress as well as financial loss.
March 5th, 2011 at 11:05 am #joe

I have allstate. My roof is 16 years old. The roof shingles do have some significant curled edges especially on the southerly exposure. In the last blizzard that hit the Chicago area about 30-50 shingles blew off my roof. About 6 houses on my block incurred similar damage. I am concerned my claim will be denied because of the condition of my roof. Any advice on dealing with the adjuster?
March 25th, 2011 at 8:13 am #kathy jackson

I have a question on life insurance how long does it uassually take to pay off a claim after some one dies?
April 6th, 2011 at 8:58 am #pat

can i leave the country while waiting to receave a claim??
April 25th, 2011 at 6:35 pm #Sandra

Our insurance company sent check amount of $4000.00 to me with mortgage company listed, to fix our roof. And I called Mortgage co about it and they asked me to send the check to them and they will send first half to us and to start repair with contractor. my question is, although my mortgage co issued us the check amount $4000.00, my roof contractor only quoted $1500.00 to fix the roof. What will happen to the difference $2500.00. Can my mortage company reissue us the check for the amount and can we keep it? or insurance company will take it back?
May 25th, 2011 at 11:05 pm #kiki

My mortgage payments are escrowed so If I am late on making my mortgage payment and damage is sustained to my house can they refuse to cover it?
June 6th, 2011 at 6:48 am #Vivi

We recently received the invoice from our contractor for storm damage. We opted out of a couple of items that the estimator included, but the contractor made the bill match the amount of money we received. He added one item called “Overhead” even though he didn’t do any extra work. Can he do this?
June 9th, 2011 at 1:41 pm #admin

To all of our great contributors:
You may show your company name and website address at the end of each post if you think our visitors might benefit from your services.
June 21st, 2011 at 2:49 pm #tommy

I was in a motorcycle acc. back in Oct. of last year had to have surgery to re-attach my right fibula and broke my spine in several places. The insurance company of the man at fault only payed out 25,000 i only recieved 10,000 of it i,m not able to work and am paying my own medical bills.Can i go back and try a civil suit against the man responsible for the wreak?Unfortantly i had no insurance on the bike at the time
June 25th, 2011 at 2:44 pm #jenni

I owe the IRS about 6000 and was in a car wreck that left me with back surgeries & doctor bills. Will the IRS get there money out of my claim settlement?
June 28th, 2011 at 2:14 pm #Doug

Help! I have what has been recognized as haile damage to windows and asphalt roof. The roof is about 15 years old. Problem is the adjuster has submitted a partial damage(one bundle-1/3 square) to the insurance company. The partial damage is on the street side of the house. Seems all shingles should be replaced if for no other reason, matching. Also, there is other damage, just not as bad. Can they do that?
August 3rd, 2011 at 4:11 pm #Jason

Doug,
If hail is damaging your windows it would seem that the hail was of sufficient size and hardness to cause damage to your asphalt shingles. Did you insurance company pay for the broken windows?

Oh, insurance doesn’t owe for matching in many places. So, if they don’t follow that practice to make sure it matches, then it is likely not required by law for the insurance company to make sure it matches.
August 6th, 2011 at 12:25 pm #shawn lewis

I was in an accident the other persons insurance company gave me a very low repair check of 1300 dollars.I have since gone to a real body shop and received an estimate of 2300 to 3000 dollars for repairs.now the want to give the shop of my choosing any suppliment checks needed,I have not cashed the original check I own the truck and don’t feel as if I need a shop as a middle man .I want all of the money owed to me what should/can i do legally?please help
August 6th, 2011 at 1:00 pm #Jason

Shawn,
That’s the way the system works. Either you can take the money they offer or you can get your vehicle fixed.

If you get the vehicle fixed, you are back to before the accident happened. And you shouldn’t care how much it cost to fix your vehicle since it got fixed to the way it was before it was damaged.

If you want to take cash in lieu of getting the vehicle fixed, that is your option. It seems it may not be the total sum of the damage but that is how it works sometimes.

You do have an option of running it through your insurance and providing them with accurate repair estimates so they can then pay you the amount of the damages and you can repair it or not. (Your insurance company would then ask the other person’s insurance company to reimburse them for what they paid. They would ask for your deductible to return that to you.)

You have some options here. The choice is really yours to make.
August 9th, 2011 at 9:14 am #David

Hello. My apartment was destroyed by fire last year. The fire started in the unit below mine. I had renter’s insurance and they totaled my losses at $28K, but only paid me $23K. Can I somehow recover the $5K difference? Just so you know, the tenant who started the fire has since skipped town, so I can’t file a claim with her insurance company (if she indeed had one). Many thanks.
August 9th, 2011 at 12:34 pm #michael

MY DAD WAS TO WORK ON A CAR THE INSURANCE COMPANY SENT HIM A CHECK BUT THE BANK WONT CASH IT BECAUSE ITS IN HIS THE OWNERS NAME AND MY DADS AUTO BODY SHOP WHAT SHAOLD HAPPEN
August 9th, 2011 at 4:09 pm #Jason

David,
Your insurance likely paid you the ACV (actual cash value) of your loss. The way to recover the $5000 is to replace the damaged items and then make a claim for the recoverable depreciation which is the amount they depreciated your items. There will be time frame in which you need to do this.

Simply talk to your insurance company and ask them specifically what you need to do to recover the difference.
August 9th, 2011 at 4:10 pm #Jason

Michael,
The repairs will need to be made and then have the owner sign the check that you then retain and then you can cash it because it will be endorsed by the owner.
August 10th, 2011 at 8:01 am #Jenni

Hi,
We had a lot storms this year in La Vista (small town next to Omaha, NE) and a lot houses had hail damages. We have a rental house in the neighborhood. Last week I just found out all our the houses except ours haven’t filed a calim for hail damages. 99% of the houses had their roofs or siddings replaced at this time. When I stopped by yesterday, there were 2 houses accross street from ours in the processing replace their roofs. I filed a claim last monday and this tuesday an adjustor contacted me while he was on our roof. I asked him if he sees any hail damages, he said not really but he notices a few damages on the shutters and siddings. He said its not necessary to have hail dames on the roof when it’s around the house. I was puzzled, how can that be. I asked the contractor from accross street to take a look of our roof, he told me he saw a lot hail damages just like the roof he is working on now. When I told him what the adjustor just told me, he laughed and she the adjustor must be out of his mind. At this time, I’m still waiting to hear back from the adjustor, he said will get back to me in 10 days because he is on vacation. If the claimed turned down, what’s my next step?

Thank you for your time!
August 10th, 2011 at 3:56 pm #Jason

Jenni,
Don’t get too excited. If you don’t have hail damage, that is great. Some roofs are more easily damaged by hail than others. Roofs that are older and brittle will be affected by hail while a newer roof may not sustain any damaged. Just because other roofs have hail damage does not have anything to do with your roof. Your roof was inspected and the adjuster said “not really”. Well, either there is hail damage or there isn’t. There is no in-between.

Now, if there is some hail damage on your roof and it is a newer roof, the roof may simply be repaired. That means replacing the shingles that were damaged by hail. Not all roofs that are subject to hail are damaged, and some that are can be repaired.

Another point is that if hail comes done from a certain direction, it may damage roof slopes on the side that the hail fell from if it was wind-blown hail while other slopes may not have been affected.

Now to get to your question – Your next step is to wait to hear from your insurance company about what kind of damage your home sustained and their proposal of how to settle your claim.

If you have a contractor in mind, you can have that contractor inspect the roof with the claims adjuster and they can determine the roof condition together. But let this take it’s course right now and don’t jump the gun on what the adjuster said.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:55 am #jenni

Thank you Jason. Our roof is 8 years old, the adjustor said it’s normal to show the roof is “old” because it’s not new. I will wait to hear back from him when he is back from vacation. Thank you very much!
August 17th, 2011 at 8:57 pm #John

Had hail/wind damage in ’09. Got a check for the ACV minus the deductible in December ’09. While I was shopping for the best roofer for the job life happened and I had to use the money for other stuff. I’ve patched the roof as needed and now have the money back to complete the job. I juat read the letter that came with the check stating that I only had 180 days. Oh boy.

What should I do? I’ve been able to piece together the original “ACV” money but I’ll need the difference between the cash value and full replacement value once the roof is done. What should I do?
August 17th, 2011 at 11:55 pm #Hansjoerg Enderlin

The Insurance company send a check for storm damage made out to the Owners and the mortgage company . The check was send to Wells Fargo for endorsement and they are draging their feet to endorse it. What is their right or stipulation from keeping them to endorse the check ??
I appreciate a reply Thank you
August 18th, 2011 at 6:18 am #Jason

John,
The initial money is basically a down-payment to hire a contractor and get the work done. When the work is completed, the rest can be obtained to pay the rest of the balance.

If you look closely to the wording of the policy in reference to that 180 days, it indicates you need to give the insurance company notice of your intent to claim the recoverable depreciation (difference between replacement cost and ACV) and you generally get a year to do the work and make a claim for the difference.

The best thing to do is to call your insurance company. Talk to them about the situation that you intend to get the work done, what you need to do, and the time frame that you have to make the claim for the rest of the funds.
August 18th, 2011 at 6:23 am #Jason

Hansjoerg Enderlin,
The bank is not dragging their feet. They will hold onto the check until the repairs are completed. If you need those funds to do the repair, the bank will release those funds as the work is completed.

You really need to call the bank to make arrangements with them so you can have funds available if you need the money so you can get the work done.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:28 am #Ian

I have a question about Property damages to a house. If there is a covered loss in the State of NJ and there is damage to siding. Is there any law or case law that requires the insurance company to match the per-existing siding? Policy say that it affects damages sections only, but what if it doesn’t match?.
August 20th, 2011 at 7:16 am #Jason

Ian,
The contractual agreement you have with the insurance company is to replace the direct damage. The insurance company can put on new siding but replaced siding will never match the existing siding, even if the exact same color because of fading and oxidation. Over time, however, the new siding will fade to what the existing siding looks like.

The option you have to make sure it matches is to replace all the siding. However, to do that would require you to foot that portion of the bill. You just have to ask yourself, “How important is it to have matching siding?”.

If you believe the siding is not available to get even close to what you have existing on your home, simply keep pushing the insurance company. They might concede to allow more siding to be replaced. It’s really up to how persuasive you can be and how often and how loud you complain. But do it nicely without being obnoxious.

I don’t know if there is case law that will support replacing all the siding. That would require a published opinion based on an appeal and insurance companies will fight that issue with a vengeance because it would set a precedent on all future claim handling. (I’ve done a quick search to find if there was any published opinions and did not find a single one in your state.)
September 3rd, 2011 at 5:40 pm #ken hunt

With all the subsidies around now to have solar panels installed on your roof, I’m wonderind if the solar panels are covered by insurance if your house is in a hail storm and solar panels are damaged, or worse, destroyed.
Are they covered by the bullshit policies that a lot of people were led to believe, covered by they’re insurance companies, only to be told there was no way they will pay,
September 3rd, 2011 at 8:10 pm #jenni

Hi Jason,

This is Jenni from Omaha. I finally heard back from my insurance adjustor, after over 3 weeks, they decided to buy me a new roof. Although it took at least one month longer than all my neighbors (my house is the last one in the whole neighborhood to have the roof replaced), I’m still glad they are going to do it for me. My question is after this whole thing is done, should I shopp for a new insurance carrier or stay with the same company. They sure acted very slow on my claim. I waited 4 weeks to hear back from them.
September 9th, 2011 at 2:17 pm #Jason

Jenni,
Whether or not you stay with them is up to you. The rule of thumb is you should shop for insurance about every 3 years to find out if you have the right coverage and at the best price. I’m glad you are getting your roof replaced. Remember that you have 180 days to do so and to make a claim for the rest of the money that they applies as depreciation. The amount you can claim after the roof is on is called recoverable depreciation. This only applies if you have a replacement coverage policy.
September 10th, 2011 at 5:50 pm #Jits308

Hi
Recently in NJ, we had IRENE and my car got affected. Water was inside by car for atleast 3-4 inch.

It caused following damage told me by Honda Dealer and NO ENGINE DAMAGE.

1. Carpets in entire Car
2. Battery Dead
3. Spark Plugs
4. Injector Coil and carburetor.

I have comprehensive coverage with $500 deductible.

I have couple questions

1. Honda Dealer told me that I have to Pay for the Battery as it won’t be covered by Insurance ? Is this true that I am liable to pay the amount of Battery or Insurance Company is liable ?

2. Once I take my car from Dealer (after he claim – CAR IS READY TO PICK UP) and I see problems…and problems require some change in parts which is expensive or i see engine lights on dashboard…

Should I go back to dealer or Auto insurance.

Thanks in advance.

Jitesh
September 10th, 2011 at 7:22 pm #Jason

Jits308,
From what you mentioned you have a flooded car. If you have comprehensive insurance, the car should be totaled. Generally, insurance companies won’t pay for consumables such as gasoline, batteries, and the like. However, if the battery is directly damaged by water, it should be paid for by the insurance company.

As to the second question you pose – I pose this question, Why isn’t your car totaled? If water was in the interior and damaged your battery, spark plugs, etc, the car was under water. That is what is considered a flood totaled car. The insurance needs to total this car instead of what it is doing.
September 11th, 2011 at 12:28 am #Jits308

Thanks Jason for answers.

Jason Replied >>>> As to the second question you pose – I pose this question, Why isn’t your car totaled? If water was in the interior and damaged your battery, spark plugs, etc, the car was under water. That is what is considered a flood totaled car. The insurance needs to total this car instead of what it is doing.

Jitesh Replied >>>>> No idea, why didn’t dealer totaled car. Car was taken to Honda Dealer and dealer said that water didn’t touch the Engine. As the water ran inside the car it short circuit the computer and destroyed the complete mat as well carpet. As I told other things dealer changed is battery, spark plug, something they mentioned about fuel injector and carburetor. Dealer say battery got drained…water didn’t touch battery. I know car was not covered under water but 2-3 inches door was inside water. Water inside car didn’t even touch the carseat or gear system..its 2 inch over mat.

My concern was battery cost and foregoing/surprise technical issues in car, once take delivery from the dealer. How am I going to deal ???

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks
Jitesh
September 11th, 2011 at 6:32 am #Jason

Jitesh,
If you have a car that was under water, and affected the battery, spark plugs, computer components of the car and they are telling you the motor was not submerged, there is something incredibly wrong here. If the car was only partially submerged, it was submerged enough to do the damage to all components of the car.

Now to address your question. You will have on-going problems with this car. How will you deal with it? By the insurance company totaling this car right now. There is no way that this car should not be totaled.
September 11th, 2011 at 9:57 am #Jits308

Jason
Thanks again!!!!

I will try to talk to insurance and Honda Delar and if they insurance refuse to do total…what are my options.

Thanks
Jitesh
September 11th, 2011 at 11:01 am #Jason

Jitesh,
The insurance company is the one that makes the decision to total, not the dealership. The dealership has nothing to do with your contract with the insurance company. It sounds like the insurance company may be taking advantage of your lack of understanding and knowledge about insurance and the claim process. That is very discouraging that this is happening.

Your options are to insist that the car meets the requirements of being totaled. That is what happens to vehicles that are flooded. You have an agent. Talk to your agent about what is happening. Ask to talk to the claims manager about why this flooded vehicle is not being totaled. You have to be assertive with your claim so they don’t just dry out your car, fix some components, and get it back to you. The reason flooded cars are totaled is because of all the future problems that can, and will, arise on the car in the future.
September 11th, 2011 at 8:38 pm #Donna Harrold

Question: Insurance Co. They have never been to the house- my mother has lived here since the house was built around 68 years ago. Never filed a claim. I have been living with her since she broke her hip and had it operated on 2 years ago. She will be 100 in Oct. With the hurricane and all the rain we had a week and half ago, the electricity went out all over. No electricity – no sump pump working. I bailed water for 4 hours from the sump pump – got no where, so I stopped at 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning. We had 1/4 of the basement done by Owings Corning Basement System 2 years ago. The carpet and padding was soaked all over. I had moved my video equipment out of the room and put up high. The electricity did not come back on until 10:00 Monday night. I had hooked up a generator Monday morning. Called insurance Co. not covered-never came out to the house. Received letter 9/2/11 – we have completed our investigation of your homeowner’s claim for damage to interior of your home. The damage was caused by seepage. What kind of home owners is this.
September 11th, 2011 at 9:53 pm #Jason

Donna,
Do you have an insurance related question?
September 12th, 2011 at 8:14 am #Donna Harrold

I would like to know why the insurance company will not cover this claim, when the damage was done because the power was out for several days and the sunk pump could not operate. The reason they sent to us is stupid—The damage was due to seepage. No problems before, the house has had water drain system installed years ago, plus the sunk pump.
Definition of Seepage–the slow movement of water through a soil. The quantity of water which has slowly moved through a porous material, such as soil.

Does any insurance company cover damage due to power outage to a home and an entire area.????
Donna
September 12th, 2011 at 8:23 pm #Jason

Water at or below ground level is excluded. Does any company cover that? Probably not.
September 13th, 2011 at 9:14 pm #Eric

My Wife and I bought our home a year and 5 months ago. A few weeks ago I noticed water droplets inside of a picture frame in our baby’s room (she is yet to sleep in her room, she sleeps in a pack-N-Play in our room. The wet frame left a black residue on the wall, I cut out a piece of the drywall to see what was going on and found that the wall was wet and was deteriorating. The house is stucco with wood frame. I’m no expert in wood rot, but it appears the studs and plywood were severely rotted. I could see the back of the stucco from inside the house.

Anyway, the insurance company is more than likely going to deny the claim, the insurance inspector feels the damage was pre-existing prior to our policy date. We (including the insurance adjuster, “The Leak Doctor” and a few contractors) have been unable to determine the entry point of the water (assuming it is from the roof line against the stucco wall). The insurance company is sending out a structural engineer to inspect the roof and wall to determine how long the damage has been there.

1. If their engineer somehow determines the date of when the studs began to “rot” was prior to the policy date (we have had our policy for a little over a year) is there any recourse opportunities against the bank that sold us the home?…yes this was a foreclosure. It sat for 2 years and the bank came in and sprayed everything white, conveniently covering up any watermarks before they showed the home. Neighbors claim that “the bank did a lot of work to get the house to a point where it could be put on the market”.

2. Is this engineer tactic a ploy to get us to respect the decision of the insurance company to deny the claim? Do these types of analyses typically hold up in court? Should we have an independent engineer present during the inspection?

Thank you for any assistance you can provide, my wife and I are freaking out at this point as we do not have the funds to cover this potentially costly repair.

-Eric
September 13th, 2011 at 9:46 pm #Jason

Eric,
No, there won’t be any recourse to seek from the bank. I’m certain they sold the house as is just like most house sales are made.

The engineer thing isn’t a tactic. These engineers will inspect and provide their findings in a report. Yes, these engineer reports hold up in court.

If you want to pay for an independent engineer, you can do that but why do you want to pay for an engineer when you already know that this is rotten material, there is water getting back there and it has been happening for quite a long time? You would be better off saving some money to take on this project when you’re going to have to address the house fix. Oh, this isn’t a potentially costly repair, it is a costly repair. There is no doubt about it.
September 25th, 2011 at 7:00 pm #BellaKat

I am a commission based hairdresser and work for a small business that is located in a strip mall. We recently got some water damage from the roof and has caused some mold in the walls. My boss is closing down the shop for renovations for a week, and is leaving her staff to dry with no pay. My question is: If its an insurance claim, shouldn’t employee wages be covered?
September 26th, 2011 at 6:54 pm #Brandi

I own a townhouse condominium and the 2 inch water main into my home busted below my concrete slab, causing my home (and my neighbors) to flood with significant damage. My HOA has a master policy which should be covering the pipe repair and repair to my common elements, I’m also under the impression that it will repair the cost of my flooring/drywall/cabinetry, however it excludes “betterments” which my Condo policy should cover (I think?). My question is about process as my property manager hasn’t communicated anything to me. How do I know what my “budget” is so that I can begin making repairs? What kind of information should I be provided and should the property manager be providing me updates? I just don’t understand how the master and personal policy will reconcile.

Also, for my loss of personal property, can I claim a dishwasher that still functions, but has become rusty and was taken apart during the drying process? My lower cabinets were removed, will insurance cover matching the top cabinets to the replacement cabinets?

The break was due to polybutylene piping (class action lawsuit against it), which all of my neighbors have in their yards as well (I am “downstream”). Plumbers say its “when” not “if” in terms of them bursting as well. If I flood again due to a neighbors piping, will I be covered again? These homes were built in ’94!

Thanks.
September 26th, 2011 at 7:42 pm #Jason

BellaKat,
People and businesses have insurance to protect them if there is physical damage to property and loss of business income. There may be business interruption insurance that your employer has. However, insurance is for the benefit of the person that pays the premium and has the insurance policy. The question that I have for you is – Did you buy an insurance interruption policy that you can make a claim for this time in which you won’t have any income? If you did, then make a claim. If you answer no, then your loss of income is what we commonly call being “self insured” and you have to absorb your losses when they occur.
September 26th, 2011 at 7:52 pm #Jason

Brandi,
Make a claim with your condo insurance company. You can basically expect nothing from the master policy. There might be cases when the master policy will cover all items (like your floor) and then ask your personal condo policy to reimburse them for what they did for your unit. This usually happens when a common wall cannot be repaired unless they also repair a unit owner’s wall at the same time or before they can repair their wall. Get your insurance company involved and ask them to explain what you are allowed to do and what allowances there are for you.

Also, if you have a decent condo policy, they will be covering your damage at replacement cost rather than applying betterment (depreciation). The master policy and the unit owner’s policy deal with reimbursing only ACV because that is what they owe for. The agreement for replacement is between the policy holder (you) and your personal condo policy.

Even if your insurance company isn’t actively participating in the claim, they will have a claim open because they anticipate reimbursing the master policy when that policy asks for money. You should be able to ask your insurance company any question you want because they stay up to speed on the entire claim process.
October 5th, 2011 at 4:59 pm #admin

Dear website visitors,

Most of our questions and answers for October 3rd and 4th were lost as a result of a malware attack on our website. In addition, some of our pages were “redirected” to malware websites. We have now incorporated stronger security measures.

While we have no proof as to the original source of the hackers, suffice to say that this website had never experienced hacking problems until shortly after we posted the page “BOYCOTT FARMERS INSURANCE?” which exposed criminal acts by Farmer’s CEO and their Los Angeles based attorney Richard O Knapp.
October 6th, 2011 at 6:40 am #Johnny

My ex-girlfriend has threatened to burn down my house. She is unstable and I think she actually might burn the place down. I am out of the country and I am worried that if she does it will be considered arson and I will not be insured. The house is paid off and I am thinking about using it as an income property so I do not want to have to worry. If she does burn the place down will I be covered?? Please get back to me asap so that I can sleep at night. Thank you.
October 6th, 2011 at 6:56 am #Jason

Johnny,
If she is an insured with you, then no, it wouldn’t be covered. However, if she is only an ex-girlfriend with no insurable interest in the house, it probably would be covered. We don’t like to project “what-if” scenarios because there are no facts to base our answers upon.
October 7th, 2011 at 4:52 am #Johnny

How can I find out for sure I will be covered? I mean this chick is crazy and she is just a ex-gf she has nothing to do with the house. It is in my name only. I contacted the police just so they know but even still I kind of like my house and my stuff in it, and don’t want it burned down. BUT… if this psycho does burn it down I need to know that I am covered 100%. Thanks for the quick reply Jason.
October 7th, 2011 at 6:10 am #Dean

Have a friend stay at the house. There’s more than just insurance matters here.
October 7th, 2011 at 12:47 pm #Jason

Johnny,
The way you can find out for sure that you are covered is when damage occurs and your claim is processed and approved for payment. There is no way to determine if coverage will apply to some future event that has not happened.

Is your policy built for coverage in case of someone burning down your house? Yes, it is. It is difficult to do “what if” scenarios because there are no facts related to this supposed situation.
October 11th, 2011 at 3:53 pm #Kar

I would believe that the deliberate setting of a fire would be covered as vandalism, just like any other deliberate damage. A police report would have to be filed along with the other evidence of the vandalism.
October 12th, 2011 at 12:33 pm #KRIS

I bought a 1998 chevy surburban, got it registered in my name even though i only have a permit, added the truck to my sis insurance (liability only). Car breaks down 1 month later. I sold it for $500. My dad did everything and he told me to get the car out my name but he didnt stress the importance, now im getting a letter from Farmers Ins. stating something idk about a claim and I have until October 13th to call them. what should I do? should I go along with this?

-Lost
October 12th, 2011 at 12:36 pm #KRIS

Oh I bought the car in Feb. sold the car in March if that helps
October 12th, 2011 at 12:39 pm #Jason

Kris,
It would be helpful if you provided us with all the information. If you want a complete answer we need the complete question.

Please tell us about the accident if that is the reason for Farmers trying to reach you.
October 12th, 2011 at 12:46 pm #John

Ordered full coverage with Geico. Was told that was what I had. I should have checked. Apparently when you order “full coverage” with Geico it means something else to them than it does any other insurance carrier (no comprehensive).

So I’m driving eastbound with the sun behind me when I notice the brake lights are on on the car in front of me. I saw two women in the car (mother and daughter) as I slammed on the brake I realized I would not stop in time so I swerved to avoid. I did scrape their rear passenger side bumper before jumping a ditch and totaling my truck on a tree. I call Geico and they say they will not pay because I did not hit the other car. Is this right? I’m sure the other car made a claim where I scraped them. Is that not enough to make it a multi-car accident? Does it actually even matter since I was at fault?

FYI I did have $5000 medpay which went to hosptial and chiro bills.
October 12th, 2011 at 12:58 pm #KRIS

Thats the thing I sold the truck in March and I didnt get the truck transfered out of my name and now im getting mail from Farmers saying “A claim has been presented for the above referenced loss. It is important you contact me so we can properly resolve this claim.

we have been attempting to contact you as you may have been involved in the referenced loss.

While we conduct our investigation, it may be neccessary for you to take precautions to reduce amount of your damages……..

Then it asK for liability insurance and if they dont hear from me by thursday they will close their file and assume i have no insurance.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:02 pm #KRIS

I dont know about the the accident or anything
October 12th, 2011 at 2:15 pm #Jason

John,
There are 2 different physical damage coverages. One is collision which covers your vehicle should you collide with something such as a car or a tree.

The other physical damage coverage is comprehensive which covers your vehicle if it is stolen, is flooded, or burns.

Regardless whether your hit a tree or another car, the accident is a collision and would be covered under collision coverage and has nothing to do with comprehensive coverage.

That leads me to believe the insurance you carried was for liability only. That covers you for liability claims against you for causing bodily injury or property damage to others.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:19 pm #Jason

Kris,
Apparently your vehicle was in an accident. You can file a form with your department of motor vehicles indicating that you sold the truck so you are not the registered owner if something like this would come up again.

As for the letter, you can call the insurance company and tell them the facts that include when you sold it.

Or, you can do nothing. It’s up to you.
October 13th, 2011 at 7:28 am #Nancy

Daughter tapped a car in a target parking lot yesterday. The other person has already contacted my agent to file a claim and my insurance has contacted me.. Is it too late at this point to remove the claim and try to pay the girl cash for the damage?
October 13th, 2011 at 7:37 am #Jason

Nancy,
You can pay this other person cash if you want. Is it too late? Probably. What has happened is that your insurance company is already aware of an at fault accident. Will this accident remain an at fault accident if you pay for it? Yes, it will. So, let the process continue and move on with life.
October 13th, 2011 at 9:13 am #Kermit Silcox

I have a question about Mold, I reciently had a pipe break in my home I was out of town and my wife was in the hospital this pipe ran for almost 1 month the house was flooded, the Insurance company said they will pay for the water damage but refuse to pay on anything that got moldy as a result of this leak, is there any recoirse for me or am I just screwed?
October 13th, 2011 at 9:26 am #Jason

Kermit,
Since this broken pipe is a covered event and the water damaged your property, the water damage is covered. The mold is also part of the water damage and is also covered.

For the insurance company to draw a line and say they will cover part of water damage and not cover the other part of the water damage is not correct.

I don’t know the specific actions you need to take but bring this to a claim manager’s attention. You may need to discuss this with an attorney to get this resolved. Perhaps prior to an attorney, you may want to hire a public adjuster that is qualified to handle a claim of this nature.

If you do hire a public adjuster, make sure that person is qualified and can help you before you enter into a contract with them.
October 14th, 2011 at 10:46 pm #KRIS

I called the insurance company and they said theres nothing i can do and i owe the guy my car hit. i dont have the paper the guy filled out to take to the dmv and i dont even know his info. i dont have proof i sold my car. So do i chalk it up as ignorance on my behalf or is there something i can do now?? And how do i get the car out of my name without the guys info to put on the paper??
October 15th, 2011 at 7:30 am #Jason

Kris,
If you didn’t hit the guy, you don’t owe him anything. (If you did, then it’s another story). However, they need to prove you did that and that would require taking you to court and getting a judgment that concluded you hit him, and that you owe him money.

The way the DMV thing works is that you provide them with a statement that you sold your vehicle on a certain date and that is it. You just state that it was sold on a certain date and some other details you feel are important. You don’t have to provide the buyers name.

How do you get the vehicle out of your name? Read the prior paragraph I just wrote.
October 15th, 2011 at 4:09 pm #KRIS

Okay great

Thanx Jason p.s I didn’t hit him lol
October 18th, 2011 at 7:45 am #Lori

Do I have the right to an unpire if the insurance company has denied my damagrd roof claim?
October 18th, 2011 at 8:38 pm #Jason

Lori,
No, you would have to be in a dispute about the amount of damage of a claim that is not denied before that comes into play.
October 18th, 2011 at 10:40 pm #Shelly

I am being denied coverage on a homeowners claim for hail damage to my roof. I was paid out for damged to my enclosed deck roof (attached to my home) as well as a roof on another building on my property. I was also paid out for hail damge on the gutters on the home. The insurance company is denying hail damage on the roof of my home and indicating I have defective shingles. My shingles are 9 years old. They are begining to curl in one area of my roof and may be defective, based on my roofer’s opinion. However, the roofer also insists I have hail damage and that my insurance company is passing the buck on this. I have already expressed my dissatisfaction with the adjusters assessment and was assigned a second adjuster. Noth concur I have no hail damage. The roofer tells me I am absolutely getting “screwed”. He indicated I may get osme coverage on shingle warranty but that it will be minimal. Any suggestions on what I should do next.
October 20th, 2011 at 5:54 pm #Jason

Shelly,
Have the roofer meet with one of those adjusters so your roofer can specifically point out the hail damage to the adjuster.
October 26th, 2011 at 7:12 am #nicole

hi i was invoved in a car accident in a parking lot yesterday. and when i was getting information from the insurance company they said after the adjuster comes out and looks at my car then they will cut a check for the damages and the check will be made to me and the body shop. does anyone know if i can just deposit the check in my account and pay the shope myself or does both people have to sign it for it to be deposited or cashed
October 26th, 2011 at 7:16 am #Jason

Nicole,
If you can get the shop to endorse the check so you can deposit it into your account you would be able to do what you suggest. However, it is very unlikely the body shop will do that. See if you can get the adjuster to write the check just to you. Then you would have the opportunity to do what you suggest.
November 4th, 2011 at 10:57 am #Ginger

We lost our home to a massive wildfire in Sept. We were underinsured, so will have a balance due to the mortgage company. We will not be rebuilding. Do we need to continue our insurance policy, paid for thru escrow, when it is due in a few months?
November 4th, 2011 at 1:42 pm #Jason

Ginger,
Your loss date is actually the last date you should be paying your premium. You may want to coordinate with your agent to have your policy canceled and also work out the details with your mortgage holder so they are not collecting escrow for insurance any longer.
November 4th, 2011 at 3:49 pm #Uneeda

I am the owner of a vehicle and the policy holder. I added my sister as a driver so she’d have a way to work. A vehicle backed into my parked car. Their Insurance company cut a check to my sister, but they told me it should have been cut to the policy holder. What action do I need to take? I think the insurance company and my sister should have been more responsible.
November 4th, 2011 at 3:59 pm #Jason

Uneeda,
Have the insurance company stop payment on the check and issue it correctly.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:27 pm #Saharah

We moved into our 1st house almost 1 year ago. We were told by our inspector to ask the homeowner to remove the blocking in the basement. He noticed some of the boards in the DINING ROOM bay window dining room directly above (basement blocking) somewhat bowed…leading him to think there was water damage. Not too long after we moved in the upstairs BEDROOM bay window began to loose large pieces of painted. It all just began falling off the wet wall. Now we have full on leaks coming through the DINING ROOM windows and the wall is cracking on both sides of the entire bay window frame. What can we do? Is this covered by our insurance. I’m not sure exactly which plan we have but I also do not know if I should call to find out and then learn we don’t have the coverage for it, then try to get it and make a claim? Ugh so confused and annoyed…but need to get this persistent leak from the windows fixed before mold begins to grow. BTW this is a 25 year old home, recently remodeled in 09. I’m not sure who to call next…HELP please? Thank you for reading…..and sharing you knowledge.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:45 pm #Jason

Sharah,
We don’t promote people to mislead their insurance companies because that would be considered fraud. So, for whatever condition is happening in your house, it has occurred alrady and now you are concerned. Whatever insurance you have is the insurance that would be there and to change that to form to what is happening is not something anyone should do. It is very likely you have the standard HO-3 policy. From what you described, we would need an event like fire, a vehicle hitting into your home, hail falling and causing damage, or something that will cause direct physical damage to your home. Generally water at or below ground level is excluded from coverage if it damages your house. From you post, I can’t tell what is going on with your house.

Now you are indicating the wall is cracking on both sides of your bay window, water leaking thorough that bay window or the dining room window (I can’t tell) and paint that is falling off. Unless you left something out, water coming in through a window is a condition and not damage. What is causing the paint to fall off? Wet walls? If there is not enough moisture barrier on your house to prevent water from coming in though the walls or the windows, then that sounds like it may be a maintenance concern. Unless you can be more specific, I don’t see that a homeowner policy will cover what you have described.
November 16th, 2011 at 6:26 am #Lisa

My husband and I were in an accident where another driver lost control of her vehicle and hit us, damaging our brand new car very badly, but probably not enough to total it. Fortunately none of us were hurt, just a couple of bumps and bruises.

She admitted fault and was cited for driving too fast under adverse conditions (it was drizzling and we were going down the interstate).

Should I file a claim with my insurance or with hers (State Farm)? My concern is that if they just repair my car, it will still have lost value because of being wrecked through no fault of mine. Also I have a $500 deductible with my insurance and a limit of $1000 for a car rental.

Any advice for me?

Thanks in advance.
November 16th, 2011 at 10:15 am #Jason

Lisa,
If this accident is determined to be the fault of the other driver, simply use your insurance to get this resolved quickly. Your insurance will settle your claim after applying your deductible.

After your claim is paid, your insurance will ask the other insurance company to reimburse what they paid including your deductible. When they get your deductible, they will reimburse it to you.

However, if you want to go through state farm (her insurance company), then you would avoid having to pay your deductible but it might take a little longer because her insurance company will have to determine who is at fault though an investigation. The investigation could be relatively simple or it can be complex and time consuming.

Settlement with either company will be nearly the same for a rental car. The rental allowance with either company will b around $25/day. You would have to be in a rental car for almost a month and a half in order to consume your rental coverage limit of $1000.
November 17th, 2011 at 2:06 pm #Ty

My house got damaged in a huge hail storm in Phoenix in October 2010, I put a claim in in April. Insurance agreed to pay for a new roof and AC unit. I am trying to put the AC on now November 2011, they say since I didn’t finish the work by October 2011, it is past the time that they will pay out on the claim. Can they do that it has been 8 months since they approved claim how is that right?
November 17th, 2011 at 4:08 pm #Jason

Ty,
The insurance policy has either a 180 day or 1 year time limitation to claim the recoverable deprecation. You can review what time limitation you have by referring to your policy. I believe it is found under the Loss Settlement part of the policy.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:37 am #Ford

I live in Canada, recently I moved, had things stolen, am claiming it through my insurance, but they want to give me a cash value NOT the replacement cost, rather they want me to go out and buy replacement items, give a receipt and they will cover the difference. So “technically” I get the the replacement cost, but not outright. Is there anyway I can fight to get the replacement cost – over $26grand, compared to the cash value at $14grand.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:39 pm #Dink

I had a kitchen fire June 06 2011. We were unable to stay in the house due to the severety of damages. The kitchen was incinerated. The remainder of house has mostly smoke and water damage. I had the check in the mail on 07-05 2011 for the damages. I have no complaints at all with that.
The adjuster said, he would contact a service to help us find a rental house. He said if I found something myself to let him know. He gave me a sheet of paper that showed my coverage and deductibles. He pointed out everything on the paper and read it. He said, “You have $26,300.00 for,
Loss of Use, that can be used for a rental, until we could move back in. He said you also have $92,050.00 for personal property.”
I did not know I had this much coverage. I told him that was a lot and he said, yeah. You can get a place at the beach and live real good for a little while, or get something less expensive and have enough for a rental that will last long enough until you can move back into your house.
We decided to rent a travel trailer so we could stay on the property with our stuff. We talked to him before getting it. He said that it would be ok, he said had another person even renting a motor home.
The price for the rental is $2,583.00 per month. The first check we received was for $7,749.00. dated 06-20-2011.
The second check is for, $5,166.00 dated 08-19-2011.
The third check was for $2,583.00 dated 10-11-2011.

Then we received a letter stating that the adjuster that was handling my claim would change it gave no reason why.
A few days later I received another letter informing me, the insurance agent that I had was retiring and my insurance was being transferred to another agent. I guess that is why I got the letter informing me of my adjuster change.

11-22-2011 I got a phone call from the new adjuster he asked how was everything going and had I moved back into my house yet, or was I about ready to. I told him everything was going ok I guess, I was cleaning in the house and I was still working on the personal property list. I told him I had told the other adjuster that it would be in the winter, December probably before I could get some time off work and really start work on the house. I work 6 days a week and out of town. I am only home on Sundays. In the meantime I am taking down sheetrock and washing what walls and woodwork I can.

He said that it has been six months and he did not think they could renew this. I told him I had never heard that the payments would stop after six months or so, I told him the other adjuster had told me $26,300.00 and that is what the insurance Declarations page states. He said it is 26,300.00 but it is also for a reasonable amount of time and he feels that 6 months is reasonable and he did not think they could renew it. I told him I did not understand how it could be 26,300.00 or 6 mos. He said they probably won’t renew. Rent time has come and gone and no check. I guess I was dumped just like that.

If you ask 10 people what is a reasonable amount of time you might get 10 different answers.

I have been paying for $26,300.00 Loss of Use I have received $15,498.00, that leaves $10,802.00 that I feel I am entitled to if I had not moved back into my house.

Can they just cut me off like that? Is there anything I can do?
It they had told me from the beginning that the payments would stop after 6 months I would have been prepared, but why have I been paying for a certain amount of coverage and not be eligiblefor it?

If they are right it is ok but I would, like to hear it from someone other than only them.

Thanks for listening to my rant.
Dink
November 29th, 2011 at 9:06 pm #Jason

Ford,
Yes, you can fight the christmas lines in the stores and replace your property so your can recover your total amount of your loss. There are no other options.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:47 pm #Jason

Dink,
It is reasonable to have a contractor and his team to come in and restore your house instead of you doing it 1 day a week. With smoke damage throughout your house and a lot of damage in the kitchen, the repairs and restoration should certainly be completed within 6 months. The insurance company pays based on what it should reasonably take in terms of time.

Also, if you ask 10 different people how long it would take to repair your home using industry-wide repair procedures, all 10 would say it would be done in less than 6 months.

You should have been prepared. This first adjuster should have been doing his job correctly instead of what he actually did. It’s too bad that you had to endure his poor claim handling.
December 2nd, 2011 at 6:36 am #richard barrett

If a claim is collected on lost jewelry, which is then found a few months later, what happens then?
December 2nd, 2011 at 7:13 am #Jason

Richard,
You have been paid for your loss. The jewelry is now the property of the insurance company. Call them and inform them you found the jewelry. They may request that you forward it to them. Perhaps they can make another arrangement with you but you should let them know you have the jewelry.
December 2nd, 2011 at 7:20 am #richard barrett

jason, thanks for your answer. I won the bet. This question came up among a group of friends. I will inform the others who doubted me. this is in reference to the lost jewelry.
December 2nd, 2011 at 7:26 am #richard

Jason, a guy named Bobby from New York may contact you to reiterate the question. He doesn’t believe me.
December 2nd, 2011 at 8:12 am #Jason

Richard,
If Bobby doesn’t believe that, he can review this part of a standard homeowner policy so he can understand that there is no question what needs to be done with recovered property.

N. Recovered Property
If you or we recover any property for which we have made payment under this policy, you or we will notify the other of the recovery. At your option, the property will be returned to or retained by you or it will become our property. If the recovered property is returned to or retained by you, the loss payment will be adjusted based on the amount you received for the recovered property.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:03 am #good

if a claim is less than the deductible what happens?
December 21st, 2011 at 10:24 pm #Thomas

Does anyone know if the following scenario would be possible? The insured installs distressed wood floors in their house five years ago at a cost of $50,000 and covers about 3,000 sqft, upstairs and downstairs. The dishwasher apparently leaks and causes damage to an isolated area around the dishwasher. The supplier of the floors no longer carries this type of distressed wood and the insurance company now agrees to do the entire house in a different distressed wood all over again. Is this plausible?
December 22nd, 2011 at 8:44 am #Jason

Thomas,
We don’t address hypothetical scenarios.
December 22nd, 2011 at 10:14 am #Thomas

Jason,
Thanks for the quick response back but the above scenario unfortunately was not hypothetical but one given to my wife from a family member who owes us alot of money. I did not believe it but I was trying to get some unbiased feedback from someone. It seems to me that an insurance company would source out a floor manufacturer to match the existing floor before paying out such a huge claim. Any comments you can provide would be much appreciated.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:06 am #Jason

Thomas,
If this is something “given to your wife from a family member who owes you a lot of money”, then that is nearly a hypothetical. You don’t know any of the information first-hand except through your wife who had the information relayed to her through a family member.

Regardless, #781, 788, and 808 and their responses under Home Insurance Claims can probably give you some good insight.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:13 am #Thomas

Jason,
Thanks and have a nice Holiday Season.
December 22nd, 2011 at 2:36 pm #Lorie

My vehicle was stolen out of my driveway a few day’s ago. I had personal property in there valued around 500.00 to 750.00. Who should I be filing a claim with? My homeowners insurance said that if the property wasn’t inside the home, it is not covered. Is there anything I can do?
December 22nd, 2011 at 2:42 pm #Lee

My insured was hit by other party. The insurance carrier from other party keeps stating they can’t find their insured for statement.

What can we do? It has been for few months; the adjustor keeps saying he is not able to reach his client.
December 22nd, 2011 at 2:43 pm #Lee

Lorei,

Property belongs to the homeowner policy. Check your HO3 policy deductible.
December 22nd, 2011 at 2:43 pm #Lorie

My father in law passed away 14 month’s ago, the life insurance recently contacted my husband stating he and his siblings were the beneficiaries of the policy.They sent out forms to be filled out by each and then they received another form to be notarized, that was also done and sent back. They state now that they are waiting on a response from his younger brother. The family has not seen him in several years and do not know his wearabouts. How long do they have to pay out the policy?
December 22nd, 2011 at 7:14 pm #Jason

Lorie,
If your personal property was stolen, your homeowner’s policy covers your personal property from the event of theft anywhere in the world. Whoever provided you the information that it wasn’t covered if in your car was incorrect. File this with your homeowner’s insurance.
December 22nd, 2011 at 7:16 pm #Jason

Lee,
If you have an insured, that means you are the insurance company. Can you change your post so it makes sense? We would be happy to answer your questions.
December 22nd, 2011 at 7:19 pm #Jason

Lorie,
That is up to the executor of the estate. It depends on how the will was written. With a will, it’s more important to get it correct than it is to process it timely.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:22 pm #John

if my apartment that i had just got burnt down due to arson, and i didnt not have coverage, could i then file a claim threw the appartment
December 23rd, 2011 at 7:19 am #Jason

John,
So you didn’t have insurance for your personal property. The one that has the most to lose if your property is damaged happens to be you and you have the option of getting insurance for that. The apartment’s interest lies with making sure they have the apartments to rent to others so they can keep their rental income from being affected.

You are aware this fire was caused by arson. If the apartment was responsible for the arson (they lit the fire or they hired someone to burn down the apartment) then that would make sense to file a claim through their insurance or directly to the apartment itself.

However, if the arsonist is no way involved with the apartment, then your best approach is to file a claim against the arsonist (because the arsonist’s actions caused your personal property to be destroyed).
December 27th, 2011 at 5:35 pm #Lorie

My suburban was stolen last week. The tires and rim’s were taken. The sunroof was also broken. It rained that same night. I finally found my vehicle the next day at a storage lot and called the insurance company. They asked if there was much damage. I told them about the tires,rims, and as well as the sunroof. Now I received a letter from my insurance company stating that I am responsibile for covering the broken window from any further damage and getting it towed from the lot. Is that my responsibility?
December 27th, 2011 at 6:27 pm #Jason

Lorie,
Yes, this is your vehicle. Your need to protect it from more damage, pay the lot and get it out of impound.
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January 3rd, 2012 at 5:26 pm #Shirley Ramos

This question pertains to my $2,500 roof deductible. I recently had a contractor work to resolve a claim with Citizens regarding damage to my single family home roof (hale damage). Citizens initially denied the claim, but after further investigation, settled for $6300. The contractor is now stating that under the law I am required to pay my $2500 deductible on top of the $6300 for a total of $8,800 because they assisted in getting the settlement from the insurance company. Knowing that the average cost for my sq footage is $6,500 (other estimates gathered), I am just wanting to confirm if I am legally required to pay that entire deductible. Thank you.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:44 pm #Jason

Shirley,
Techically, your insurance doesn’t pay until you reach and exceed your deductible. So, when everything is all said and done, you should have paid your $2500 deductible and your roof should be entirely be replaced.

If you have found a contractor or contractors that will do your roof for less, perhaps your should evaluate if they can replace your roof without having to pay your entire deductible.
January 4th, 2012 at 5:54 pm #Lupe

I had a policy with formost. And filed a claim water damage before the holidays. I had forgot to pay my payments. They sent me a cancel. I just found the noticed and was going to pay for 2 months that I did not pay. Am I still covered for the claim I filed in Dec. 4th even if they cancel. me on the 25th of Dec. I still mailed the 2 payments.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:53 pm #Jason

Lupe,
If we understand your post, you had a policy in force on December 4th. If your cancellation was effective beginning on December 25th, then you should have coverage for the loss date of December 4th.
January 12th, 2012 at 6:43 pm #Karen

Tonight while vacuuming I unplugged my TV. After Vacuuming I plugged it back in and heard a loud pop and then it smoked. TV is less that 2 yrs old. So my son brought his bedroom tv in as a temporary and when i plugged it it the same thing happened. Smoke and gasses filled my house. Apparantly it is an electrical problem. Will my homeowners cover this?
January 12th, 2012 at 7:09 pm #Jason

Karen,
It may. Just submit a claim and more importantly, get your wiring looked at by an electrician to make sure nothing more damaging happens like a fire. Tell them what happened and let them diagnose the problem. Sure it might cost a little money to have an electrician diagnose your wiring for potential problems but going through a fire is a lot more of a head ache than most people want to go through.

And, submit this as a claim. Even the emergency electrician’s bill. The insurance may cover this but I am not sure. It seems to be accidental but I don’t know what part of the policy this would fall under.
January 18th, 2012 at 8:35 pm #mike

my rental homes hvac unit was cut and taken ins co. said it does not pay for theft howvwer i feel it was vandalized can i collect someway?
February 6th, 2012 at 11:52 am #Sump Pump Failure

My basement flooded during Storm Alfred as the power was out for a week and my sump pump could not run. Is this something I can claim?

Also, a tree onto my deck and part of my house but no real damage other than a few cracked and broken shingles. No I am getting a water stain on my ceiling in the general area where it fell. Is this something I can claim? If so, how? I only have pics of the tree.
February 6th, 2012 at 5:21 pm #Jason

Sump failure,
You can make a claim for anything you want even if a a row of carrots you were growing for garden transplanting dies. Now does that make sense to do? Do you think it would be covered? If so, what do you think it’s value is?

You would likely need a sewer backup or sump pump overflow endorsement but there are other ways for there to be coverage than can be discussed in a short forum such as this. Also, I’m not familiar with Alfred and different storms take on slightly different features.

Again, you can claim anything, even if some golf clubs flip out of the back of a golf cart and knock over your chair and a completely full beer.
February 7th, 2012 at 3:56 am #Robert

Hello,
I was in a fender bender. It happened in Canada and both drivers are Canadian. I backed into another car in a private townhouse parking lot. Who is at fault? Is it really 50-50? Also the other car was parked with no driver and was parked in such a way that it obstructed traffic (there is no way I could have completed my blackout without hitting him. Whether I noticed it or not, I was stuck) and he was parked illegally against a city bylaw in a fire route. Who is at fault and how should I approach this with the insurance company?
Thanks

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