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This website is dedicated to empowering consumers with insurance claims against “low quality insurers” and will give insurance claim help with advice and answers to insurance claims questions. It began with help from UClaim.com, a “do-it-yourself” insurance claim help and advice eBook website.
This website will help with auto, home, marine and business claims for losses including but not limited to fire, water, wind, flood, theft, total loss and denied claims. This website aims to help consumers with existing claims as well as “preventative maintenance” – avoiding “low quality insurers” before you have a claim (See “Best and Worst Insurance Companies” link above). Click on the “Rate Your Adjuster!” link above and comment on your adjuster, insurer, contractor body shop, etc
Our contributors give you their best insurance claim help and advice. Posts and website content are from the viewpoint of insurance claim advocates for the policy holder, not the insurer.
InsuranceClaimHelp.org was born out of frustration with “low quality insurers”, who like many big businesses today, have been allowed to do whatever they please, much like many large corporations in the early 1900’s that spawned antitrust laws and the formation of labor unions. Unfair claim practices laws mean nothing to low quality insurers, who routinely violate those laws and dare anyone to do anything about it.
Don’t count on the Media or the Government to solve this problem. The media and the government are controlled by big money. You are not going to hear in your local newspaper that European Smart Cars are getting 70 MPG (American Smart Cars only get 33 mpg!) when your local car dealer is buying full page ads to sell his gas guzzlers. Insurers don’t spend ad dollars just to get blasted by the media they fund. The answer to the insurance problem is YOU voting with your wallet. See below “YOU are the answer”.
The Problem – The mainstream media is more interested in ratings and advertising revenue than really helping John Doe. Consumer advocate news stories are token window dressing to make it appear that the media really cares. The government just is not doing the job. Legislators will not enact the laws needed because most legislators depend on campaign contributions and other “perks” from the big corporations. Most of our “not so honorable” honorable Judges have ignored the purpose of punitive damages. They won’t even impose a 1% of net profits penalty. And let’s face it, while we may believe that we have the best judicial system in the world, just as we believe America has the best of everything in the world, it just ain’t so. Judges get bribed here and set up with untraceable numbered off-shore bank accounts, just like everywhere else in the world. The insurance regulatory Executive branch of government is mostly staffed by ex insurance company personnel, who truly believe “the insured is the enemy.” For states where the insurance commissioner is elected, occasionally a true consumer advocate gets elected. But their efforts are resisted by their own employees. More typical are insurance industry friendly insurance commissioners who master the art of propaganda – making it appear they punished a 200 billion dollar insurer with a 2 million dollar fine that should have been 200 million dollars, or “going after” an insurer who failed to donate enough money to his election campaign, taking credit for premium reductions, mass publicizing the prosecution of fraud by a little guy body shop or insurance agent (and they should go after fraud by both insurer and insured, but the point here is that they really don’t punish fraud by insurance companies). Local district attorneys are no different. They have no interest in fraud by insurers. But they eagerly go after the little guy. Local district attorneys often get much of their funding from the insurance companies themselves. So why would a district attorney want to bite the hand that feeds it?
This is not to say that there are not any good insurers or corporations out there. Companies like Nationwide Insurance, WalMart and Southwest Airlines are too few. Most of today’s consumers are suckered with slick advertising by insurers like Geico, Progressive, Farmers Insurance Group and Allstate. Consumers are cheated when it comes time to pay a big claim. Note – to those of you who say “oh, my company paid my claim fairly and right away”, I say most of you are talking about repairs to a vehicle. It’s pretty hard for an insurer to screw an insured on a vehicle repair when all you have to do is open your eyes and see if the paint does not match or the panel is not straight.
YOU are the Answer – The best way to punish or change a “Bad Boy” insurer is to take away their business, or, put them out of business. How do YOU do this? By giving your business to the “Good Boy” insurers. How do you find out who are the good boys and the bad boys? Currently, the best claims rating website of insurers and their vendors is on this website. It was donated by one of our contributors, Ron Cercone at UClaim.com. These ratings are by insurance consumers and their representatives who have had insurance claims. They are not insurers conducting their own surveys. They are not ratings by “A.M. Best”, which rates insurers on financial strength, for example “AAA+”. Beware insurers with advertisements like “we have a 95% customer satisfaction rating”. They are just rating themselves. Beware insurers who boast a high A.M. Best rating, which is not relevant for 99.9% of consumers. The consumer rating system here is not just insurance company ratings . It gives ratings of the insurer’s own employees and vendors. You can see ratings on their adjusters, body shops, contractors and even their lawyers. If you don’t like the adjuster assigned to you, ask for the one with the good rating, and punish the Bad Boy adjuster with a bad rating. This is how YOU, THE PEOPLE take back America from those corporate bad boys drinking their Marguerita on a Caribbean beach with your money .
October 11th, 2008 at 2:11 pm #Jolie
Hello,
Does anyone know about State Farm’s Texas mobile homeowners policies? They are written through their general Ins co. I am looking for the meaning of the following endorsement codes; FGP-4926, FGE-4886, FP-4978, FE-4669, FE4564 and FE-4706. Anyone with any information would be helpful! Thank you!
Jolie
October 16th, 2008 at 5:07 pm #admin
Hello Jolie,
If you don’t want to ask your agent for those endorsements (for whatever reason), try calling a SF agent/s in another town/s in Texas. You don’t have to give your policy number or full name, just tell them you are not happy with your current agent and are looking for another agent. Who knows, maybe they will even fax or mail you a copy of the actual endorsements. You may have to call several agents before you find one hungry enough to help you.
If your agent refused to give you copies of the endorsements and you don’t care whether he likes you are not, call the SF home office in Bloomington, Illinois and ask them. I’m sure they will want your policy number to confirm you are their policy holder first. You can even ask for a complete certified copy of the policy be mailed to you.
If you have an open claim, ask the adjuster for copies of those endorsements. If he refuses or refers you back to the agent, ask for the claim manager. If he refuses, then go straight to the SF CEO in Bloomington.
Also, try asking the other mobile homeowners who they are insured with. If its in a mobile home park, I’m sure there will be others in the neighborhood insured with SF. Ask to see their policies.
January 15th, 2009 at 12:46 pm #David L.
Great website, something that is surely needed to deal with the ever growing greed of big insurers. One topic worth mentioning to the sites visitors seeking assistance, is the Public Adjuster. In my opinion, this profession is the single best weapon the consumer can use. Just make sure you find a reputable one.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:12 am #admin
Welcome David,
I agree completely. There is some free advice on how to get a good public adjuster and how to retain one without risking losing part of your settlement offer to the public adjuster’s fee (if he fails to increase the settlement) at UClaim.com .
March 16th, 2009 at 11:43 am #Joe C
I have lived in my home and paid my insurance for 12 years. I recently had someone come to the door offering free roof inspection. They said I had hail damage and should file a claim. My insurance claim representative came by and assessed.After meeting with his manager, they decided that the roof should be totalled but rather than paying in full for the roof replacement they are offering a cash settlement due to depreciation. They indicated that the damaged occurred in August 2004 and the cash settlement would represent a reduced amount that is substantially less than the full coverage. What are my options?
By the way, my insurance company is State Farm.
March 16th, 2009 at 1:31 pm #admin
Hello Joe,
Try to get them to issue the money without your signing any release. Once you have the money, then you have nothing to lose if you get “under their skin”. If they make the payment without writing something like “your claim is not covered because it was not reported on time, but this money is paid as a compromise or a courtesy” then go for the full cost of replacing your roof (if you have replacement cost coverage).
If indeed the damage was in 2004, then you are lucky they are even covering your claim and paying anything. Most policies give 12 months to turn in the claim from the accident date. And most states override that by giving 3 or 4 years to sue your insurer for property damage. Check with a local attorney what the “statute of limitations” is to sue for property damage. They should not charge for a simple question like that.
Also find out if the “date of loss” in your state is the actual date of the physical damage, or when you discovered the damage (the idea being that you have no loss until you become aware of a loss). That is a question that most adjusters and even attorneys will not know the answer to. You could pay an attorney for 1 hour to research the answer.
If you can spare the time and “give back” a little something to this website, make a rating on State Farm and or their adjuster on the Consumer Ratings page of this website. You could also do a rating on the contractor who alerted you to your roof.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:13 pm #chris
HI We had a House fire on March 13, 2008 on brand new property. The fire started in the garage went into the roof and we lost half the house and 3 cars any everything in the garage. We were completly hounded by public claims adjusters even while the fire was still burning. We signed with one and that has been a night mare. They have been worthless there only concern is to get there 15%. The items that were saved need to be cleaned before they go back into the house. We had to contact Departmetn of Insurance for the State of California to get beds cleaned. Right now my sons mattresses havent been cleaned. Do you know of stories of public claims adjuster that have really help consumers? We havent been payed yet for the contents and the builders has place a len on property for the extras that werent on the scope by the insurance company. We had to get a attorney
May 15th, 2009 at 12:58 am #admin
Hello Chris,
If your story is even half true, then it makes my stomach turn. I feel shame for the PA profession in California.
We all know there’s good and bad in every profession. Unfortunately there are more bad PAs in California because the biggest player years ago thought he could wipe out the competition by forcing the “solicitors” to become licensed as public adjusters. Well, it backfired, because now you have people with PA licenses whose experience “working for insurance companies” consisted of sucking water out of carpets from toilet overflows. (And in fairness to the PA profession, there are excellant PAs who have never worked as insurance company employees, but they are few.)
Now if you want to know how to hire a competent public adjuster (or any professional for that matter), go to the “Considerations” page at UClaim.com and click on the line entitled “About Public Adjusters”. Scroll half way down to the yellow highlighted part and read those two paragraphs.
And if you and your lawyer want to know specifically if your PA followed reasonable PA procedures, get the PA’s “Bible” entitled “HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE CLAIM ADVICE AND HELP – ALL ASPECTS (deluxe)” at UClaim.com, top of the Product page. It was written in layman’s terms, for the common man. It will teach you how to pick up the pieces and do a better job than the guy you hired.
Good luck to you.
If the PA you hired was at your house as it burned of after hours, you may have a legal way out of the contract. Also, go to section 15006 of the California insurance code for a list of illegal PA practices. Go to Findlaw.com to access the codes for free.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:12 pm #david
Hey Chris, the best website to find a good PA is http://www.napia.com. It is the self governing organization for PA’s. They mandate continuing education and heavily scrutinize new and existing members to ensure they conduct themselves in a professional manner. Just my two cents. Good luck.
May 18th, 2009 at 1:38 am #admin
David,
Great advice and thanks for your “two cents”, which is most welcome here!
I might add for the visitors here that if one is looking at the Napia website for a PA, give preference to the ones with the designation “SPPA”, which means that PA has passed a number of college level type classes and exams in claim adjusting. While this is no “guarantee” that they will do a good job, it raises the odds that they will. And don’t necessarily rule out non SPPA members, or non Napia PAs. You have to take a good look anyone you are considering contracting with.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:08 pm #Tammy
What is the differenece between a HO3 policy and a DP3 Policy? Can I buy a DP3 policy if I live in the house?
October 27th, 2009 at 4:44 pm #admin
Tammy,
Both are RCV and all risk with named exclusions on structure, and ACV and “named perils” with named exclusions on contents. DP3 is usually purchased by landlords and HO3 by homeowners. HO3 includes liability coverage, DP3 does not have to have liability? HO3 has more bells and whistles, fufu stuff.
How about some of you visitors elaborate more for Tammy …
January 12th, 2010 at 3:20 am #admin
Attention Visitors who regularly monitor this website via RSS feeds or other methods. Due to the burden of increasing visitors with questions, your help is needed. Questions will be posted, but Admin responses may now either be delayed, or even not given at all. Your involvement in the Discussion Forum page of this website is also crucial to its success or failure. Thank you.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:27 pm #Susan B
My Mercedes SLK was flooded on 12/17/09. It’s three years old and is still under manu warranty. I had it towed to the dealer. State Farm has been quite uncoopeartive and today decided to basically clean up the car and see what happens. It’s been sitting at the dealer for one month, wet. The value of the car is 25K and Mercedes estimates it has roughll 22K in damages. What are my rights in Florida? The warranty is going to be voided and the resale value will be minimal if CarFacts shows it as a flood car. Can I go against State Farm for the excessive depreciation since they wouldn’t fix it to certified pre owned status? Help….
April 2nd, 2010 at 7:16 am #anthony kushner
last year I was in an axcident and my ins. fixed the car and when I got it back I noticed that it was leaking coolent and it was overheating ..I brought it back right away and they fixed the prob. almost a year down the road my cars engine finally broke..and the damage was a cracked block.. this is from it overheating and how do I get the claim to take care of the cost.??
April 4th, 2010 at 10:07 pm #admin
Anthony,
1. You have to prove that it cracked due to some negligence in the repairs by the original shop.
2. If the shop was one you chose (instead of one chosen by your insurer) then you can’t get your insurer to pay for that shops screw up.
July 1st, 2010 at 3:17 pm #Lillith
My relative in Pennsylvania moved to another state, their house burnt down (was for sale) The insurance company is not paying saying they suspect arson and their family is under state police investigation. They had already moved to another state and no one was home at the time of the fire. Is this a tactic that the insurance company uses not to pay. They are presumed guilty and being withheld from their payment. Financially this has become a burden for them as they are still responsible for the mortage. Who can help this family?? The insurance agent will not return their calls.
July 1st, 2010 at 6:06 pm #admin
Lillith,
Suggest you start with the eBook on denied claims at UClaim.com. And consider an attorney and or public adjuster on contingency fee.
July 10th, 2010 at 4:04 pm #Crystal
I had a house fire 2 months ago my items have not been cleaned and or restored! Can anyone tell me is restoring those items from smoke and soot damage the way to go? Also I was told by another source that after restoring electronics, this shorten there life span is that true?
July 12th, 2010 at 11:15 am #admin
Crystal,
1. Withdraw your authorization to clean the smoked up items and let the adjuster give the authorization, so if the stuff does not clean up, then it won’t come off your policy limits.
2. Regarding the electronics, get it in writing from from an electronics repair shop and submit to to your insurer.
3. And get the eBook at UClaim.com on “Contents Packed Out Advice” for in depth details.
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:00 pm #Lesley
My house was broken into a couple of days ago and the thieves took, among other things, a lock box I used to store all my family’s personal paperwork such as passports, social security cards, adoption paperwork, green card, naturalization certificate, birth certificate, etc. I have applied for a new birth cert for my daughter (born in NJ) which cost me $35, but then discovered that to re-create the dossier for myself (born in the UK) and my adopted son (born in Russia) will cost over $1000 plus the cost to get my passports reissued.
Can I claim these fees against my home owners policy or will they only cover the cost of items stolen?
August 17th, 2010 at 6:48 pm #admin
Leslie,
Look in your policy under Coverage C, Special Limits. Most policies will cover cost of reproduction up to a certain amount. The ISO HO3 10-00 Special Form gives up to $1,500.00. And also any cost over that can be used to “pay down” the deductible. On the other hand, it may not be a good idea to use your insurance on such a small claim.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:04 am #sharon
I had replacement cost on my roof when I bought my house in Jan 2001, I had a claim in 2003 and they paid full replacement cost, then hail damage to roof in 2009, which they depreciated by quite a lot, State Farm agents office said I only had actual cost value, I called and was told it changed in 2003 after my claim, I said I didn’t change it, only thing I changed was the deductible from 500 to 1000 (because my policy jumped almost 350 dollard within 2 years), Leslie said the change in deductible would take it down (which I never saw), anyway, now they won’t even give me the $327.00 supplemental offered if I had roof replaced (which I did), Leslie said the $327.00 was for the gutter only, why would they offer $327.00 supplemental on the one item they gave me so little for, I think they gave me 700.00 of gutter. I feel like I’ve been advantage of and lied to, I have had State Farm for about 20 years all total (both auto & home), but if this is the way they treat their customers, I will look else where.
Can you tell me who to contact to file complaint in Oklahoma?
Thank-you
September 21st, 2010 at 4:43 pm #KT
Rather than read every posting, I’m just going to submit my troubles. I have renter’s insurance through State Farm. My apt (along with a few others) burned down completely in Dec. I have 3 more months to finish my lists, which yes, I have been procrastinating on. I have so many questions and it’s almost impossible to get ahold of my claims rep.
For starters, I have bought back quite a bit of clothing but I was told I have to “group” things. I don’t buy 20 of the same shirt, so…what am I supposed to do there?? Second, what happens if something I have claimed has gone down in price? Do I have to pay them back or can I buy a newer model??
I’m sure I’ve got more to ask, but this is a start. Thank you!
September 21st, 2010 at 10:18 pm #admin
KT,
You might want to post on the Home Insurance Claims Questions page. Also if you have a lot of questions, take a look at the Table of Contents of the Homeowners Loss eBook at UClaim.com.
October 9th, 2010 at 12:16 pm #Dan Stone
Dear Admin:
Please remove the below posting I posted over a week ago. Also, please remove my email address from displaying with that post. I am getting emails from unknown sources soliciting my acceptance of advertisement offers. hank you very much.
Dan Stone
Post: Home insurance claim for roof damage filed 13 months after hail storm.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:17 am #admin
Dan,
Ok, its done. Sorry for the delay. There was a problem with the editing software for the Discussion Forum.
FYI, here is a copy paste of the question you posted. You are welcome to re-register and re-post it on the Discussion Forum:
“My daughter, who lives in Colorado, recently filed a claim for roof damage by a hail storm that occurred approximately 13 months ago. The insurance company sent an adjuster out and estimated the overall damage at $7,000 (i.e. roof replacement with no depreciation). However, they only sent her a check for about $3,500 since she filed her claim more than 12 months after the damage occurred and they will NOT reimburse her the remaining $3,500 regardless of the repair action she undertakes. In other words, had she filed her claim within 12 months, she would have received the full $7,000 (less her $500 deductible of course). What is the statue of limitations for home insurance claims in Colorado? What options does she have to recover the full $7,000? “
November 6th, 2010 at 9:26 am #sean jenkins
Hi my girlfriend has been in the hospital 3 times within the past 8 months. Her father has had some trouble with his job lately so luckily all three of these incidents were with three different insurance companies. The first two were claimed but the last was not. The last hospital episode was very expensive and we want to know if there is any way to get help for it in order to lower the cost. I really appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
December 9th, 2010 at 3:13 pm #Jane
I am a Californian making payments on my car and currently have full coverage car insurance.
About a week ago, I was driving my car on the freeway. It had been raining earlier that morning. A car beside me switched lanes in front of me suddenly. (She did not hit my car and kept going unaware that she’d almost hit me.) but she caused me to loose control, my car hydroplaned spun out and hit the center divder on the freeway. No other cars hit me.
My car has damage to the tire, rim and the right rear of my car from the back door to the bumper has scrathes and damage.
I did not file a claim at first because the cost of my insurance is already $108 (because of a ticket) and I did not want it tod go up.
But after paying to replace the tire, the rim and some other issues with the axile for $606….and the tow service which was $125; I’d like to know if any one has an idea of which would be more beneficial.
Should I pay the $1000 deductible and have my car fixed through the insurance company, even though my monthly payments will increase?
Or should I just continue the repairs out of pocket?
December 15th, 2010 at 9:22 pm #Angel
Was insured with liability coverage thru Omni Insurance company at the time of an accident. I went to my boyfriends house and hit the back of a girls car parked in the lot. I paid her deductible for her insurance company to cover expenses and gave her my insurance information. My insurance comany denied the claim and now her insurance company hired CRs collections and they have been calling me threatening if I dont pay the entire 5300 in damages that my lisense will be taken away or worse. Can i send the letter of validation of debt to buy some time with what I owe and than report my insurance company to the state insurance commisioner to possibly appeal the denial?
Thanks for your help, its ten days until Christmas and I do not have the funds and need to know my rights
January 12th, 2011 at 9:10 am #Linda
Can anyone help? A tree fell on y house 6 years ago. I still have not got payment from my insurance company. Have a lawyer ,though that didn’t help. Insurance dropped us after we paid premiums for 1 year after tree fell. Had this insurance company for 36 years. Insurance says they will only pay for storage of household property for 1 month. Been 6 years now in July 2011. House had more damages than house was worth, I had replacement cost. Husband died in 2009 Feb, 10 and house burned 2009 feb 6. Knew that house would probably burn eventially. Oh yeah, we had to live in this house because they didn’t offer living expenses. What can I do if anything? Really need that storage fee amount. Oh yeah, my lawyer tells me after six years, he is running for judge and can not finish this case.Help I don’t know what to do Linda
January 13th, 2011 at 8:20 am #Kyle
Linda,
What State do you live in? Most states will have a statute of limitations for an insured to pursue additional payments or file a lawsuit against an insurance company.
I would recommend finding a local Public Adjuster to review your case to see if you have any leg to stand on at this point. Each state is different and every claim needs to be adjusted on its own merit.
Kyle
January 13th, 2011 at 8:40 pm #Ners
Hi, I just need some help to give me good idea’s what should I do in my situation. I lived in my house for 11 years now with the same insurance for all this time without any claim.
I went vacation last December with my family for 6 weeks, when we come back I found out my house with a big flood and someone get in to stole some of my stuff. I reported these things to the police and contacted my Insurance.
It was a big damage, we found out that the water came from the second floor because the pipe made of plastic was broke under the sink. Started from the 2nd floor until the 1st floor was destroyed the stairs, some ceiling destroyed as well. The most damage was our finished basement. All ceiling was fell down, door destroyed,rooms and bathroom. waters everywhere its completey destroyed the whole basement.
Adjuster came to visit and investigate. He asked some paper works and bring with him the pipe we took from the sink. For few days he come to the house. He said he has a company do this repair etc. and he suggest that we had to moved for few months and insurance will pay for all the cost. After we told him we will stay and had a company contacted he change. 2 days after he called us, he said the company don’t cover nothing, its our fault coz we dont turned on the heater when we left, and policy dont covered.
What we supposed to do now….pl. help us…
thank you..
January 14th, 2011 at 7:50 am #Kyle
Ners,
I hate to hear stories such as yours. When significant damage is sustained to an insured property and the insurance company denies the claim. Unfortunately, these stories are extremely common.
From what you wrote, I am assuming the insurance company denied your loss as you failed to maintain heat in the dwelling and the upstairs pipe froze. Your policy covers resulting damage from frozen pipes however only if you can prove you maintained heat in the dwelling to prevent freezing of the water lines. You can prove the heat was maintained by providing gas utility statements indicating the usage per month. If they denied your claim without reviewing this information, it is a premature denial and unfair to say the least.
As I suggested before to Linda, finding a local public adjuster will help you re-open your file, properly document all of the aspects and reach the settlement you are entitled to.
Also, when the adjuster suggests he has a contractor that will do the work – BEWARE!! First and foremost, an adjuster or insurance company can not have any financial interest in the repairs or reconstruction to the home as this represents a conflict of interest. Many times insurance companies have “preferred contractors or vendors” and will hire them to provide a cost of repair from a contractors standpoint, and mean while this ‘preferred contractor’ will attempt to enter into a contract with you, the homeowner to complete the repairs. This contract has direct payment authorizations where the contractor sent by the insurance company will be included on YOUR settlement check, leaving you with little to no control as to how the money is disbursed to repair YOUR home. So needless to say, stay away from any contractors sent by the insurance company.
Hope this helps!
Kyle
January 21st, 2011 at 12:06 pm #Jack
There is a work book “Homeowners Insurance before and after the Loss” which is great, but I don’t know where you can get it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:26 am #Jeff
Hi ,
My car was hit and totaled 6 weeks ago in my yard along with property damage. The woman did not report it to her insurance agent so I did. She still did not call until two weeks later. Now the company says its investigating the loss. She was charged by state police. Here I am six weeks later with a totaled car in my yard a 1000.00 rental car bill and no payment . Any suggestions.
Thank you
Jeff
March 1st, 2011 at 7:06 am #Earl
I have a problem with central air and heating unit in my 1930 frame house causing the floors to be the condensation point and causing the floors to rot.Please advise
March 15th, 2011 at 10:21 pm #DeAngelo
Can I now put in a claim for Vandalism. since they won’t cover the theft?
I was told by American ACCESS that my claim was denied due to no evidence of forcible entry. That no claim will be covered loss is due to theft if evidence exists that no forcible entry was used to gain access to the vehicle, or that the keys were left in the vehicle while unattended or no evidence that ignition wires were altered to operate the automobile without keys. From the time i reported my car stolen it has been in the possession of the thief, then the police, then the pound, and now American access. They state that no forcible entry was used to gain access to the vehicle.
ALL OF MY WINDOWS ARE BUSTED OUT!! Including front windshield, and rear windshield How much evidence of forcible entry to gain access do they need present?
American Access states that the ignition has to be tampered with.
(My ignition is no longer housed where it should be it is pushed in to the dash).
American Access states that wires were not tampered with. THE RF RING that IS PART OF THE IGNITION THAT READS THE KEY TRANSPONDER WAS REMOVED FROM ITS PLACE ON THE IGNITION and is missing So I say that’s being tampered with!!
I am so frustrated we as consumers are forced to pay for insurance by law but it’s funny how when we come to collect on what we pay for the insurer won’t pay. So why are we forced to. Then we get all of these legal wording that a normal person won’t understand and god help you if English is your second language.
Oh and also They claim they hired a third party company to investigate and inspect the ignition
By reading my policy it states that forcible entry has to be present if a thief to gain access to my car.
My busted windows are proof of that.
I also understand that the ignition and wiring has to be tampered with.
My ignition and RF ring where moved from its mounting housing and maybe broken.
My radio is missing; there is damage to both left side doors and fender and mirrors they did not mysteriously get there on its own.
But that’s not enough for them.
Someone could have copied the key , got a key fob made or towed my car in my policy it does not say if these things happened coverage will be denied
And the department of insurance is a joke no help from them either
March 16th, 2011 at 12:21 pm #Gary
I had a house fire in October 2010. The house burned to the ground and I fought Farmers Insurance (Midcentury) for 5 months, they never paid me or even offered me a dime. The stress became so bad it was affecting my health, personal life, my work, everything for 5 months. I finally just withdrew the claim of $48000 in contents to just clear my head. My thought was I can replace what was lost, but not my health. Once I withdrew the claim, I immediately starting feeling better.
My question pertains to the structure. I have continued to pay the house payment promptly through all this, but now after 5 months, it is time for Farmers Insurance to come through, and they still have not. Per my policy, they are supposed to replace the property or pay it off. Can you elaborate on this, and tell me what my next move is. Thank you.
April 7th, 2011 at 5:41 pm #Polly Ann
If I have homeowners insurance and there is a fire will my girlfriend of 4 years that lives with me personal property be covered? WI. form HO3
May 17th, 2011 at 10:43 pm #Bill Woods
Question?? We had a big hail storm hit Phoenix on Oct. 5 2010. I’m a general contractor representing a number of commercial property owners that I do a varity of construction for. I was asked by the property owners to file insurance claims for the roof top hail damage (HVAC units & roofs) on their properties. I’ve completed several negotiations with one particular insurance co. and settled the claims with them matching our numbers for the damage. Our prices for the replacement costs have been more than fair with a couple of different adjusters being very pleased with the pricing. I have one adjuster that is giving me grief. He settled on one property using our proposals and matched our numbers. Then on the next 2 properties he called in 2 other HVAC contractors who underbid us and is now only agreeing to pay what the lowest bid came in at. The insurance co. is the same for all our property owners and have already settled using our quotes on several other properties in the same area. Is there an insurance board or someone to talk to concerning what I feel to be an unfair practice by this one adjuster? The insurance co. has already been paying a set price for new units on all the other buildings. Now we have another contractor underbiding us by $17,000 on the replacement of 19 units. We can’t compete with that pricing and by the way the other contractor is not specing the same brand units we are. Ours have the best warranty in the industry which is a huge plus for the property owners in future maintenance costs. I need help on this one especialy with temps expected to be over a 100 in Phoenix next week and they are still dragging this claim out that was filed back in Feb. of this year.
June 2nd, 2011 at 4:25 pm #Dee Long
Our barn was totally destroyed in a wind storm and the house sustained roof and guttering damage. Adjuster said only half of roof need replaced. We have a qualified roofing contractor coming to give us his opinion. Also the barn was insured for $15,000. It is a total loss. Adjuster is telling us they will cover that but we will only get $750 for cleanup of debris. How is this possible? We have liability insurance and pay $1500 a year for this policy. The barn is huge with wood and steel needing to be hauled off. Can anyone advise? The property is in the State of Missouri.
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:42 pm #admin
Hello Dee,
I’m answering your question myself since your “property is in Missouri” and I want to get a special message to Missourians (and any disaster victims anywhere for that matter). The specific answer to your question will come at the end of this response.
To all DISASTER VICTIMS, while Dee’s situation may not ultimately involve any mishandling of her claim by her insurer, I guarantee you that there will be plenty of unfair claim practices and valuable claims information withheld from all of you. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL TALK RADIO STATIONS and ask them to get good insurance claim experts as guests for question and answer shows. I recently suggested to Larry Boyd, the Market Manager at KZRG Talk Radio in Joplin, Missouri (Office:417-624-1025 Cell:417-825-5260) that he get Ron Cercone of UClaim.com on as a guest, for free. His written response was “we have more guest than we can support with PSA and paid advertisers”. Now I may be wrong, but I would question whether any of the guests Mr. Boyd referred to are insurance claim experts, and if so, of the caliber of Ron Cercone or of the contributors here at InsuranceClaimHelp.org. I also wonder if Mr. Boyd has any idea that the biggest obstacle to rebuilding their community is going to be their “good old good neighbor” insurance company. In my opinion, I think many of the talk radio listeners in disaster areas would give up one hour of Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity for a guest with a little more relevance at the current time.
Specific Answer to your question: Your situation may be a long shot, but here is one way to approach it. Technically, your policy probably has a 5% “debris removal” clause. Check to see if it’s 5% of total structure limits (which includes the house), or 5% of the separate structure coverage of $15,000, the barn. Also, look at the definition, if there is one, of “debris removal” in the “Definitions” section of your policy. And THINK CREATIVELY (as I’m doing right now). Make sure they are not including “demolition” in with the debris removal. And if you have to, argue that the removal should only apply to the trucking charge to the dump. Argue that loading up the truck at the loss site is to access the repairs. Argue that dump “fees” are not debris removal. And the cost to locally move the debris away from the area to be repaired or rebuilt should be considered “removal to access repairs” and included in underlying structure coverage, not separate debris removal coverage. Since this is a barn and probably in the countryside, push the debris to another part of the property away from the construction site. And if you really want to be pushy, claim the cost to put the debris in a big pit and cover it so the lot looks as it was before the loss. Now this may not be possible due to local building and planning ordinances, it does not mean the insurer does not still owe you what it would it would cost to put you back where you were before the loss. And look closely at your endorsements for “extensions of coverage” and other tidbits. By now you may have some mold in all that wet debris. So use the policy mold limits, usually 5 to 15K, to help with the debris removal? You probably have an “all risk” with named exclusions policy. This means if the insurer cannot specifically disprove every new argument you come up with, then they cannot deny your claim.
June 3rd, 2011 at 1:16 pm #Dee Long
Thank you for the information. The problem I am having right now is that the insurance agent will not return my calls. I have tried for a month to reach him regarding questions about my policy. The barn was destroyed in a storm about two weeks into my request for him to call. It has been another two weeks. He called me once, said he would check into it, and now will not return my calls. I am trying to get a complete copy of my policy but the national office in Springfield, Missouri, tells me they cannot provide this to me – that only my agent can – who will not return my calls.
June 3rd, 2011 at 2:02 pm #admin
Dee,
Your story is so typical. People can’t even get a copy of their policy after a loss from their own insurer. This is what the mainstream media doesn’t understand (or care about). I tried to get the San Diego Tribune to print where people could get free policy copies after the big firestorms there, but they were not interested. They sure didn’t mind showing big full page color pictures of sad people standing in front of their burned out homes. Amazing!
Go to UClaim.com to get a free copy of your policy for Disaster Victims.
June 7th, 2011 at 4:28 pm #jax37
just recently had my apartment burgurlized. filed a police report. I have been paying rental insurance for about two years and I filed a claim however becuase the suspect went through my bathroom window (the only way is to have a ladder), pull down the screen and tossed over to the neighbors yard (polic report states this), my claim was denised because there was no evidence of the force entry.It must be visible ( breaking of a window or window lock. the bathroom window had no lock on it. what do I do next
June 9th, 2011 at 1:36 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 29th, 2011 at 4:33 pm #macksboy
Can my insurance carrier ask me questions about my personal life and finances that have nothing to do with my claim? Can they require my personal financial records(bank statements, Cell, bills, tax returns) to show my current financial position to deny a break in and theft into my vehile. They seem more interest in my backgroud and have aske me to take a statement under oath after i have given a recorded statement to the agent. I have been a insurer with them for 15 years. What should i do?
June 30th, 2011 at 12:56 pm #admin
Macksboy,
You are in real dangerous territory with an EUO (Examination Under Oath). They can only ask for what is reasonable and relevant and it must be done in a “non adversarial” manner. In reality, most insurers attorneys will side step the law. You should have an attorney with you in an EUO. And since 99% of attorneys don’t know the difference between EUO and deposition, they (and you) should get an eBook on EUO advice at UClaim.com in the miscellaneous products section.
July 5th, 2011 at 5:42 am #Daniel Thomas
I rented an apartment and was asleep when a neighbor came over and said smoke was coming from the kitchen, my family and I were able to get out safe. the kitchen stove had some sort of malfuntion and caught fire and destroyed some of the kitchen about a 1/3. the apartment owner had insurance with statefarm. statefarm came later and paid the owner 20000 and the apartment was worth 30000. statefarm did a so call own investigation and has determine it will pursue me for the damages and have sent me a payment coupon booklet, how can this be. I don’t own the home or the stove that malfunction, what and who can I call for assistance with this matter? Dumbfounded in georgia! unbelievable
July 12th, 2011 at 10:22 am #phillr3
I have been working with my Insurance Company: Standard Insurance/US Lloyds in Hurst TX due to recent hail storm. I have had two roof Inspectors state that my roof needs replacement due to hail damage.
Standard has inspected my roof 3 times now, the last included AN “engineer” from the company. They esimate my damages at less than my 1500 deuctible. Although they did increase it by a few hundred after the second inspection with my roofer present to mark the damage. Note the total payment is still less than my deductible.
My roofer was at another home with same adjuster from Insurance company and told him that if he was going to lowball this inspection like he did mine, not to bother even going on the roof. Adjuster claims that they are a small company and simply can’t afford to repair/replace everyones roof.
Same adjuster did lowball that job also. Meanwhile several homes in my immediate neighborhood are having roofs replaced. Some even have the stronger architect roofs being replaced.
I’ve complained to the Texas State Insurance Office with no response as yet.
What should I do next?
July 12th, 2011 at 10:41 am #american vanguard
@ phillr3
Please email me privately at kyle@avitexas.com.
We are a licensed public adjusting firm with a principle office in Houston and we assist homeowners just like yourself to achieve the settlement you are entitled to. There are many individuals currently facing the same battle after the hailstorm in dallas last month.
I will be visiting DFW next wednesday and thursday and would be available to visit your property to provide suggestions and advice on how to proceed.
Regards,
Kyle H.
July 12th, 2011 at 10:59 am #Fran Leitner
Tornado roof damage. Roofer submitted bid to ins.adj. I accept proposal of ins.settlement. Now roofer wants 3,000+ more for job. Is this legal.
July 27th, 2011 at 1:27 am #leo gutowski
please help me i got hurt at my job on a trucking company and they are leaving me in pain everyday of my life for the past three years.they keep refuseing me to see doctors.please can you call me at 1-773-708=3808 or 1-773-708-3805 i pray to god to here from you. thank you very much for your time.
August 3rd, 2011 at 10:05 am #Ananth
I have joined my father for emergnecy care at locat health care center and my insurer has denied the my claim saying it is a pre-existing condition. Here the fact is I took the insurence on 17th April onwards since my parents came to this country as visitors on that day. He got chronic constipation problem on 19th april . But the physician said in his report he dont have bowl movement 4 days before the day he admitted. By showing this as a reason teh Insurance company has denied my claim. Can you please suggest me what should I do in this case.
Thanks
ananth
August 3rd, 2011 at 11:42 am #Scott
I have a house boat that was in the middle of a severe wind storm. The boat was going through and over 4 to 5 ft waves. The front of the boat would go down, and the back of the boat would come out of the water, this caused the motor to over rev and eventually threw a rod through the block. The insurance company is dragging there feet paying out on this claim. Ordered a total tear down of the motor. This has been going on for over a month now with no results. What are my options on this.
August 11th, 2011 at 8:21 am #ANN
I had a claim recently on my home. Due to the recent passing of my grandfather (owner of the home) the check was made out to “estate of ______” ( my grandfather’s name). The bank said the would deposit it into my account with signature from the executor of the estate and that it what I did. They verified executor’s identity and witnessed the signature and put a 4-day hold on the check but the teller said that the insurance company may dispute the signature. Is that possible?
August 29th, 2011 at 11:30 am #Donna Tomaini
I still have a mortgage, is it required by law in the state of P.A. to have a licensed general contractor fix my roof for an insurance claim or can we do it ourselves?
August 31st, 2011 at 8:35 am #John Carver
I am Licensed & bonded in the state of PA. In Public Adjustment (soon to be Nj. & Md.).
We help homeowners MAXIMISE their claims settlements.
You would be surprised by all the cool things covered by your insurance company.
For a free consultation or any questions call or Email.
John Carver
267-266-2301
jcarver@mertopa.com
August 31st, 2011 at 9:58 am #John Carver
I also have another number.
267-217-3624
24/7
Emergency Services!
September 4th, 2011 at 9:53 pm #megatron
I just finally unravelled the words around my State Farm renters insurance and
realized they depreciate the value of all my posessions. So a cellphone,
computer, etc would be practically worthless if I had a claim. Their words
make it sound like they replace with a new item, but if you keep asking
questions, you realize that they don’t. I am changing this week. Thank you
for your help in listening to the experiences of others.
September 4th, 2011 at 11:34 pm #John Carver
If you have damage to your property with this storm, let me know! A public adjuster is your legal representation to make sure your Insurance Company settles for the MAXIMUM amount. Licensed and bonded in Pa. I can help you every step of the way, taking the anxiety out of the whole claims process!
Call me for a free consultation!
John Carver
267-266-2301
September 14th, 2011 at 10:44 am #Gunvant Patel
If bloen tire from other car hit your car and your car get damaged, what is the insurance company policy?
September 28th, 2011 at 10:07 am #William
I have a warranty policy with a insurance provider for my Buick Century Custom which was supposed to provide coverage for repairs subject to a deductible of $100; the policy also covers the cost of rental car for up to 5 days for any repair covered under the warranty. There has been a need to replace the motor and the car was sent to authorised workshop. The provider took 5 days to agree to send the inspector, and the provider’s inspector took more than 2 days to visit the workshop to examine the car before sending in his report. Then the provider took another 4-5 days before agreeing to cover the repair, and the shipment of the replacement motor took more than 11 days. The whole duration lasted almost 1 month (about 28 days), but now the provider says it will only provide rental car cost for up to 15 days (including the 5 days under my policy). I feel the delay is wholly due to the provider’s delay in getting to the repair, and so I should get my rental car costs covered for the entire 28 days. What recourse do I have? Appreciate your quick comments as I will be billed soon. Thanks!
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:20 pm #Peg
Hi, I need some help here. Last January, I noticed that my carport which was attached to the house was coming down. Not being certain as to what is and what is not covered, I called a Public Adjuster who a friend recommended and asked them to come out and look and see if this was something I could claim or not claim. When I got home there was a contract in my door stating that they felt I had a legitimate claim. So I signed the contract and emailed it back to them. It wasnt until about 2 weeks later I found out they submitted a hail claim from my insurance company. I called them and asked what about the carport which is what I called them for. They submitted another claim for that as well indicating it was covered under snow and ice. When the insurance company came out and looked at it with the owner of the Public Adjuster’s firm the Public Adjuster pulled the claim.
I then get a letter from my insurance company saying I have to repair the carport within 45 days to keep my insurance. That cost me 4000.00.
To date my insurance company thinks that the damage to my siding and roof isnt greater than my deductible and I can hardly get the public adjuster to talk to me.
I did file a complaint with the State of PA’s Insurance Commission and waiting on their findings. I was also to ascertain from my insurance company that there was correspondence between the Public Adjuster and the Insurance Company that the Adjuster failed to send to the commission. I have forwarded it to the individual at the commission who is handling the complaint.
At this point I am out over 4000.00 and this Public Adjuster is obnoxious and accusing me that they told me 2 years ago that the carport wasnt covered as I had them come out 2 yrs prior to look at my garage and they told me that the garage was not covered and I never filed a claim.
The firm sent out a new adjuster who basically doesnt totally know what he is doing, and the owner of the firm is trying to push it back on me.
Do I have any legal rights to sue the public adjuster for failure to do their job? If so any help on how to go about it would be appreciated.
October 5th, 2011 at 4:27 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 6:35 am #Rick
Hello,
My vehicle was struck by a taxi cab and I am trying to work my way through the claims process. 1) For the first time ever during a claim, the taxi’s insurance company just cut me a check based on an estimate and said that the garage can contact them and they will respond out to do an adjustment if the costs will be more. This does not sound normal. Also, it puts me in a position where, depending on whether or not this should happen, I am out of a car for an indefinate amount of time. 2) Recognizing that I am going to need to get a rental car, I spoke to the adjuster who advised that they will reimburse me $29.99 a day for a rental car. I pulled up a few quotes and the cheapest rental per day is over $40, plus a surcharge because I am only 24. How do I make this adjuster get on the same page so that I am not coming out of pocket for their client’s negligence. This occured in Wash, DC and the taxi driver was cited for “Failure to maintain speed as to avoid colliding” – Basically, I was stopped at an intersection and he just came up from nowhere and smashed into my back bumper.
Thank You!
Rick
October 6th, 2011 at 7:13 am #Jason
Rick,
You should be able to get a weekly rate for less than $40. Also, call the adjuster and tell him your situation about additional transportation. Also, this body shop may have a loaner or a rental that they may be able to bill to the insurance company as an additional fee for you.
October 11th, 2011 at 4:00 pm #LILIAN
I sumitted a claim back in April 2011. it was a nightmare to deal with the adjuster. right now the claim is closed but is not settled they are waiting for me to submit information but I haven’t because I’m not sure how and what to put down in those forms. Is there a place in Phx. AZ where they can assist me with type of problem?
October 12th, 2011 at 8:34 am #Jason
Lilian,
You are probably referring to the proof of loss. It’s a lot more simple than it seems. The forms are complicated but you just have to indicate on the form what caused your loss (for example, water)
Then indicate how much you are claiming and sign the form and submit it to your insurance company. If you have specific questions about the forms, just ask.
October 12th, 2011 at 8:43 am #Peg
I wanted to resubmit this in case it was lost when the site was attacked. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi, I need some help here. Last January, I noticed that my carport which was attached to the house was coming down. Not being certain as to what is and what is not covered, I called a Public Adjuster who a friend recommended and asked them to come out and look and see if this was something I could claim or not claim. When I got home there was a contract in my door stating that they felt I had a legitimate claim. So I signed the contract and emailed it back to them. It wasnt until about 2 weeks later I found out they submitted a hail claim from my insurance company. I called them and asked what about the carport which is what I called them for. They submitted another claim for that as well indicating it was covered under snow and ice. When the insurance company came out and looked at it with the owner of the Public Adjuster’s firm the Public Adjuster pulled the claim.
I then get a letter from my insurance company saying I have to repair the carport within 45 days to keep my insurance. That cost me 4000.00.
To date my insurance company thinks that the damage to my siding and roof isnt greater than my deductible and I can hardly get the public adjuster to talk to me.
I did file a complaint with the State of PA’s Insurance Commission and waiting on their findings. I was also to ascertain from my insurance company that there was correspondence between the Public Adjuster and the Insurance Company that the Adjuster failed to send to the commission. I have forwarded it to the individual at the commission who is handling the complaint.
At this point I am out over 4000.00 and this Public Adjuster is obnoxious and accusing me that they told me 2 years ago that the carport wasnt covered as I had them come out 2 yrs prior to look at my garage and they told me that the garage was not covered and I never filed a claim.
The firm sent out a new adjuster who basically doesnt totally know what he is doing, and the owner of the firm is trying to push it back on me.
Do I have any legal rights to sue the public adjuster for failure to do their job? If so any help on how to go about it would be appreciated.
October 20th, 2011 at 6:27 am #John Carver
LILIAN,
This is a great example why a Public adjuster is very important. What a P A does is assist them in the processing of their claims and recovering their property losses to the fullest amount possible, but it also means giving them the tools with which to better protect themselves against the profit-driven interests of the Insurance Companies. Towards this end, it is the goal to help educate the Property Owner and help them in understanding:
How an insurance claim is processed and what some of the determining factors are when determining a settlement amount
What a Public Adjuster is and how one can help protect you and your family
Common questions and misconceptions about property insurance and the insurance industry in general
How to read your insurance policy and how to interpret some of the more complex conditions and limitations
I am in the industry, I am Licensed in Pennsylvania. IF you live in a different state, I would look one up.
Good luck!
John
267-266-2301
October 20th, 2011 at 5:44 pm #Jason
Peg,
I did respond to your post last time before the site went down. You can sue anybody you want. However, there is no guarantee you will win your suit. Suing someone is complicated and you likely will need an attorney to assist. They have to be paid and they will have to be paid by you.
You may be better off using that money you would use to pay your attorney and instead use it to fix your carport.
October 22nd, 2011 at 4:25 am #Peg
Hi Jason
Thank you for getting back to me. I didnt see the post on here. I apologize. I already did fix the carport. That is what cost me the 4000.00. That was completed back in March.
Just the other day I found out that the hail claim that the public adjuster advised me that I needed a new roof and siding which they estimated to be 15,000 in damages my insurance company said that the damages were less than my deductible and the public adjuster has closed there files. Now mind you it took me 15 emails to get a response from them and that is even after the insurance commission has been involved. They have accused me in emails of forcing their new employee to file claims that were not legitimate.
All I did was ask them to come and look and see if the carport was a covered claim or not because I did not know if it would be or not. Had they said no then that would have been the end of our relationship but as a result of their errors I am the one who suffered as a result.
Don’t I have any recourse for their failures?
October 22nd, 2011 at 8:53 am #Jason
Peg,
Are you serious? If you don’t have damage and your claims are denied (or closed because damage is below your deductible) what do you want done? If you think you need new siding and a new roof, put those on your house.
I fail to see how you suffered and I simply don’t see any errors by anybody.
November 27th, 2011 at 8:03 am #mike
glad to find this site…
my rental house burned to the ground for a total loss. was determined accidental by investigators. the adjustor did his thing, and i was reasonably satisfied with his estimate to replace the house, though i have not sent the claim check to my mortgage company, yet.
the amount that he allowed for demolition to clean up the lot is my main concern at this time. i was allowed a little over $12,000 for the job,which was included in the settlement check, but i have had two estimates for around $29,000 for the service. therefore, must i pay the overage out of the settlement check, which would reduce the amount that i would be receiving to replace the structure? i realize that his estimate for the demolition probably comes from a set pecentage of the loss, but i can’t find anyone to work that cheaply.
my main question is… why have i been paying policy premiums for coverage that was around $70,000 more than the replacement costs that he figured?
i am not trying to make money off of the fire, but is there some recourse to offset the costs of the demolition?
thanks
November 27th, 2011 at 1:26 pm #Jason
Mike,
Do you have a replacement coverage policy? If you cannot get someone to do the demolition for $12,000, you need to bring this to the attention of your adjuster. That should be adjusted so you have enough funds for the entire project at each step of your rebuild.
Send the check to your mortgage company do you can work with them on how you’re going to get those funds. Your insurance company can send you additional checks, if needed.
If you want specific details about your claim instead of general information, e-mail us at complete.insurancehelp@gmail.com Any responses will be posted on here without any of your personal information in the post.
December 3rd, 2011 at 12:22 am #Christina
Hi there,
I am hoping that someone will be able to shed some light on a matter related to property owners insurance that has been ongoing for 11 months now. My parents live in a rural area and reside within a property that encompasses approximately 12 acres of land. They have lived here since 1988. As of January 2, 2011, the roof of the barn collapsed due to snow. My mother called the insurance broker to report the incident and was advised that our insurance policy does not cover damage to a barn. She had alleged that my mother had ‘turned’ down coverage on the barn back in June 2010 (when the policy was up for renewal and had been changed from property homeowners to farm liability insurance, with a 50% increase in her premiums). My mother only answered questions pertaining to the use of the barn (ie. if income is generated from use of the barn, etc) and proceeded to renew the policy under the assumption that any/all structures would be covered. She did NOT (at any point) confirm with the broker in making the decision to turn down/refuse coverage. That same day, I took the phone and argued that the terms/conditions of the policy state that ‘detached private structures’ are covered under our current policy and I demanded that we have this claim further investigated. She then stated that she would look into the matter further.
On January 6, 2011, a claims adjuster came out to the property to assess the damage to the barn and review the circumstances surrounding the occurrence. We were then sent a blank ‘Proof of Loss’ form (in the mail) several days later. Several months had gone by and we had not heard from the claims adjuster and/or the insurance company. I proceeded to make several inquiries (on separate occasions over a period of 9 months) to inquire about the status of our claim. We were informed on a continual basis that the claim was ‘well past’ the initial stages and entering the final stage and were advised that this matter would be settled by the end of September.
Another month had passed and I made an attempt to contact him again and we were advised on November 2, 2011 (verbally over the phone) that our claim was being denied due to the fact that the barn was originally registered with the township office as an “agricultural building” and its original owners/builder intended to use it as such. We, as residents of this property, are not commercial farmers and only use the barn as personal storage. We were told that it is completely irrelevant that we do not use the building for anything agriculture-related and/or generate revenue from the structure.
We were informed of this decision in writing from the claims adjuster, as of November 28, 2011 (with only 1 month left to challenge this decision within a 12-month period). This is the primary reason as to why the claim is being denied, coupled with the fact that our insurance broker is “claiming” that my mother did not want coverage (which is a total lie) and is as a result of failure to perform her due diligence when dealing with my mother on this matter. We were not officially informed (in writing) of this exclusion until May 31, 2011 when the renewed policy, for the period August 10/11 to August 10/12, was mailed to us. This was the first time that we were informed of this change to our policy. As of now, we only have one month left to challenge this matter. We feel that we have been dragged through the mud and are at our wits end as to what course of action to take. I don’t know if it is advisable to contact a public adjuster to assist in this matter or if we should proceed with legal action against the insurance company or broker. I realize how limited we are in terms of the deadline (January 2, 2012 – 1 year from date of claim) to proceed any further and if there are grounds to fight this. My parents are both retired people on a fixed income and I personally feel that they are being taken advantage of due to the circumstances and the fact that English is not their first language. Any advice or additional insight would be greatly appreciated. I don’t know what to do to help them at this point…..
December 10th, 2011 at 1:52 pm #Mary Smithwick
Jason,
How difficult is it to get a $10 million E & O Policy for a new business whose function is to hold funds and disburse for certain investments. We have never had an E & O Policy, just a small liability policy. Not an attorney, and we are not regulated by any governing body. What kind of due diligence is customarily needed for the insurance company to issue the policy, e.g. certified audit, background checks, banking records, existing contracts, legal opinions, etc. ? My insurance agent is unable to get the Policy placed and I am very frustrated. Have things changed that much since Madoff, now Corzine and others, have lost or misappropriated funds, etc ?
Thanks – Mary S.
December 10th, 2011 at 2:17 pm #Jason
Mary Smithwick,
Many insurance agents don’t handle this kind of business because they don’t have much of a demand to do it on a regular basis.
No, not much has changed. This is a lucrative business and a lot of money can be made on the premiums and managing business in this area of the insurance industry.
If you are looking for the easiest and most simple way to secure an E & O policy for $10 million, it might be reasonable to obtain a policy from Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. You can basically obtain a policy online and be bound with coverage in a matter of minutes. This company has a user/customer friendly approach and their coverage is as good as the next E & O insurance company.
Simply do a google search for hiscox usa and the top search result will likely be this company. Of the research I periodically do, this company ranks as one of the most competitive in the market for premium/coverage.
All information provided by Jason is voluntary – To keep his help as a contributor, please consider a donation. (right sidebar menu link)
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December 10th, 2011 at 2:29 pm #Jason
Mary Smithwick,
Many insurance agents don’t handle this kind of business because they don’t have much of a demand to do it on a regular basis.
No, not much has changed. This is a lucrative business and a lot of money can be made on the premiums and managing business in this area of the insurance industry.
If you are looking for the easiest and most simple way to secure an E & O policy for $10 million, it might be reasonable to obtain a policy from Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. You can basically obtain a policy online and be bound with coverage in a matter of minutes. This company has a user/customer friendly approach and their coverage is as good as the next E & O insurance company.
Simply do a google search for hiscox usa and the top search result will likely be this company. Of the research I periodically do, this company ranks as one of the most competitive in the market for premium/coverage.
This kind of coverage is a “claims made” type of coverage and the due diligence you mention is minimal and not intrusive. It might be as simple as you asserting that you don’t have any claims or are not aware of any claims that could be made resulting from your business practices. If there are, they would be excluded anyway. You may even want to transfer your liability policy to this company if you elect to be insured with them.
December 19th, 2011 at 5:34 am #sue
Jason,
I had a small tree branch fall on my 2 yr old car, which slightly dented the top of the roof a bit. You have to look for it to see the couple of dents, about 1/4 inch deep and about 1 inch diameter. We submitted pictures to our NC Farm Bureu, which is 2 miles from our house. We got three estimates for repair, and then the insurance co. sent a check. We received a letter from Farm Bureau, under the heading “Deletion of Specified Items/Converage, Policy remains in force… and it goes on ” we are sorry we cannot continue the coverage listed below (it’s comprehensive) in accordance with the provisions contained in your policy, the insurance is hereby non-renewed” – in a month! It goes on, the coverages may be available now at a higher premium.
The reason given on the 2nd page of the letter was the “vehicle has unrepaired damage”. Since when is it absolutely required to repair a vehicle, and in a certain amount of time? I researched on the web today and cannot find an answer to this question. Is this something new?
Reasons we have not had it repaired yet: My husband’s job is 2 hrs away and is only home on weekends, and my job is precarious and haven’t been able to schedule a time to get it fixed yet either as this would leave me without a car indefinitely. Also, we found that the damage seems to be mostly cosmetic and not causing leakage from the roof as we had feared it might, and are having second thoughts about a major repair that might come out worse than what we have now.
Further, it says that state law requires that we can submit a written request concerning the decision in 90 days, which the Farm Bureau is to correspond back within 21 days. In the meantime, I have this cancellation or pay higher premiums notice in hand because the car is not repaired.
What are my options?
Thanks!
December 19th, 2011 at 6:51 am #Jason
Sue,
Just get a different insurance company. Sure you can send them a written request but they will just re-affirm the insurance cancellation.
Or else call and talk to your agent about what your options are. They probably run into this a lot.
December 20th, 2011 at 5:42 pm #Dorian
What happens to my insurance if there was an accident and I am at fault, and the other party has back pains after the accident?
December 20th, 2011 at 7:50 pm #Jason
Dorian,
Your insurance provided coverage for you for the property damage you cause in addition to the injuries you cause. We don’t know exactly what will happen to your insurance in this instance. It could range from nothing, to a small increase, to cancellation. Don’t expect anything extreme but we don’t know your specific situation.
January 5th, 2012 at 9:32 pm #Bella
If a hot tub located outside on the patio somehow froze up completely solid would this be covered under insurance policies?
January 5th, 2012 at 10:17 pm #Jason
Bella,
Probably.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:10 pm #Robin
Someone filed a claim against my homeowners policy in April 2000? they now want to reopen the claim. Is there a statute of limitations?
January 6th, 2012 at 8:48 pm #Jason
Robin,
When you ask a question, you have to provide enough information for us to address your question.
Sure there are statutes of limitation but we don’t know if they apply to your situation. If there was a claim 12 years ago that turned into a lawsuit, there still might be a valid claim against you. A lawsuit extends, or adds onto, the time frame when things can be pursued.
Also, another item that has a lot longer time frame is if the claim against you involved a minor child. The child can make their own claim once they turn 18. They have a limited amount of time to make a claim in those situations once they turn 18.
There may be other instances but since we only know you had a claim presented 12 years ago and now one at the present time, we can’t provide anymore information than we already addressed.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:34 am #Judi
I live in apartment and have complainted about my carport. Now it rained real bab and the carport came down on my car. What do I need to do. Is the apartment responsible for the repairs.
January 9th, 2012 at 12:10 pm #Jason
Judi,
You complained about the carport and you continued to use it. Either you believed your observations about the carport were erroneous or you welcomed putting your car in harms way.
Since you were aware of the carport’s unsafe condition and you continued to expose your car to the harm it could do, you accepted any risk of damage that would happen.
The apartment, just like you, was aware of the carport’s condition (because of your complaint). You put you car in harms way by parking it underneath and it caused damage to your car. The only one responsible for the damage to your car is you.
If you were serious about the carport’s condition, you would not have parked your car anywhere near it until it was repaired or replaced. The only way the apartment would be responsible for the damage to your car is if they parked it under the carport that collapsed on it. It is unlikely they parked it so no, they are no responsible for your car’s damage.
January 9th, 2012 at 1:46 pm #John Carver
Judi,
I dont think that you are held liable
January 10th, 2012 at 6:03 pm #martha
i tried to jump over the fence in the back yard but chicken wire was on the post so when i jumped over my left leg got caught on the chicken wire and i fell on my right leg and broke my tibia in 3 places had surgery got metal plate and 2 screws its gonna be more than a year before i can walk on my own can i file a claim on the homeowner ins
January 10th, 2012 at 6:20 pm #Jason
Martha,
Based on the information provided, this fence in in your backyard of your home. Your policy does not provide coverage for you as an insured.
If this incident occurred at a home owned and insured by someone else, you could file a claim for medical payments coverage under the other person’s policy. You could not make a successful claim for anything else because in order for that to be in your favor, the homeowner would have to be liable (negligent) for your injuries.
In this case, it is reasonable for chicken wire to be attached to a fence post and it is not expected that someone will be jumping over it. This just happens to be an unfortunate injury.
January 17th, 2012 at 2:37 pm #Julie
I was at a stop light and rear ended. The other driver was cited for the accident. My all wheel drive vehicle was damaged enough so that I could not drive it. Thus it was towed to a garage/body shop. Because it is an all wheel drive vehicle and the right rear tire badly damaged, all four tires now need to be replaced. The driver’s insurance company will only pay for one tire. The accident was not my fault and I feel the driver’s insurance should replace all 4 tires. If my vehicle were front wheel or even rear wheel drive I would not expect 4 replacement tires and this would not be an issue, however with all wheel drive vehicles, the vehicle can incur more damage, especially to the axels if the tires are both old and new.
I have discussed this issue with local tire specialists/mechanics and all have stated that even if one tire is damaged on an all wheel drive vehicle, all 4 tires must be replaced other wise the vehicle should not be driven, due to damage caused by uneven tires.
The manager for body shop where my car is now even stated that the vehicle needs to have the four tires replaced before the vehicle can be test driven after repairs are made otherwise the axels, abs system, etc.. could become compromised. What bothers me is that when the claims assessor came to see the vehicle (unbeknownst to me) the mechanic did not discuss this.
Is the insurance company responsible for replacing just the one tire or all four for this type of vehicle?
January 17th, 2012 at 2:59 pm #Jason
Julie,
If the person that rear-ended you caused a tire to be damaged, that is what they are responsible for.
Since you are fully aware of the damage you can do to your vehicle by driving with 1 new tire and and other ones used, simple put 3 more times on your vehicle and you will have no more concerns.
You ask if the insurance company is responsible for replacing 1 tire or 4 tires. They are responsible for replacing the tire they damage and you are responsible for replacing the other 3. If you don’t want to replace the other 3, you don’t have to. Just deal with the wear from not doing that because they will wear a little unusually. You do have options here.
The other option you have here is to file this with your own insurance company. They will replace one tire as well. This isn’t a new concept.
January 19th, 2012 at 12:43 pm #Michael
I am the owner of a vehicle but was temporarily allowing a companion to use it with the understanding that he would be responcible and keep it insured for that time period. The vehicle was ultimately totalled in a house fire where we lived. The insurance company, not wanting to deal with this small claim, made the check out to us both and pretty much said “you figure it out”. I knew very well that he would just take the money and not repair my vehicle. The result was neither he nor I would endorse the check. This happened 10 months ago. I’ve asked the insurance company to compensate me on my vehicle. Afterall, that’s what insurance is for. What are my rights? He no longer has interest in the claim but never signed over the check out of spite. This was not his primary source of transportation. Is it that unreasonable for the insurance company to reissue a check to ME, as the owner of the damaged vehicle they insured??
January 28th, 2012 at 3:23 pm #Danielle
I am in a quandry. My house was flooded on Aug 28th and I’m now getting a large check from the insurance company. Problem is the town is not allowing any building permits in my area so I won’t be able to rebuild for another 10 or so months. I also have to sign this check over to my mortgage company. Because I have to pay a mortgage for a house I can’t live in I am considering walking away from this whole mess. What will happen to my insurance check when I get it? Should I just hand it over to the mortgage company and walk away from this mess with nothing? Do I have any rights at all?
January 29th, 2012 at 2:20 am #Jason
Danielle,
This is a lot more complicated that you think. You are allowed 180 day to complete the work. You may have to get written allowances and extensions from both the city and your insurance company so you don’t leave so much insurance money on the table. This is so important that you will want to look into how much money will you lose if you don’t do aything you need to at least figure out how much money you lose if if you don’t do anything.
January 30th, 2012 at 8:58 pm #Peter Burnett
I am handicapped and back in 2008 installed a new tiled handicapped bathroom in our home. Back in 2009-2010 we noticed unusual grout staining on our bathroom floor. About eight months ago we noticed additional unusual staining at the grout near the threshold of the bathroom. Six weeks ago we noticed hardwood floor boards warping. I contacted the original tile contractor and he gave every excuse on why his insurance company would not cover the damages. Keep in mind the damage was so pervasive and widespread that we know that the water leakage has been going on since the installation in 2008. Finally, his insurance company called me, asking “when I first noticed the damage”. They got back to me a few days later denying our claim. The reason was Atlantic Tile’s insurance policy was cancelled before I noticed the damage back in 2010. I misspoke and said it was about a year ago when it really had started with the grout staining at the end of 09’ to early 10’. It turns out the grout staining was water going under the floor. There were multiple other areas of leakage created by this contractor. The biggest cause was they did not put a shower membrane on the shower floor. What recourse do I have with his old insurance company (Selective Insurance) who was the insurer at the time of the installation?
January 31st, 2012 at 7:17 pm #Jason
Peter Burnett,
Probably none.
January 31st, 2012 at 7:20 pm #Jason
Peter,
The work of the contractor is excluded as covered any you wanted it don’t correctly, have the contractor do it correctly.
February 6th, 2012 at 8:53 pm #Kathy
Can I post a question here? The program is not responding when I go to “post a question”. Thank you.
February 10th, 2012 at 3:10 pm #David
Jason,
I took your advise and paid uclaim.com for the $35 version of auto claim information. Please note that Mr. Cercone does not give refunds. That’s right, I had problems with his complicated instructions and couldn’t get the ebook downloaded. When I asked for help he replied,”I don’t give refunds. I get $150/hr as a consultant($100/hr for my website customers) and ten times that as a public adjuster.I don’t write these eBooks to waste my time helping folks with infected computers that won’t even print .pdf or .doc files. I have wasted over an hour with these e-mails
February 10th, 2012 at 3:41 pm #Jason
David,
It is not possible, but very unlikely I provided advice about buying a $35 version of an e-book. I’m sorry if you have a computer issue or something to do with .pdf or .doc files. I have my e=mail in orange at the top of this forum page if you want to communicate directly with me about your claim concern and perhaps I can get the e-copy version delivered to you someway. If I could get the item downloaded for you and then e-mail, fax it, or do some other method to get it in your hands. But in the meantime, do you have a specific insurance issue that you need information about? I will do what I can to provide help and/or assistance
February 22nd, 2012 at 9:20 am #Will
Bare with me because this required some explanation. About two months ago, I had my home broken into by previous roomates who stole a bunch of items and also took a hammer to two of my motorcycles. The problem I’m facing is most of the items were purchased from people on craigslist, friends and a tv purchased from best buy. My insurance company USAA, wanted me to obviously prove that I owned the items I was claiming. So the only way I can do that is get a sworn statement from a relative saying he actually seen the items in the house prior to them being stolen. The insurance company also wants bank statements indicating atm withdraws for the amounts the items cost me at the time of purchase. The issue with that is I got a divorce and the wife kept the those accounts so I can’t access them. Today, I found out the insurance company hired a local private investigator to talk to me about the items and I’m sure do some searching for information about them. My question is what do I expect from the PI and what should do to get prepared for him/her so this can be quick and easy. I need to get my house fixed and my property replaced. thank you.
February 22nd, 2012 at 12:43 pm #John Carver
Will,
If you have any pics of the items stolen that could help. If you have a camera with old pics or a camera phone, they may have something. Also did you fill out a police report?
You could hire a public adjuster
John
267-266-2301
February 27th, 2012 at 12:42 pm #larry
i live in minnesota we have a hail damage claim
we are dealing with ,can they keep the betterment
money if the work came under the replacement
cost that they wrote ?they wrote up cost of
repair and replacement at $35,500.heldback
$9,183. and gave us a ck. for 26.265. plus a ck.
for $6848. because siding on house outdated.
thanks for any help on this larry
February 28th, 2012 at 4:56 pm #Jj
My car is paid off and was vandalized & stereo equipment was stolen so does the car insurance company give me the check and do I have the choice of the body shop or does the car insurance choose the body shop for the repair?
March 1st, 2012 at 8:16 pm #Reddy
Liberty Mutual Insurance ,they dont’ want to pay my claim $18,000.oo for water damaged to my sun deck roof , ceiling and walls , I got three bids from three seperate buildind contractors . What shall I do .
Reddy.
March 1st, 2012 at 8:23 pm #Reddy
Please ,reply me .
Reddy
March 1st, 2012 at 8:25 pm #Kari
There isn’t enough information Reddy- what caused the damage and what is liberty saying its denied for?
March 2nd, 2012 at 6:05 am #John Carver
Reddy,
Give me a call, I am a licensed Public Adjuster. This is what we do! Fight for the rights of the Homeowners and Business owners!
John
267-266-2301
March 17th, 2012 at 12:01 am #bobby
to anyone who can help:
I have a friend named mike, and he recently told me that he was persuaded into buying insurance for one of his other friends whom i do not know. The car is under the other friends name but mike was still able to purchase liability insurance and mike was listed as the primary driver with no other drivers listed on the insurance. Although Mike will never be driving the car, but rather his friend will always be driving it. And the other friend just purchased the car from somebody so the title isnt even in the other friend’s name. Even with all these circumstances mike was still able to purchase the liability car insurance for his friend and he told me he was not sure why his other friend did not want to be named on the policy, althought mike said he tohught maybe it would be cheaper for the other friend if their was only one person named. What are the specific concequences that could happen to my friend mike say if his other friend was involved in an accident or anything like that? As well as if mike chose to cancel the policy would his other friend get his money back for the month he had paid for? please and thank you for any help I know he will appreciate it as he told me he has no idea as to what the consequences would be for instance legal and any other that may occur with an accident happening.
March 17th, 2012 at 8:50 am #Jason
Bobby,
The car is not yours. You have nothing to lose with the entire transaction that has taken place. Do not be concerned about what might or might not happen with the messed up arrangement you just described. Although it involves insurance, it is something you should not be concerned about. It is something we don’t even want to consider discussin.
March 17th, 2012 at 12:00 pm #bobby
jason
I know I have nothing to lose but what about my friend mike, what has he got to lose or be involved with any problems. He is one of my really good friends and I want to try and help him out. Can you please help me help him because he has no idea what to do about it now that it is underway and he is scared something serious will happen to him if someone finds out or the car gets in an accident please advise me what to tell him to do.
March 17th, 2012 at 12:37 pm #Jason
bobby,
That is good that you know you have nothing to lose. This is your friends issues, not yours – or ours. He chose to do what he did and now whatever becomes of it is his to deal with. We won’t address this topic again.
March 27th, 2012 at 5:36 pm #Hakimah
I have had a terrible several months, first someone deliberately set my home on fire and tried to ignite the car but was spotted in the process, while we were inside sleep and it took us several months after living in a hotel all that time to move back home and when we finally did move back home someone stole and set my car on fire while we were in the house sleep, I cannot forget to mention that while we where staying in the hotel for them four months the home was broken into several times.
The insurance company says that because of the type of car that I have people don’t usually steal them and set them on fire they usually sell them for parts. They are treating me like I’m the criminal digging into my families life and they don’t seem like they wanna pay because she don’t think that somebody would do this. I need to know what I can do cause I can’t deal with these issues anymore Im trying to mover cause Im scared for my families safety. I need to know or should I do now because I need to no is it right for that one person to make judgement on what happened.
Can my insurance carrier ask me questions about my personal life and finances that have nothing to do with my claim? Can they require my personal financial records(bank statements, Cell, bills, tax returns) to show my current financial position to deny a break in and theft into my vehile. They seem more interest in my backgroud and have aske me to take a statement under oath after i have given a recorded statement to the agent. I have been a insurer with them for 15 years. What should i do and do I have to do this recorded statement to there lawyer
March 27th, 2012 at 7:01 pm #Jason
Hakimah,
Yes to every single one of your questions.
March 28th, 2012 at 4:56 am #Hakimah
Do I need a lawyer or is this something I can just do on my own?
March 28th, 2012 at 2:12 pm #Mike
I am doing an insurance claim on my own and I am on the contents part. I have replacement insurance with a limit of $113,000. I have received $10,000 in advances all of which has gone towards replacing stuff with receipts done.
My understanding is that if my Actual Cash Value number reaches $113,000 I would not have to play the receipt game anymore, correc t? I think I am awfully close to that.
Without calculating every single item’s ACV myself, what Total Replacement Cost would likely equate to a $113,000 ACV amount?
Also, should I turn in a list without receipts then add them or should I submit it with the receipts I already have?
March 28th, 2012 at 3:05 pm #Jason
Mike,
How in the world would we have any idea what total replacement cost would have an ACV of $113,000?
Regarding your receipts, ask your insurance adjuster who is handling your claim how you should do it. We have no clue what they want.
April 16th, 2012 at 2:24 pm #Sari Grove
Hello,
I was missold PPI(payment protection insurance on my Td Visa credit card) by Toronto Dominion Bank in Canada…I am self-employed & was not told that self-employed people were excluded from making a claim…Apparently PPI has been missold in England & the United States before coming to Canada, & millions of dollars have been refunded already by various successful lawsuits against banks…But Class Action lawsuits have not come to Canada yet about this very same thing…There are systems set-up in other countries to get money back on missold PPI, but none here in Canada…I am aware of others here who have been burned too but I am shy to start a class action lawsuit myself…Can lawyers from other countries broaden their scope to Canada on this without me having to reiterate all the same arguments about PPI that have already happened in other countries? It has been months now of me arguing the very same points as everyone else, but here I am dealing with people who are unaware of the international scandal involving Payment Protection Insurance sold by banks to credit card holders who are never going to be able to file a claim because they are pre-excluded from the policy from the get-go- meaning revenues on PPI are huge…
I digress…Do you know what I am talking about?
April 16th, 2012 at 2:37 pm #Jason
Sari,
Not all terms of a contract are required to be told to the other party involved in the contract. If you would have read your contract, you could determine that it was of no value to you. You can’t blame someone else for a lack of involvement in your contracts. You are the one ultimately responsible for things you sign.
For the most part, we don’t know what you are talking about. If you want to sue the credit card company, do that. You don’t need a class to do that.
April 20th, 2012 at 2:34 pm #Kari
“Bobby”
Tell your friend that he should call the insurance company and cancel the policy. If Mike is the only name on the policy, the premiums (if any) will be returned to Mike since he is the named insured.
If the “friend” is driving the car, and not Mike, and there is an accident, the “friend” may be denied coverage.
Again, tell Mike if he wants to do what is right, he needs to call the insurance company and cancel the policy. If the “friend” was paying the premiums, then Mike could be a good friend and return any refund.
April 23rd, 2012 at 2:22 pm #Hakimah
Can you please remove any post I put on this website and my email address because I am getting all kinds of posted questions nd answers from people t
Thank you
April 23rd, 2012 at 3:26 pm #Jason
Hakimah,
It is very, very odd that you are getting questions and answers from the people on here because your e-mail address has never been posted in anything you submitted or made available to anyone.
If you are getting automatic notices of a new post, you have to change your requests in the “manage your subscriptions” which can be found directly below the white box where you enter your text just before clicking the “submit comment” button.
May 7th, 2012 at 7:30 am #Ruth
A pipe in my wall burst and water got everywhere. The plumber who fixed it said that it was previously repaired incorrectly (by previous owner). because of this, the insurance company is not paying for the repair of the pipe ($600.) stating that it is a pre-existing condition. Is this a policy that is based on specific insurance company policy or is this a rule across the board in insurance companies in Indiana? I am very surprised that they are paying for any damage if it is a pre-existing condition. Why pay for some and not all of the needed repairs?
May 7th, 2012 at 9:29 am #Kari
@Ruth,
They are not paying for the pipe itself, but are paying for the damage that the broken pipe caused? If so, this is pretty standard all the way around. The damage itself is generally covered, but the item that caused the damage is not.
Think of it this way, if your washer broke and leaked causing damage to your floors, the floors would be covered but not your washer.
May 8th, 2012 at 10:22 am #Jason
Ruth,
A common policy exclusion is for defective workmanship and that could apply to your circumstances but we don’t believe that is the case.
It seems to be more in line with what Kari wrote. However, if the pipe broke by freezing, then the pipe would be covered as well but absent damage caused by freezing, the pipe would not be covered.
May 14th, 2012 at 11:21 pm #Moderator1
test post, would appreciate any response, thanks
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:07 pm #Max
(california) I got into a car accident yesterday. Because no one was seriously injured there was no police report done, there was only an inforamtion exchanged form filled out by the officer at the scene.
What had happened was, I was traveling on a 3 lane road headed east, I was on the furthest right lane and was going to make a right at the light(i signaled of course), the light was green, slowed my vehicle down because there were students at the corner of that street, shifted into neutral, slightly applied my brake, made my right turn, shifted into 2nd gear and then third, about 1000 or so feet ahead is an intersection that had stop signs going east to west, i was headed south at this point in time, and the lanes on this road was just two lanes (one going north and the other south). The lane going north was headed towards the school, it was around 3:15pm at the time and the high school behind me had just been released, so the traffic going north towards the school was backed up.
Heading south, I was well on my way to pass up the intersection, i shifted into 4th gear right before i reached the intersection and that was also when the vehicle at the stop sign to my left who was blocked off by a white van and plenty of other traffic decided to cross that intersection. I caught the corner of their car on the passeger side, took out their right tire, my whole dirver’s front corner of the bumper was smashed. My car is totaled.
I have a really good driving record this was my first accident ever. Oh yes before I forget, she was a new driver, driving under her permit only. I only have liability and I don’t know if I need to get a lawyer or wait to hear back from my insurer. I’m experiencing neck, chest and abdominal pain right now. I called their insurer to file a claim against them because I googled “what to do after an accident” but their insurer told me that I didn’t need to do that because they already filed a cliam. I’m really feeling hopeless because I’m so ignorant in this department. Please help.
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:56 pm #Jason
Max,
If a vehicle enters the intersection from your left going to your right and the car is crossing before you (because you struck their car), it appears you would have more fault. Let’s say you are 70% at fault and the other drive is 30%. (These are just examples).
CA is a pure comparative negligence state and that means whatever percentage of at fault you are, she gets to collect 70% from you (or your insurance company). You on the other hand, get to collect 30% of your total damages from her (or her insurance company).
If you have liability insurance, your insurance will address her claim against you. You should not need an attorney because that is why you have liability coverage. You should pursue a claim against her insurance for your damages and injury, if any.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:22 pm #Max
Jason,
even if I applied my brake in time I still would have hit her regardless if not the vehicle behind me would have hit me. Or should I have swirved to my right I would have hit the vehicle at the stop to my right. I had the right of way, bc she was at a stop shouldn’t she have waited until traffic lessened? she wasn’t clear to go especially bc she was blocked off by other bugger vehicles but she went anyway, she indicated that she didn’t know any car was coming. If I were speeding I would have been tboned but it seemed that we entered the intersection at the same time. I’m still at fault for having the right of way? I would have stopped had I had time but I didn’t have time. It’s only my theory but I think bc she couldn’t see me coming she tried to speed across the small intersection right when I was already there and bc of her shorter distance her car jumped into my lane when I was passing. what doesn’t make sense to me is, if she couldn’t see that oncoming traffic wasnt clear and decided to go anyway wouldn’t she be at fault bc she had a stop sign?
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:46 pm #Jason
Max,
If you applied your brakes on time, you would not have hit her. What you are indicating is if you applied your brakes sooner, but not soon enough, you would not have avoided the accident.
If the car in back of you would not have been able to stop in time and hit you, that is an entire different subject that we don’t have to even be concerned about.
You indicate she was blocked off but if she proceeded, she wasn’t blocked off. I don’t have all the answers and I wasn’t there so I can’t provide more than what you have indicated.
You just passed a school zone and you were in 4th gear which indicates you were moving at a decent rate. I don’t know the right of way at that intersection. I don’t know exactly how it’s controlled. I do know approximately how many lanes of the intersection she crossed before you made contact and how many lanes of traffic you crossed before contact was made. She crossed more lanes than you did. I can’t conclude you had the right of way if 1. you struck her and 2. She was in the intersection before you were.
If she was going slower than you (from a stop) and you were in 4th gear prior to the intersection, your time in the intersection was far less than her time in the intersection. Cars in the intersection need time to become fully cleared and they generally have the right of way until they are out of the intersection.
Stops signs don’t necessarily rule when someone has already entered an intersection. All cars must yield to the car that is in the intersection until that car is clear of all other cars.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:59 pm #Max
Jason,
No, she only crossed one lane, I was already 1000 feet into my road 2 gear is 15, 3rd was 20 and when I shifted to 4 th it was to get from 25-30, speed limit on that road is 35. I already made my right onto the two lane road which one was going north and the one I was on was south away from the high school. she crossed the northbound lane into my lane, she couldn’t see me turn into my road And already approaching the intersection bc the van to her right who was headed north was blocking her right view which was where I was coming from.
May 29th, 2012 at 9:29 pm #Moderator1
this is a test for new captcha
June 7th, 2012 at 5:12 am #Elizabeth
I spoke to a claim adjusted a few days ago concerning an accident that was the fault of their insurer. This is my first accident, and because I was nervous, I believe I gave too much information, some untrue. Is there a way I can fix this? Will my lawyer still be able to help with a settlement? I am seeking treatment for injuries.
June 7th, 2012 at 6:02 am #Jason
Elizabeth,
Just don’t give untrue information. That wouldn’t be categorized as too much information, rather it would be untrue information. Your attorney should be able to work around it.
June 11th, 2012 at 4:19 pm #Moderator1
this is a test
June 13th, 2012 at 12:45 pm #Janet
My father died with an open home owner insurance claim for fire to his residence. He didn’t doesn’t have an executor to his estate. He does have a mortgage. Who gets the check?
June 13th, 2012 at 12:56 pm #Jason
Janet,
If he doesn’t have an executor to his estate and without a will, it’s called intestate and that just means there is no will and the courts will appoint someone to settle things for him. We don’t know enough details about his obligations, debts, and the details of the claim. Even if we did, we don’t know how accurate of information we could provide.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:43 pm #Ronna
My house is on a partial incline. I have a back porch that was added after the house was built. Whoever built it attached it to the house. It is now “pulling” on the house itself and has loosened the brick and it is in danger of eventually falling. I have Alfa insurance in Alabama and they sent a engineer to look at it and he said it was caused from erosion and time. (I think it was just poorly built). I have enclosed this porch since I have lived here and it is very nice. I do not understand why the insurance wont help when if nothing is done it will eventually pull the whole backside of the house down. Is there any way to get the insurance to help on this?
July 17th, 2012 at 2:47 pm #Greg
I accidently backed into my garage door. The one door needs to be replaced. The vendor for my doors went out of business and the style door is no longer available. Should my insurance pay to have both doors replaced.
July 18th, 2012 at 9:21 am #Jason
Ronna,
Whether it was poorly built, erosion, settling, or whatever, those are all causes that are excluded in your policy.
No, there is absolutely no way the insurance company is going to assist with the excluded condition.
July 18th, 2012 at 9:28 am #Jason
Greg,
Your policy covers direct physical damage. We understand you backed into one door. The damage to that door is considered direct physical damage.
Now if you can apply the terms, “direct physical damage” to the other door and convince the insurance company it should be replaced, let us know. Otherwise no, the insurance company won’t pay for the undamaged door’s replacement.
If you are that concerned about it, you can pay for the second door and get it replaced as well. (Now that the undamaged door replacement would be at your expense, does it make sense to throw away that second door?)
July 20th, 2012 at 4:24 pm #randy
if a homeowner hasa slate roof and goes back with shingle can they keep the money difference.
July 20th, 2012 at 4:56 pm #Jason
Randy,
Yes
July 20th, 2012 at 10:28 pm #jan chambless
if my mobile home has been vacant for over 30 days in texas is my physical damage coverage still in effect
July 21st, 2012 at 7:37 am #Jason
Jan,
We don’t know your specific policy. You would have to refer to it for your answer.
July 30th, 2012 at 3:55 pm #Kelli
I have Erie Insurance and my claim is involving an above ground pool. Over the winter it sustained damage, the liner tore and all the water ran out. The insurance covered the claim for a new liner. When the pool company attempted to put the new liner in, they found that the wall had also collapsed, the wall came out of the track, and the entire pool needed replaced. I called my agent, he said he could see that happening, send me something from the pool company explaining the damage and the cost, and he said to make sure they state the liner tore, and water drained. The pool company sent in an explanation, in detail, referencing the liner tearing, and other damage to the pool and its condition. The Insurance denied the supplemental appeal stating that the reasons listed by the pool company were not covered….the pool company listed several reason, not stating a time line of what events ocurred to put the pool in the condition it was in, but that there were several things wrong. Can I get another opinion from another pool company and resubmitt my claim, or am I SOL…the estimate to repair is $19,000 and the insurance already paid $3,700 for liner replacement and installation.
Any help is appreciated as I have one big mess in my backyard!
thanks
Kelli
July 30th, 2012 at 4:16 pm #Jason
Kelli,
Why don’t you get another opinion from a different pool company. I don’t know what the exclusions are but a liner tearing and the resulting gush of water causing further damage sounds like something that is not even covered in the first place. Unless they was something like a falling limb that tore the liner. We don’t have enough info. about your claim but that seems very reasonable.
July 30th, 2012 at 5:25 pm #Kelli
Jason,
Cinder blocks fell in the pool over the winter due to strong winds and tore the liner. I wanted to know if getting a second opinion that was different than the first one was acceptable, I don’t want it to seem like I’m “estimate shopping”. So is it common practice to get a second opinion after a denial to try and get approval?
July 30th, 2012 at 5:44 pm #Jason
Kelli,
You have to do what you have to do to get your claim approved. If that means getting a different opinion, than do it. Anything is acceptable to try to get your claim approved.
September 11th, 2012 at 5:36 pm #Elayne
We have a commercial lease in a business center in Dallas Texas. Recently there was a theft of HVAC units and it has been discovered that the owner/landlord did not have insurance though it is a term in our lease. He says he will not replace the units in any of the suites and now will not respond to any of the tenants. All tenants have already been awaiting the roof replacement for 10 months which is a Texas property code violation and Dallas City code violation and he has been lying about his coverage. Our suite exceeds 85 degrees daily and part of the area is now unusable. He will not meet with, speak with the tenants for a resolve or pick up rent since the HVAC thefts. He will not even respond to give instructions where to send the payments. We have tried phone calls, text messaging and sent certified correspondence to a location that he gave, but no one is at the location. Its as if he no longer exists. We were told that we could set up an escrow account through the courts until he makes the repairs, but were also told that the courts may not allow us to do so. Soon it will be winter and there will be no heat;which is also a code violation. He continued to say that his insurance company was giving him the run around; he had no insurance. The replacement of the untis will be 12k and our insurance carriers all state that they will not cover what he was supposed to with his coverage for his property and the HVAC and roof are his responsibility. We have kept extensive logs of all of our attempts to contact him and his non-response, but we are not satisfied with our position. What should we do? We do not want to come in and the locks have been changed due to his non-cooperation and our inability to find him.
September 11th, 2012 at 6:08 pm #Jason
Elayne,
This really has nothing to do with insurance, except that there was none. We have no idea what you should do. This sounds like a contract law situation and we don’t deal with that.
September 26th, 2012 at 11:54 am #Brenton
I have sub-contractor working for me. She uses her own equipment in her own home, the other day she got hurt doing some work for me and made a comment about being able to sue me because she got hurt. Can she sue me when she is not an employee and she is doing the work in her own home with her own equipment?
September 26th, 2012 at 1:13 pm #Jason
Brenton,
It really depends on the interaction you have with this sub-contractor whether she would be considered an employee or not. This is more of a legal situation, rather than insurance.
September 27th, 2012 at 9:37 pm #Janet
Question…… After going to the gynecologist for over 5 months for a pregnancy. The insurance company I have decided to stop covering me because pregnancy was not covered under my insurance which I was unaware of. Now I just received a several thousand dollar bill from my OBGYN for my visits starting from the first visit. Is this right? Shouldn’t they have per-authorized to make sure I would be covered before letting me go through with all these appointments then when they find out im not covered send me a huge bill? Thanks
September 28th, 2012 at 8:59 am #Jason
Janet,
You are the one that should have pre-authorized coverage because you are the one it affects, not the obgyn doctor. They are going to get paid whether it’s insurance or directly from you.
It’s odd that you went as many times as you did if someone else is paying for it but when you are the one paying, you indicate you wouldn’t have gone as much.
October 4th, 2012 at 12:08 pm #Jackiy
Hello,
So I was rear ended and the inspector has declared my car totaled they offered me $10500 for its worth which is really reasonable, I went too the doctor and I have a stiff neck bruised knees, and he also gave me anti depressants. Nothing to serious, but Due to the accident I also missed 3 job interviews that I was really counting on, I’m super stressed out now. Is there any loss or pay our for this? I just honestly feel I deserve more than just my car being paid off and my doctor bills paid. I have lost hope and I’m really struggling now. Should I be expecting any money for anything. Our should i just except the car pay off and medical paid, I just feel like from what I see allot of people get way more than i feel I’m gonna get. What do you think??
October 4th, 2012 at 12:50 pm #Jason
Jacky,
The insurance needs quantifiable losses that they can assign a dollar amount to in order to reimburse you. For, example if you missed 2 days at work because of the accident, that can easily be calculated as far as what you lost in income. Missing job interviews does not have a tangible dollar amount that can be used.
The best thing to do when the insurance company is attempting to settle your claim with you is to raise your concerns to them and ask if any of the items can be considered for reimbursement.
October 10th, 2012 at 11:57 am #tori
Hi, I was in an accident recently. I was not at fault. The other driver and I both have the same insurance company. My adjuster was no help and horrible to me. I don’t have renters insurance because we always had an extra car. It just happened to be out of commision when I was in this accident. After waiting at least 10 days for a decision of fault to be made..I called to ask why it was taking so long? My reply was it is what it is and it is going to be another 10-20 days. So, I called the police station and was able to pick up a copy of the report myself. I faxed it to them and the next day the other drivers adjuster called me. They took full liability and set up a rental for me. I asked for compensation for the 10 days without a vehicle. They said no at first..after I insisted and argued they finaly said yes to 250.00. I just received the check and in bold print it says on it IN PAYMENT OF FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS FOR BODILY INJURY ARISING FROM LOSS OF 9/23/2012. Of course I am not going to cash it. When I called the adjuster she said, oh this is how we have to code these things. Is this even legal?? The check should be for loss of use damages.
October 10th, 2012 at 1:08 pm #Jason
Tori,
Send the check back and ask that they submit you one without language on it. Yeah, it’s legal, they can put any wording they want on a check. If you need to get that adjuster’s manager involved, that is another option you have. There is no need to put that language on a check of their insured unless it is a payment for bodily injury. This is a check for rental compensation and it’s under the other person’s liability coverage but that language doesn’t belong on that check.
October 19th, 2012 at 6:23 am #Rebecca
I bought a car from Gorges in wichita kansas over a year ago. We are still paying on the car now but had to move to connecticut. Recently we threw a rod in the motor and the car is not drivable. we also have some major body damage from a previous accident. Anyhow, I called gorges whom told me the only way their gap insurance would cover us is if Safco insurance totalled out our vehicle. We called safco and they told us that they can not do anything and they have cancelled two meetings for an adjuster to come out and inspect the vehicle. This is absolutely rediculous. We are paying on a car that we can not drive and we have no money to invest into the car ourselves. Please help!!!
October 19th, 2012 at 8:25 am #Jason
Rebecca,
Gap insurance isn’t going to help you unless the car is totaled and you owe more money than the car is worth and more than what the insurance pays.
We don’t know what kind of help you need. Can you provide more information and ask a specific question rather than generically asking for help?
October 24th, 2012 at 8:52 am #Beth
My husband and I received a check from our insurance company for hail damage to our home. The check was made out to both of us and our mortgage lender. We signed a contract with a contractor and signed over the check to him. He said that he would take it to our mortgage lender for signature once the job was completed. The roof was completed but there is still outstanding work. (Damage was done in April, roof completed in July – phone calls are answered with “as soon as I get an update, I will let you know”). We checked into the file, through our insurance company and it said that it was “closed”. I then called our mortgage company and they have nothing on file. Further checking revealed that the check has been deposited on our 2 signatures (missing our mortgage lenders signature) and was deposited in a bank in another state. I am being tossed back and forth between our mortgage lender and our insurance company as to whose responsibility it is to go after the money as it was deposited fraudulently without the mortgage lenders signature. Please advise.
October 24th, 2012 at 9:18 am #Jason
Beth,
The only thing about your situation dealing with insurance is that the check was from an insurance company. The issues you have are entirely between the contractor and you.
You can stop going back and forth between your mortgage company and the insurance company because you are the one that has the concern about the way the check was cashed. And if you want to do something about it, you would have to take action yourself.
But by taking action, the end result would be that the mortgage company signs the check and nothing else changes. You really have to evaluate if that is really important enough to make it your concern.
(For those of you that read about this situation – don’t pay a contractor until the entire job is complete. In this situation, the check should have been shown to the contractor and the contractor should have been told that upon completion of the job, he will get the check.)
November 9th, 2012 at 9:23 am #John Graham
Our home is on waterfront property in the Florida Panhandle overlooking a marina with many boat slips and a dock.
The last storm sunk 4 of the boats and did a lot of damage to their dock.
A lot of dock debris ended up in the water in front of our rock wall, where it stays even at high tide.
Who is responsible for the removal, the marina, me, or the insurance company (I have windstorm coverage), or the Army Corps of Engineers?
Thanks
November 9th, 2012 at 4:42 pm #Jason
John,
You may want to call a city or county official for the type of information you are seeking.
November 12th, 2012 at 6:15 pm #John Carver
To All,
If you live in the Pa. Md. or Nj. areas, Give me a call!!! lic adjuster As a Public adjuster. I am an advocate for the rights of you, the property owner My primary purpose is to help you navigate through the turbulent waters of settling your property loss claim for the highest settlement possible.
John Carver
267-266-2301
November 19th, 2012 at 7:34 pm #Lori Haynes
We had a severe power surge last tuesday caused by our local Municipal Utility company. They contracted tree trimmers that knocked a 69,000 volt line from duke energy into our utilities line. I know this because our electric company told us what happened and assured us they would make sure the tree trimmer insurance (pekin) would cover damages. Needless to say, there were alot of houses in my area with damage. Several fried furnaces including us. We have had several HVAC people look at it and come to the same conclusion that it is not repairable and must be replaced. The tree trimmers insurance adjuster is coming tomarrow but already admitted after several suspicious questions that he was gonna prorate our furnace replacement cost because ours was 10 years old. I don’t know what to do. We are afraid to have it replaced at $4500 without knowing if we will get it paid for. Same goes for our oven that is screwed up now. No way to cook a Thanksgiving turkey. We have survived with space heaters for the last week and I have had to send my handicapped son to his fathers 45 miles away for the week because of this. HELP! What do I say to this guy just to get our life back to normal. It just doesn’t seem fair if they don’t pay %100 to fix or replace what they broke. I am a nervous wreck that I will say the wrong thing to the adjuster. Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Lost in Logan
November 19th, 2012 at 7:48 pm #Jason
Lori,
This utility company only owes you ACV value of your items so it is appropriate and fair to depreciate those items.
You may want to file this claim with your insurance company because it is very common to have replacement cost for items that are damaged such as the items you have damaged. The only thing is that power surge may not be covered by your insurance policy. You would have to review your policy to determine that.
November 21st, 2012 at 9:43 am #jennifer
I have progressive insurance and never made a claim in my life and i was driving and my car was shot at and my passanger died in the car and progressive refuses to pay for anything it a 98 blazer so its not worth a whole lot but still the wont even pay to fix the bullet holes in the door they said that the clean up of the interior would exceed the cost of the car so they arent going to pay I dont care if it totals it but they wont do a thing
November 21st, 2012 at 5:24 pm #Jason
Jennifer,
If you have comprehensive coverage on your blazer, progressive should be settling the damage to your vehicle. However, if you only have liability coverage on the blazer, your insurance won’t do anything for the damage.
November 26th, 2012 at 7:48 pm #jennifer
I have comprehensive coverage but progressive said since it wasnt a collision they werent going to do anything which makes no sence to me when i pay for full coverage and then they wont do anything what am i supposed to do when ive payed a premium for years and now that i need to use it i have nothing
November 26th, 2012 at 8:42 pm #Jason
Jennifer,
Comprehensive coverage is meaningless. First, do you have liability insurance? What about collision coverage? Do you have comprehensive coverage? These are all separate coverages. Bullet damage to your vehicle is not collision and is very clear that it is not collision damage. What is your deductible for each coverage? When you say you have full coverage, that is very vague and doesn’t mean anything when trying to figure out your specific coverage. Provide the coverage details you find on your declaration page so we know what you are referring to.
January 1st, 2013 at 2:07 pm #Randy
Hello how are you today.I purchased a house in 2003.I purchased insurance through statefarm insurance. My insurance ewas purchased for a year and built in with my monthly mortgage payment. The deal on the house i wad purchasing had not yet closed.Several hours after i purchased the insurance the house caught on fire.My agent told me i could not file a claim because i had not yet closed the deal. It did not sound right but i didn’t argue with her because i was new to itall house purchasing.and insurance. Does this sound correct to you and if not is it to late.Thamks very much.
January 1st, 2013 at 2:54 pm #Jason
Randy,
What you need in order for insurance to pay out to you is an ownership interest in the property. Although you appear to have purchased the insurance when the fire occurred, you did not own the property. The one that had the ownership interest in the house was the person or company that owned the house when the fire occurred. Had you already closed and had the in-affect insurance, then the policy would kick in to compensate you for your loss.
Since the person or company could not deliver the house to you as outlined in your purchase contract, your should be able to recover your deposit from that person or company. It is very unlikely the deposit would be considered as a property loss due to fire since it is a contractual deposit, and it did not burn in the house fire.
January 19th, 2013 at 3:53 am #joel
I have my home and barn insured through Harleysville.The insurance on the barn is $35,000 it is an old hip roof barn.I have filed claims when some high winds went through and blew off some shingles.They denied my claim and said the barn was to far gone to do anything with. Since then my upper part of the east wall has blown in. And they want me to tear it down. They are the ones that wanted it insured and set the price.Can I then file a claim saying it is a total loss. If they say it is to far gone to do anything with. Do I have a leg to stand on. My daughter has horses in there And I would hate to see anything happen to her while she is in there feeding them.I have lived there for over 12 years.And they have been the only insurance company. We have had since we bought the place.
January 29th, 2013 at 9:23 pm #Brandi
I had a hot water heater pipe burst, causing water to run for about 3 hours. We are on a well and it was shooting mud about 5 ft. into the air. My floors were covered in standing water and mud about 3 ” deep. The same into the hall, bathroom, bedroom, and part of the kitchen. I removed as much of the water as I could and used a lot of lysol. The entire area was soaked. This is a mobile home. The insurer called a remediation crew. They put in all the machines, chunked out about 2 inches from walls, sporadically, and were supposed to remove wet insulation in crawlspace. Their moisture meters read “dry” after about 4 days, but I could feel moisture with my bare hand and pointed that out to the employee. He decided to leave machines for the weekend. I went into crawlspace and found a huge area under a different room where water had rolled. The vapor barrier had ballooned and water was trickling. It had not been even touched! The adjuster never even went under the home, not once. Was this a show? What’s the point of remediation? I asked for my ductwork to be sanitized because well water mud was most likely in them. He said “they were metal, non-porous, and did not need sanitizing.” I’ve got wicking stains going up the walls at various heights which molding is not going to conceal. Not even an offer to paint!! The center bathroom never had one piece of wall removed to dry out, but the carpet beyond in the bedroom closet was absolutely soaked…is it because the stuff is vinyl coated gypsum, patterned? They tore out laundry room and hall vinyl, but left bathroom in tact…so now, when I go to replace vinyl, I am stuck with totally mismatched flooring. It was all the same throughout, including kitchenl. I’ve asked about my concerns and he addressed a couple but not all. We had a very high quality vapor barrier – vinyl, but that was not included. More like visqueen. I get a “that will cost your contractor more” like somehow I was going to be penalizing him by demanding like, kind, and quality. I got an insulting lowball offer but had a local contractor counter. It’s been a fight ever since. Adjuster is at about $3k currently, up slightly from original offer. Do I depend on my contractor soley or try to find in a 2nd contractor? This is a small town… Seriously, I think the whole lot of em’ should get a room. Thanks for your ear and any advice. We have paid for 17 years for RC with only 1 small claim 2 years earlier. A tornado came through and they said only the ridgecap would be covered because roof was old. Oy veh.
January 29th, 2013 at 10:30 pm #Jason
Brandi,
Just have your contractor work out an agreed repair price with your insurance company. You should make sure your contractor includes all the damaged components of your home in that repair estimate. There should be no reason to get a different contractor because that other contractor would have to start over with your insurance company.
January 31st, 2013 at 11:34 am #Bre
Hi there. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction of where to get some info. We are currently having major plumbing issues and our insurance company wants nothing to do with it. Basically our house (manufactured home) is sitting atop of a river of septic. Somewhere there is a break in a pipe. The insurance company sent people out to send cameras through the pipes but were unable to get the camera through all the pipes due to angles in the pipes so they are unable to provide a definitive answer as to if the problem is inside the house (covered) or outside of the house (not covered). Our house was deemed uninhabitable by a septic company and everyone refuses to get under the house which is understandable because of the health hazards. We are stuck in a hotel and have to make regular trips to our home to tend to our animals. After just a short exposure to the gasses in the house, we begin to become very ill. Our insurance adjuster refuses to give us a copy of our policy and he even said he is not allowed to. My question is, how do we obtain a copy of our full policy? Thanks for all your help!
January 31st, 2013 at 3:42 pm #Jason
Bre,
You can send an e-mail to me in orange lettered e-mail address at the top of this page. I would assume you have a copy of your insurance dec page. From that you should be able to determine what kind of policy you have. I need to know the policy type like HO-03, HO-02. Simply send me an e-mail with the type of policy you have and I’ll send you a copy.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:19 pm #JSeymour
I am looking into new insurance companies for my auto and home. I presently have Progressive for my vehicle and Nat’l Lloyd for my home insurance.
I recently obtained a quote for auto insurance from aarp-Hartford. I was quoted nearly half the amount that I’ve paid to Progressive for full coverage. It just seems too good to be true!
I’ve read positive and negative customer reviews regarding aarp-Harford & Nat’l Lloyd. Knowing that people will usually report their negative experiences much quicker, and expressively than positive experiences, I decided to try and find out what the track records for the aarp-Hartford & Nat’l Lloyd companies are.
I’d greatly appreciate any in-put you are able to provide.
February 6th, 2013 at 3:28 pm #Jason
JSeymour,
You are doing a good thing by researching for insurance company reviews. At the top of this site there is an area that ranks good and bad insurance companies. If the companies you are looking for don’t appear, you will have to search other areas where reviews are provided. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide which companies you want for insurance.
February 6th, 2013 at 9:46 pm #Eric
In early 2011, the shower valve in our master bath sprung a leak behind the wall, eventually causing a lot of damage to the wood and drywall in the surrounding structure of the shower. We discovered the leak when I found a wet spot on the carpet in the hallway that runs along the outer wall of the shower. Since we have kids and pets (possible causes for the wetness), it took several days for us to ascertain the true source of the leak (by going under the crawlspace of the house). At that point, we quickly took steps to dry out the shower and surrounding flooring and filed a claim with our insurance carrier, CSAA (now AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah Insurance Exchange).
AAA sent inspectors out who estimated the shower was probably leaking for a month or more, which we don’t dispute, since if it was only leaking when it was turned on (which it was), 10-15 mins a day, it would probably take a month or more to start seeing any signs. AAA covered the water-damaged carpet in the hallway, but said the shower was not covered. However, they pointed to the Additional Coverages section of our policy which says they will cover up to $10,000 of such water damage as long as “such seepage or leakage of water or the presence or condensation of humidity, moisture or vapor and the resulting damage is unknown to all insureds and is hidden within the walls or ceilings or beneath the floors or above the ceilings of a building structure…”. AAA said we were not covered under this provision because the resulting damage was “long term (over one month)”. When I pointed out that time was not an issue as long as the damage was hidden and we were not aware of it (which I thought was clear), they claimed that that once we discovered the wet spot on the carpet, we knew we had a problem and the damage was no longer hidden!
After another exchange of letters on this point, I was given the following explanation: “An example could be if you are replacing a floor. There is no visible damage to the floor, you just want to replace it. You start removing the floor and find mold/dry rot below as a result of an undetected plumbing leak. Again, there was no indication of any damage before you removed the floor. The resulting damage is unknown to you and the damage is hidden. This could qualify for Additional Coverage 12”. I maintain this would be an incredibly rare situation; the language clearly does not bar prompted (due to the wet spot) discoveries such as we had.
When I protested this logic, I got another letter from AAA saying the damage wasn’t covered because the leak “occurred from within the living space”, which was completely untrue. I appealed to the California Department of Insurance, as advised by the AAA letter. The CDI told me this was a difference of opinion between me and my insurer and wouldn’t get involved (this response left me wondering what kind of cases, exactly, DOES the CDI get involved in?).
While renewing my policy, I told my insurance agent, who was dumbfounded as to why they weren’t covering it. He appealed on my behalf, and it was turned down for review. After I appealed to the President of AAA, they agreed to do an “Executive Review” of my case, which ultimately upheld the original denial. I have recently filed suit in Small Claims Court to try and recover the money I need to tear out and rebuild my shower (close to $6,000). My court date is in April; so far AAA has shown no intention of settling.
My question is, whether or not I receive a judgement in my favor, would it be better to move to another insurance company before the case is settled? They just renewed our contract for another year, but they flagged our account when we filed the claim, making it hard to find reasonable rates with any other company (we have both Homeowner’s and Auto with AAA). Could they make this even harder if I win the case? Can they impose other penalties on me as retaliation if I win, and if so, is this even legal? It may be cheaper to stay with AAA (even with a premium increase), but I obviously can’t count on them to stand behind the wording of their own policies. Thanks for your time.
February 7th, 2013 at 8:06 am #Jason
Eric,
Insurance departments exist to make sure the insurance industry survives by making sure individual insurance companies are able to stay in business. Complaints to this department are only flags for the department to look closer at an insurance company depending on the quantity of complaints. The department doesn’t care about people who are insured – just the continuity of the insurance companies.
It doesn’t matter if you stay with this company or not and has nothing to do with your legal action.
AAA should have nothing to do with your ability to enter into an insuring agreement with any other insurance company available to do business with you, and it has nothing to do with your legal action. No, they won’t impose any penalties on you.
You say that your lower premium is a benefit if that lower premium is tied to coverage that is worthless. That makes no sense to stay with AAA. There are hundreds of other insurance companies out there to choose from.
February 9th, 2013 at 10:34 pm #Lisa
Do I file with my insurance if my vehicle was totaled (completely burnt) while it was being worked on in a mechanics shop? Or is it their responsibility?
February 10th, 2013 at 8:37 am #Jason
Lisa,
If the mechanic shop’s insurance company accepts liability for the damage to your car and you are satisfied with their settlement offer, you could choose not to submit a claim to your insurance company.
However, if you do file with your insurance company, and that remains an option from this point forward, you may see the claim settled faster (but not always true), and you would incur your deductible. However, your insurance company should be able to collect from the mechanic shop’s insurance company – including your deductible – to reimburse you for that expense.
March 2nd, 2013 at 8:15 am #Corrina Kelly
Hi I am wondering if you have knowledge of Ontario canada. Recently an impaired driver drove through the side of my garage. The Insuance company has come up with a number via their contractor. I have had two other contractors in who are estimating a lot more. They also say the garage is not up to code and the city will have to inspect it now and it will need to be fixed properly the entire thing. INsurance guys contractor says just oen wall needs to be replaced. wiring insulation siding etc. They both said the city will require extensive upgrades to pass the inspection. I do not know what to do . How much is my insurance responsible for they are saying 7500 for a well a window a door and a fence. Both otehr contractors are saying upwards of 20 k . INsruance contractor is not very well rated by bbb guys I called both have AAA ratings. What responsibility is it of my insurnace to ensure that I still have a viable garage. ? Help they are pressuring me to sign some papers
March 2nd, 2013 at 8:47 am #Jason
Corrina,
Insurance operates much the same way, even in different countries. Sure there are differences based on different principals and laws of each country, but for the most part, insurance is the closely the same from region to region.
You simply have to work through the process and find out what needs to be addressed in the repairs of your garage. Your policy will likely have provisions that necessary or required upgrades need to take place and be paid for if anything substantial is being worked on to restore your garage to its pre-loss condition.
For example, if the wiring is the wall that is damaged is not to code, then the wiring has to be brought to code in that wall. However, if there is not damage to the electrical panel, for example – because it’s on a wall that is not affected – then the wiring in the panel does not have to be upgraded.
It might help if you or someone that is capable of reading and understanding your policy is able to review it to determine what is required and not required before you make a selection involving a contractor that can repair the damage.
This is your property, your insurance, and your claim that involves damage and you need to arm yourself with information before you proceed so you get the appropriate repairs that you have contracted for with the insurance company.
Regarding your direct question, it is your responsibility that you ensure that you have a garage that will pass requirements of repair, including local codes. The insurance company does not have that responsibility because they only inject the money to make sure your repair is completed based on your insurance coverage.
March 9th, 2013 at 4:21 pm #SHAHNAZ QURESHI
I have three kids ages 20, 22 and 23 and my self. I had auto insurance on my four cars. My kid had an accident. Kid’s car was hit ny another car (other car at fault). In Michigan your own auto insurance company’s pays for your accident. My insurance company has denied the claim based on that I lied because I did not tell that my daughter has changed school and she is not the only driver. What are my options?
March 9th, 2013 at 5:40 pm #Jason
Shahnaz,
Fault doesn’t matter in Michigan unless it is gross negligence. In MI, each person’s insurance addressed both the physical damage and the injuries that result from an accident.
Insurance companies have been getting more strict on youthful operators for the last few years. I am not aware of the requirements for reporting driving exposures for your cars. Your options available to you are unknown.
March 25th, 2013 at 6:32 pm #Yvette
We just received a fairly large settlement check for a fire insurance policy that has been in effect for ten years on a home that belongs to five siblings. All five names are on the check and it include & symbols in between the names. Called our bank and they said all parties must be present with ID and must sign to cash or deposit this check. I live in Vacaville, with three other siblings living in Fresno Here is the problem one brother is severely mentally ill and can not be taken in public…not even sure if he has ID, one brother can not be found, one brother is recently deceased and has no will. The sister has remarried and her previous last name is listed. Can we ask the insurance company to issue separate checks? Frankly, any idea you have on how to move this forward would be appreciated. searched the Internet and can find no information on this…thanks so much.
March 25th, 2013 at 7:15 pm #Jason
Yvette,
There is no requirement that all parties must sign the check in the presence of the bank.
If you want to cave to the bank’s arbitrary policy, then have each of the 3 brothers sign the check and have a notarized letter from each one attesting to his signature on the check. That will take care of 3 brothers.
With your mentally ill brother, have his legal representative sign for him and do the same thing with a notarized letter attesting to his role and ability to do that. You may need to bring documentation of the legal representatives capacity to sign for that specific brother.
Regarding the intestate situation of your other brother who died without a will, you will have to have the court appointed representative sign the check and do the same with a supporting document containing his authority to sign for your deceased brother.
Having so many people on a policy can create difficult situations not only obtaining all signatures, but dividing the money. You mentioned 3 people in Frezno, 1 sibling in a continuous medical care facility, and another sibling that is deceased – for a total of the 5 names you indicated were on the check.
You indicate there is an ex-sister-in-law on the check in a a later sentence. That would mean there are 6 names on the check and with the information you provided, that doesn’t make sense. Divorce generally severs all ties to an ex-spouse.
The one question that remains is, why are you presenting a check for your 5 siblings of which you are not one of the named people on the check? If that is the case, you may just want to send the check to one of your siblings in Fresno and you won’t have to be concerned about how they obtain the signatures on the check to get it cashed.
If you are in possession of the check and your name does not appear on it, but you believe your name should because you are a sibling, then you may want to get an attorney involved to protect any interest you have in the proceeds of the check.
It is very unlikely the insurance company would cancel that check and re-issues 5-6 separate checks because if the insurance company did that, they would have no idea how the proceeds were to be legally divided from the total amount. If the insurance company would do that, the insurance company would be opening themselves up to possible liability claims from 5-6 different people. Because of this, the insurance company would have no interest in issuing multiple checks and become part of the process of disbursement.
March 27th, 2013 at 3:28 am #kim blevins
Jason the original story is still the same. The cancer is mute that was 2 yrs. ago. Financially we are in great shape,My husband is a retired veteran and v.a. hosp is free. Allstate asked my husband if he started the fire while in a heated exchange but he really is the one who put it out.A denieal was never given either. They Housed us and let usset for months.MY Sister and I did all repairs, cleaning,staemcleaning new curtians paint. My house looked great Rember Farmer brought a causea and origin and engineer determined accident due to gap in firplace insert. Arson has never been Mentioned. We just recieived a letter from allstate to get our dryer back before the one year deadline. That is why our friend offered to help us sue it’s hard thet burned us (no pun) and it<s very big ardship I f You remember I had 2 Questions1-Cancel of insurance the Ohio State Plan 2- Should we forget about allstate I do not want anything to hurt my current claim but we would like Justice. WE DID NOTHING WRONG! Your statisics and attitude is a taste of the injustice Sorry You Changed so quickly. Nothing including the prior incident and the fireplace fire are as unbelievable to us too.The lawyer being mentioned did make me paranoid, I thiught it was me from being a little stir crazy until I recieved your response, now I am at Square-1 kim
March 27th, 2013 at 9:54 am #Jason
Kim,
I don’t know every single details about your claim and can only evaluate it with the information you provide.
Then if you did nothing wrong, you should send the proof of loss in as they requested.
Without reviewing the prior posts, I thought you mentioned farmers – now you mention all state. I can’t keep up with the changes in information. When it is difficult to understand the message, the response is never going to be accurate.
I am sorry, about the arson reference. You posted the word “arson” in your prior post. I don’t know why you would discuss that topic if it has nothing to do with your claims.
March 27th, 2013 at 2:00 pm #Viv
I have a friend that is a homeowner that had a medical issue while we were out at a restaurant and passed out on me (no issue with restaurant, he was dehydrated from the flu and still didnt feel well) I was behind him and couldn’t move out of the way fast enough when he fainted and took his whole weight, basically squatted 200lbs and tore my meniscus and required surgery. I am unable to work while waiting for surgery and now recovery because of my job. My question is …. I just found out that my health insurance (which my exhusbands company changed right after MRI) requires me to pay a $3000 deductible, I am horrified at this cost and wonder if a claim can be processed for medical bills through my friends homeowners insurance, I am trying gain information before I present this, it is an uncomfortable situation! thanks!
March 27th, 2013 at 2:19 pm #Jason
Viv,
Your injury did not occur on property owned and insured by your friend so medical coverage of your bills through your friend’s homeowner medical coverage would not be available to you.
The other aspect of that is negligence – If your friend did, or didn’t do, something, in a negligent manner, that directly resulted in your injury, then your friend cannot be found legally responsible (liable) for your injury.
The restaurant where the injury occurred may have medical coverage for patrons that are injured on their property. That would probably be your best choice to look for medical coverage from insurance.
March 27th, 2013 at 4:40 pm #Viv
Jason thank you, but I found this on many different homeowner insurance sites:
“Medical payments coverage pays an injured party’s medical bills
If all conditions are met and no exclusions apply, your insurance company will pay the necessary medical expenses (for up to three years) of someone injured on or through your property. This coverage doesn’t apply to your own medical expenses and the medical expenses of your household residents, except for your household employees. Injuries that take place away from your premises are also covered, as long as you, another insured, a household employee, or your pet caused the injury.
Medical expenses may include reasonable charges for medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, ambulance, hospital, and professional nursing services, as well as prosthetic devices and funeral services.”
…it says there is a possibility of injuries that take place away from home…
I will keep inquiring 🙂 thanks again!
April 3rd, 2013 at 6:12 pm #Mari
I bought a new washer from big name store, the washer was faulty and spilled water all over kitchen floor and into basement (twice). I filed a claim with big name company, they dragged their feet, then asked for 2 estimates which I provided them with. they dragged their feet again – it has been 5 month since the incident and just last week an adjustor came out to the house, said they were only going to pay like 20% of what the estimates asked, that he didn’t see the damage and a bunch of other stuff. I feel the insurance company on purpose delayed the whole process so they didn’t have to do any of the repairs. I have not accepted anything from insurance company – wanted some advice. any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
April 3rd, 2013 at 6:42 pm #Jason
Mari,
Scrap the claim with the appliance’s insurance company. Then immediately file a claim with your homeowner policy. If you have the most common homeowner policy, they will pay for your damage at full replacement cost.
Then your insurance company will file a claim with the appliance company’s insurance company to recover all or part of your deductible for you.
I’m sorry to report that this company just wasted 5 months of your time.
April 14th, 2013 at 11:50 am #katie
I have been going Through a theft loss for almost 2 months. I have had the worst experience with my insurance company adjuster. he is with a special investigation unit and has sent my claim to an attorney for an EUO. my question is if the attorney decides that there is No reason for denial can the adjuster still deny my claim? The adjuster is very rude and told me that she was going to make this a long process for me. Any advice I could get from you would be grateful and much appreciated. I don’t know much about this process all I know is that I was violated and now instead of having sympathy or even empathy on my case or how I feel this a Adjusteris very very mean and makes me feel like a suspect instead of a victim. Is this the normal process? Talk to you soon thank you for your help.
April 14th, 2013 at 1:51 pm #Jason
katie,
Your adjuster believes your claim may contain an element or elements of dishonesty or fraud. That is why it was transferred to the special investigative unit. The special investigative has involved an attorney to get an EUO. The insurance company can require you to do the EUO if you still wish to pursue your claim.
Sometimes claims get handled the way yours is being handled. It may not seem fair but this is the route you have to go to get your claim either honored or denied. They are doing this to you because they apparently do consider you a suspect. There is no easy way to say this.
April 14th, 2013 at 2:11 pm #katie
That sucks. But if the Atty says there is no reason or ground to deny my claim can the adjuster still deny it. Is it part of the bad faith law that he told me he was going to make this hard for me?
April 14th, 2013 at 2:56 pm #Jason
katie,
The adjuster will do whatever the attorney recommends. That recommendation may be to accept your claim and pay it, or it could be to deny your claim.
Bad faith is something that is difficult to establish and an adjuster saying that to you would not meet that threshold unless you recorded that conversation. Even then, it is not certain you could prove bad faith.
April 14th, 2013 at 3:44 pm #katie
Thank you so much for all of your advice. I’m glad I found this website!
May 2nd, 2013 at 12:56 pm #Shannon
Jason: Thank you so much for answering my questions earlier. We are still waiting for the insurance adjuster to call me back and tell me what is covered and what is not. I’ve enlisted the help of our agent, but am not sure yet what to expect. My feeling is that we will get some version of, “Well….the report was inconclusive….so we’re going to pay half if you pay half, aren’t we so generous?” Um, no. This is a $50K repair. And we never needed an engineer to connect the dots anyway. Completely blown kitchen stack pipe under foundation + foundation footer = structural damage.
At what point do we get an attorney involved? Do I wait until I give my agent a certain amount of opportunity to help me negotiate? They seem willing to do that and put the pressure on the insurance company. What is their relationship with the company in all this? I hear conflicting opinions. Some people say they are working in tandem with the insurance company, others say they are the insured’s advocate. I am tempted to believe this agent in particular is more my advocate, seeing as he is the president of the largest Insurance Brokerage in Milwaukee & SE Wisconsin. My thinking is the insurance company wants to keep him happy since he sells them so much per year. But again, I have been accused of being naive in the past as a personality trait. It’s the kindergarten teacher in me—always want to see the best in people.
How do you negotiate with the insurance company when their offer is not what is needed to completely “make you whole” again and when it’s clearly covered?
Thank you.
Shannon 😕
May 2nd, 2013 at 1:09 pm #Jason
Shannon,
An insurance company should pay for 100% of what is covered. On the other hand, the insurance company should pay nothing if it is not covered. There is no such thing as 50% covered.
It’s entirely up to you if, or when, you get an attorney involved. Your agent can help you with or without you getting an attorney. Agents are paid a certain amount to bring business to insurance companies. Agents can be an advocate because content and happy customers are better than having disgruntled and angry customers.
Your ability to negotiate is based on your understanding and familiarity of your insurance policy. The policy provides a lot of coverage while at the same time containing a lot of exclusions. Just post again if you have other questions.
May 2nd, 2013 at 1:15 pm #Shannon
Jason:
I love your clarity. Heaven knows I need it since it feels like this gets murkier each day.
Thank you much.
Shannon 🙂
May 2nd, 2013 at 1:20 pm #Kyle
Shannon,
The agent can be caught in the middle more often than not. His employment and compensation comes from the carrier by selling you the policy. They can not serve two masters but can apply some pressure to the adjuster or claims department.
You can also try reporting a complaint to the states insurance department if you feel you are being treated unfairly. There are also licensed adjusters – public adjusters who work for the policy holder and can represent and negotiate on your behalf. It is a public adjusters responsibility to be abreast of policy provisions, state statutes, construction methods, etc and help you document your claim in a fashion that the adjuster and insurance company can work with. If a PA can not reach a successful settlement, then you can always resort to hiring an attorney.
Good luck!
May 3rd, 2013 at 3:10 pm #kelly halvorson
If you accidentally left your keys in your car in the driveway and it is stolen and the thief causes damage to the car and property of someone else does the insurance company have to cover your car and the persons property (fence and landscaping)?
May 11th, 2013 at 7:36 pm #beth
My home was detroyed by fire in NC – I have AAA Members insurance and their representative – ‘in house’ can not give a straight answer. If anyone can help me out with a how to deal with this repensentative, please do. The adjuster has been great as have the consturction, and salvage companies.
May 11th, 2013 at 7:40 pm #Jason
beth,
If you get along with the adjuster, work primarily though him. The only thing the in-house rep does is issue checks based on the reports submitted by the adjuster. You don’t really need to have answers from the in-house rep if you can communicate with the adjuster.
May 14th, 2013 at 5:51 pm #Mike
What is the Ohio statute of limitations for a homeowners claim. Damage from Hurricane Sandy, noticed now.
May 14th, 2013 at 6:05 pm #Jason
Mike,
You should review your policy to determine that. Although contract law in OH is 8 years effective September 28, 2012, the policy language may be a better guide. You may have similar wording in your home owner policy with a sample from a standard policy found below:
Suit Against Us — No suit may be brought against “us” unless all of the “terms” that apply to the Property Coverages have been complied with and the suit is brought within two years after the loss.
June 3rd, 2013 at 4:38 pm #Garry Dhaliwal
Could somebody guide us in the right direction.
We had Property insurance on Vacant Commercial buildings in Memphis, TN that got burgalrized and vendalized. Landmark Insurance company denied the claim stating the agency Swett and Crafford from Atlanta, GA did not file the application properly. The application was never signed by us and we were not even aware of its existance till after the claim. The application that was incomplete with nothing on it was not even filed.
We have been trying to go after E & O policy of Swett & Crafford. The later is not filing the claim with their E & O Policy.
Is their a way we can force Swett and Crafford to file this claim to their E & O Policy ??
June 4th, 2013 at 6:25 am #Jason
Garry,
If you did not sign the insurance application, it would seem the omission is yours. If you were not aware of your insurance application until after your building sustained damage, how can you expect there to be a policy to turn to for coverage?
Based on the information you are providing, Swett & Crafford did nothing that elevates to an error or omission.
June 4th, 2013 at 6:35 am #Kyle
If there was no signature on the application, Landmark should have never bound the policy in the first place. Instead, they accepted the premiums, (which in this case would be rather significant if it is a large retail commercial building) knowing they could assert this denial at a later date if a claim was ever filed. By accepting the premiums and binding the policy without a signature on the application, they waived their right to deny based on the same precedent.
June 4th, 2013 at 1:59 pm #Jason
Kyle,
It seems the agent is Swett & Crafford. The insurance company is then Landmark. Landmark would not be the one that binds the coverage – the agent would. I have not seen anywhere the mention of a premium payment being paid or a premium payment being accepted. Where did that come from?
Also, what is the premium based on? A quote? With the information posted by Garry, there was only a blank application.
June 4th, 2013 at 2:07 pm #Kyle
Simply an assumption that premium dollars were exchanged. I would believe if the carrier initiated an investigation then a policy was in place for a claim to be filed hence premiums paid to commence coverage.
Point being, if the policy was accepted and coverage effective, the carrier could not effectively deny coverage for lack of a signature on the application in which coverage was requested and granted.
June 4th, 2013 at 2:10 pm #Kari
Jason,
I know you don’t like to assume, but lets assume Garry paid for insurance- and I say this because Garry called and filed a claim. Without paying premiums, why would Garry think he even had a policy for which he could file a claim. I think what needs to be clarified is the ” inproperly filed application” and what that means. Simply by not signing an application does not void coverage. We write for several companies that do not require a signed application. Now if this particular company does require a signature and Garry failed to sign it then yes, he is at fault- BUT he would have also received notification that the policy was cancelled.
June 4th, 2013 at 2:41 pm #Jason
Garry didn’t say he paid a premium. He also said the application was blank and devoid of a signature. Assumptions cannot be made. Garry is asking how to file a claim against an agent’s E&O carrier. I don’t even assume coverage was bound verbally since Garry did not say that.
What Garry did say is that Landmark said Swett didn’t file the blank application correctly. Garry also said the application was not even filed with Landmark.
We don’t know all the details but we know an application was not completed and not signed, I fail to see any error or omission of the agent based on the information Garry posted.
June 4th, 2013 at 3:04 pm #Kari
So then without a completed application, or payment of premiums, I wonder why Garry would have even thought to have filed a claim.
June 4th, 2013 at 3:11 pm #Kyle
Garry’s post suggests a claim was filed, investigation initiated by landmark and subsequently denied for the reasons we are discussing.
June 19th, 2013 at 1:19 pm #Kelly
My camper got hit by a guy that was giving us a landscape estimate. He backed into it with a dump truck. The camper was pushed off the blocks about 3 feet and the corner of the camper was heavily damaged with wood/nails tin, etc. mangled. I am being told that they have “totaled it” because it will cost more to repair it then it’s worth. I looked up the NADA Value (including features like the awning, the heater, the airconditioning, etc. etc) and the low was $ 4,550 and the average was $5,485. The BASE price with no features added was $2820. They said they will only give me $2820 for the camper. then asked if we wanted to “buy it back” and if we wanted to buy it back we could do so for $500. We have a camping trip that we reserved sites for at least 6 months ago. The trip is in two weeks…there was a non refundable pre-payment made on the site. I can’t buy a camper for $2820….I can barely rent a comparable one for two weeks for that money. We had a pefectly good camper…how can they get out of this by not paying us a fair market value?
What if I want it repaired? Can I ask them to do so regardlless of the cost? I want to be made WHOLE. The camper was parked, they guy smashed into it with a dump truck…why do I have to suffer for someone elses’ mistake?
any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
June 19th, 2013 at 6:10 pm #Jason
Kelly,
It is assumed you are going through the insurance company of the contractor. If you have your own insurance on the camper, file the claim with them and settle with your own insurance company.
If you still want to settle with this contractor’s insurance company, have them send you the valuation report that they are using to come up with their settlement offer. Make sure the information in that report is accurate to your camper and also verify the comparable campers in that report accurately depict the comparable camper’s actual sold price or value.
If you want to get it repaired, you would have to take the net settlement money they will pay you after you buy it back and then repair it.
June 20th, 2013 at 12:19 pm #jaMes
T
I’ll try to keep this brief.
I just found 3 checks from State Farm from 2007 while going through some mail. The checks are made out to me and the body shop that towed my car for me and did the quote/estimate on my car for me after the accident in 07.
Since I didn’t use this body shop’s services and State Farm is telling these checks are still valid, can I just have the shop sign an endorsement release form(as required by my bank since the checks are both over 9K) and cash them myself.
Also the car title belongs to me now. I paid the car off. I asked the rep to make the check out to only my name. She said she couldn’t since at the time of the claim, the car still had a lien. She would have to make them out in the same way. Is there any truth to that?
Please help. Thanks
June 20th, 2013 at 12:58 pm #Jason
james,
You could ask the body shop to sign the check. If they are unwilling to do that, you are within the guidelines for the insurance company to re-issue the checks only to you. The adjuster doesn’t know what she is talking about because at this current time, there are no liens and her company is not obligated to protect the lien holder’s financial interest. You may have to supply them with proof that there is no longer a lien holder associated with the vehicle.
If that doesn’t work, have the adjuster reissue the checks to you and the prior lien holder and then have the lien holder sign the checks so you can then cash the checks.
July 11th, 2013 at 2:19 pm #Cathy
Is it standard procedure for the insurance company to bring a contractor with them on their initial visit? Also is it normal for the contractor to have a form for the policy holder to sign that states they will receive whatever amount the adjuster recommends?
July 11th, 2013 at 2:46 pm #Jason
Cathy,
It is actually unethical to bring a contractor to the site. An adjuster being too close to a contractor that they would arrive at the loss location at the same time seems like there could collusion between those two.
An independent insurance adjuster should want to make sure he doesn’t recommend or bring any contractor to the attention of the homeowner. And actually makes it clear that they don’t recommend or suggest any contractor.
Stay away from that contractor at all costs. Additionally, report this to your insurance adjuster with the insurance company and ask that they notify you after they check into that independent adjuster’s conduct.
If the adjuster is an actual employee of your insurance company, that arrangement is even worse and should definitely be brought to the attention of the claim manager or even the insurance company CEO.
July 17th, 2013 at 4:35 pm #craig
what is the percentage of people that need legal assistance after an accident
July 17th, 2013 at 4:41 pm #Kelly
Story of the camper damage….insurance company was only offering a NADA base price for “totalling” camper. Final resolution involved emailing the adjustor who didn’t want to negotiate and cc: the President of the company. Problem resolved, check in hand in like 3-4 days. Good ending, although alot of grief for 3 weeks leading up to this final conclusion.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:12 am #joe
if i have bonded insurance policy and i wreak my girlfriends car will the damage be coverd by my policy or hers or either ???? thanks
July 18th, 2013 at 3:35 pm #Jason
craig,
That is not something we would know.
July 18th, 2013 at 3:40 pm #Jason
Joe,
Insurance, for the most part, starts with the car. If there is insurance on the car by your g.f., her insurance will cover the damage in the event of damage to her car.
Her insurance may have others that they can collect from and your bond policy may be one of the sources but I don’t know what your bond policy contains as far as coverage. Regardless, whatever happens with the insurance companies after the car is fixed and paid for won’t affect you.
July 18th, 2013 at 3:56 pm #Jason
Kelly,
Thank you for the update.
July 18th, 2013 at 8:23 pm #akif
Hi Jason,
I was goggling trying to get some answer and stumble upon this site and I am so glad that I did.
I had fire in the house, my house is in NY. I hired public adjuster to represent me. Now after months into the process, I feel that my adjuster is not on our side because he want us to use his contractor to do the work. We did not say no and we did not gave him positive response either. But it is a fact now that we are not going to use his contractor because he is too pricy. Now I am in situation where worried that if we tell him no, he will try to screw us up because after hiring him no one from the insurance company want to talk to us directly regarding the claim and we have no way of verifying the information he is giving us. I want to know how much he can control the whole process?
Next, our insurance company made us an offer of 150k which we are wiling to accept, now when i see the paper, they want to hold 35k which leaves us with the net of 115k. So I asked why they are holding the money because my understanding was and what i was told by you that we are getting 150k. so he told me the hold money will be give to us when we complete the work and send them the proof of invoices to have insurance release that money. now this leads to another problem, that if we dont use his guy and we get the work done which is worth 150k, and i send in invoices to get that hold money back, is it possible that he process those invoice incorrect and say insurance denied your claim, just to get back at us? or can i deal directly with insurance company at that point. I have no doubt that my adjuster and his contractor want to do the work which worth 115k and pocket 35k instead of letting us put it towards the house.
My next question, if we tell him that we want to sell the house just so we can get him off of our back, get the check, and instead of selling we rebuild, would we be in trouble if lied?
One last question, he want us to sign a paper which says that his fee’s check will be made out to him only, however there is a option where i can have his check made out to him and on our name. What is the best option for us, should I let him get the check under his name only or have joint check?
Please help us, we are stuck with unethical adjuster. We are not planing on committing any type of fraud or anything, but at the same time we don’t want money which is entitled to our house to go into someone else pocket.
thank you for taking the time out to read this and i will look forward to get a response from you on these questions.
July 18th, 2013 at 8:42 pm #Jason
akif,
Using a contractor that anybody involved in the claim recommends is not a good idea. You should hire a contractor based on your own research and recommendations from others you trust.
If you signed a contract with the public adjuster, that is not an insurance issue. It is a contract between you and the public adjuster you hired. That is beyond the scope of insurance topics I will discuss on here. I am not a big proponent of public adjusters, except in certain isolated cases.
I don’t recall responding to any prior posts you submitted. I would assume the $150,000 is your policy limit on the property in which you primarily reside. With a valued policy state such as NY, you would be paid the total amount of your policy limit if your property is considered a total loss. There should be no hold back if this is the case.
Regarding selling or rebuilding, you did not provide enough information to accurately answer that question.
Always, always get a 2 party check so if you are not content with the other party’s performance, you can refuse to endorse the check until you are content with their involvement.
Repost if you need additional information.
July 19th, 2013 at 9:38 am #akif
Jason,
Thank so much getting back so fast.
My policy is for 200k and after the fire insurance said damage on the house is for 150k, out of those 150k they want to “less depreciation or hold back” 35k. now my concern is that after I get all the work down which worth 150k and try to get insurance to relase 35k by sending them proof of work, let say my adjuster doesn’t file the proof correctly and my insurance denies the claim of giving us those 35k back. In that case what can I do?
Is it possible to give my adjuster his fee check and cut him loose so he is out of this whole process and then I do the follow up with the insurance company going forward?
Now that my insurance company has offered me 150k for the house as RCV, can I tell me insurance company that I want to sell the house, what will happen in this case?
Let’s say I decide to keep the house afterwards and get it renovated what will happen in that case?
July 19th, 2013 at 10:05 am #Jason
akif,
The insurance will abide by the terms of the contract that is your insurance policy. Please note that most policies have a time frame for you to notify the insurance company of your intent to do the repairs/replacement and also a time restraint on when you can no longer collect the recoverable depreciation. Those time restraints can be 6 or 12 months. Check with your own policy to find the specifics that apply to you.
The question about your public adjuster and your contract with him is not something I will address on here.
If you sell the house before collecting the $35,000, you will not receive that amount.
If you repair the house and keep it, there is nothing that should happen. Repairing a fire damaged home and keeping it is what is expected to happen.
July 19th, 2013 at 10:26 am #akif
Jason,
So it’s okay to tell my insurance company I want to sell the house as is. Will they give me any money then?
July 19th, 2013 at 12:35 pm #Jason
Regardless what you do, you will receive the ACV amount which I understand to be $ 115, 000.
July 23rd, 2013 at 12:17 pm #albert
Hi Jason,
I had a fire and I was offered ACV of 206k and RCV of 210k, I ended up taking ACV of 206k and told them I don’t want to rebuild. No I have changed my mind and want to rebuild and live in the house. Will I get in trouble from insurance if I rebuild the house and live in? By the way I am in NY.
Thank you for your help.
July 23rd, 2013 at 12:41 pm #Jason
albert,
You can do anything you want with your land and your property. People change their minds all the time, so if you rebuild, there is nothing about that that you should be concerned about.
There is $4000 available to you if you do rebuild. You have to find out how to make a claim for that amount and the time limitations that you have to make that claim. Reading your insurance policy or calling your claim representative with questions are ways you can obtain that information.
July 25th, 2013 at 11:50 pm #Cathy
Jason,
I asked my contractor for an invoice that told me the material and labor costs and he told me it was proprietary and sent me a copy of my insurance estimate. What can I do?
July 26th, 2013 at 8:06 am #Jason
Cathy,
Get a different contractor. Any contractor that you cannot trust or one who cannot provide you with fundamental information about how your money is being used does not need to be in business.
If you owe him money, refuse to pay any of it until he provides you with a breakdown of the materials and labor. You can tell him your money is proprietary and in order for you to dispense it, you need to see his labor and material breakdown. Stand your ground with this contractor – unless you like being pushed around by him and others.
July 29th, 2013 at 12:04 pm #albert
Jason,
What are the constrains associated with the ACV vs. RCV? If i take my ACV will my insurance keep paying for my rent? I understand that ACV is when they take depreciation on your house. What i am trying to understand is that why people go for RCV vs. ACV.
thanks.
July 29th, 2013 at 12:41 pm #Jason
Albert,
You get the ACV as basically the down payment for the damage to your property. Then when the damage is repaired or replaced, then you can make a secondary claim for the repairs if the repairs exceed the initial ACV payment, up to the total amount of the estimate from which your claim is based. Remember, there are time constraints tied to when you have to complete the repairs and make a claim for the difference between ACV and replacement cost.
I don’t know what you mean by paying your rent. If it’s that you are being paid for rent to live else where, that will continue until the repairs SHOULD BE completed.
If you are receiving rent because of “loss of rent”, that will continue until the repairs of the dwelling SHOULD BE completed.
If the insurance company is aware that you are not going to rebuild, then they may cut the rental payments to you earlier than the time the repairs SHOULD BE completed.
Many people accept the ACV, then rebuild, and then they make a claim up to the estimate total to claiim the replacement value. You don’t have to choose either amount to the exclusion of the other amount.
If you have more questions, just post again.
July 30th, 2013 at 5:59 pm #albert
Jason,
I think I didnt explain my self clearly. My scenario is that I want ACV, which is with building deprecation. In other words I want my insurance company to cut me one check of bigger amount. In other words with RCV, my insurance company will pay be little portion up fornt as ACV and then I have to send proof to get remaining balance. I dont want to do all the paper work again and again, so I asked them to give me ACV, which will be one check with 25k less than the I am okay with it since I dont want to do paperwork.
My intention is to rebuild even after taking ACV, and now I am being told I will not get paid for architectural fee if I took ACV with bigger check. Can you shed some light on this?
July 30th, 2013 at 6:05 pm #Kari
Albert- if you want to rebuild, take RC- once repairs/rebuild is completed they normally just verify it is complete and then release the rest of the funds.
July 30th, 2013 at 6:17 pm #Jason
albert,
No, I can’t shed any light on your situation. If the insurance company determines an ACV and a RCV amount, they should send you the ACV amount in one single payment, not multiple payments as you’ve indicated is the case.
With the information you provided, there is nothing more that I can add. ACV is $206,000 and RCV is $210,000.
You should be getting a payment for the ACV value of $206,000. If they want to send you the ACV in increments, that does not sound like the parameters of the language of the policy. The policy indicates you will be paid ACV upon a loss. If you rebuild per the constraints of the policy, and have a provision for replacement in your policy, and you do so within the time limits, you can then make a claim for an amount up to the RCV.
Read your policy section regarding, HOW MUCH WE PAY
FOR LOSS OR OCCURRENCE, and the subsection called, Loss Settlement Terms and you should understand what is supposed to happen. In the same area of your policy, you can then read, Replacement Cost Terms to figure out your options and if the policy agreement is being carried out appropriately based on what your insurance company is doing.
August 3rd, 2013 at 12:54 pm #Bob
My car was hit by a young man (high school age) on a bicycle and caused substantial damage above the deductible ($3,800 damage – deductible is $500). I do have uninsured motorist. However, my insurance company states they will not waive the deductible because the young man was on a bicycle and not a “motorized” vehicle. What is California’s law concerning a bicycle running into a car and my insurance’s requirements. It has always been my understanding that bicycles follow the same rules as motorists. I appreciate any information you can provide.
August 3rd, 2013 at 2:41 pm #Jason
Bob,
If your policy, which is a contract between you and the insurance company, is in compliance with all state laws, then your insurance policy rules. There is no part of your policy that allows for your deductible to be waived – certainly not because of a kid on a bike hitting it. Something similar would be a person who lost control of their grocery cart and hit into your car.
The coverage for uninsured does not apply to your situation. Bicycle riders are not required to carry liability insurance. Although bikes need to follow the rules of the road, uninsured motorist’s coverage is for someone driving a motorized vehicle, without insurance, who strikes your car.
August 11th, 2013 at 9:16 am #Jennifer
We bought an 80+ year old house built on pier and beam foundation in rural north Texas about six weeks ago. The previous owners, an elderly couple, used the house as a second home and only stayed here about a dozen weekends a year for three years. Last week while the whole family was in the kitchen (2 adults and 4 children) we heard a sudden thud and noticed a dip in the floor and a one inch gap between the bottom cabinets and floor. I had a relative inspect the floor joists through the crawl space and it was discovered that several joists were no longer attached to the outside supports of the house and the skirting is falling apart. There are now several cracks in the ceiling and the entire kitchen appears to be in imminent danger of collapsing. The kitchen is located in an addition that was built approximately 30 years ago. I’ve consulted with several contractors and home builders and have been told by all of them that we need to demo the addition and rebuild before it collapses and threatens the rest of the house. Will any of this be covered under our homeowners? We USAA for our insurance
August 11th, 2013 at 12:27 pm #Jason
Jennifer,
I don’t know all the facts of what is happening to your home. The important thing is if what caused that condition is a covered cause of loss. A cause of loss is the event that happens that results with damage. In your case, and I don’t know all the facts, it may be faulty construction. Faulty construction is not a covered cause of loss.
The second thing is if the collapse you described is the kind covered in your policy. Below I copied some text from a typical homeowner policy. Regardless, you will have to submit a claim in order to find out if it’s covered. Have assurance that you are with a good insurance company.
2. Collapse
a. “We” pay for direct physical loss to covered property involving the collapse of a building or a part of a building if the collapse was caused only by one or more of the following:
1) a Peril Insured Against described under Coverage C;
2) insect, rodent, or “vermin” damage, but only if no “insured” knew of or could reasonably be expected to suspect the presence of such damage prior to the collapse;
3) decay, but only if no “insured” knew of or could reasonably be expected to suspect the presence of such decay prior to the collapse;
4) weight of animals, equipment, people, or personal property;
5) weight of rain that collects on a roof; or
6) the use of defective materials or methods in construction or repair if the collapse occurs during the course of construction or repair.
However, “we” do not pay for loss to awnings, bulkheads, cesspools, decks, docks, drains, fences, flues, foundations, patios, paved areas, piers, retaining walls, septic tanks, swimming pools, underground pipes, or wharves caused by a peril described in 2) through 6) above unless the loss is the direct result of the collapse of a building or a part of a building. With respect to loss caused by a peril described in 2) through 6) above, awnings, bulkheads, cesspools, decks, docks, drains, fences, flues, foundations, patios, paved areas, piers, retaining walls, septic tanks, swimming pools, underground pipes, and wharves are not considered to be buildings or parts of buildings, whether or not such property is attached to or connected to one or more buildings.
b. In this Incidental Property Coverage:
1) collapse of a building or a part of a building means an abrupt caving in, falling in, falling down, or giving way of the building or the part of the building that prevents the building or the part of the building from being occupied for the purpose for which it was intended just before caving in, falling in, falling down, or giving way; and
2) the following are not considered to be in a state of collapse:
a) a building or a part of a building that has not caved in, fallen in, fallen down, or given way even if it displays evidence of bending, bowing, bulging, cracking, expansion, inadequate load bearing capacity, leaning, sagging, settling, or shrinkage;
b) a building or a part of a building in danger of caving in, falling in, falling down, or giving way; or
c) a part of a building that has not caved in, fallen in, fallen down, or given way even if it has separated from another part of the building.
However, the “terms” stated in 1) and 2) above do not limit coverage for direct loss to covered property caused by a Peril Insured Against described under Coverage C.
c. With respect to this Incidental Property Coverage, the peril of Weight Of Ice, Snow, Or Sleet means the weight of ice, snow, or sleet that causes damage to a building.
d. This coverage does not increase the “limits” that apply to the property covered.
e. The Bacteria, Fungi, Wet Rot, Or Dry Rot and Errors, Omissions, And Defects exclusions under Exclusions That Apply To Property Coverages do not apply to this Incidental Property Coverage.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:07 pm #Albert
Jason,
My insurance company offered me ACV and RCV, I ended up taking ACV, payment came in one single check. Now question about ALE. Am I still entitle to receive ALE?
I am rebuilding the house and not selling it.
thank you.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:24 pm #Jason
Albert,
You should receive your ACV payment and then if the rebuild is completed within the policy time constraints, you should be able to then make a claim for the recoverable depreciation. The recoverable depreciation is the difference between ACV and RCV. Check with your adjuster to find out the time constraints ahead of you.
You likely have ALE avaiable in your policy. Talk to your adjuster to find out the parameters of that coverage and insist that they pay for it.
September 15th, 2013 at 5:51 pm #Tim
Hi,
I moved my family to nc into a rental home. I still have florida home with homeowners policy in effect. I bought renters policy after 1 month. We had a fire during transition period in rental that landlords ins co is claiming was my wife’s fault and is looking for $20,000. Do you think my current homeowners policy in florida might cover this liabilty.
September 15th, 2013 at 6:53 pm #Jason
Tim,
The answer to that is unknown. You may have to make a claim under that policy to find out.
September 17th, 2013 at 9:44 am #Tim
I have $100,000 liabilty on my homeowners policy. What is different if my son caused damage to other house. I thought my liabilty coverage would extend if I caused damage to someone else property
September 17th, 2013 at 10:00 am #Jason
Tim,
A homeowner policy provides an “umbrella” of protection for resident family members of the home that is insured. When one does not live in the house that is insured, there technically is not that umbrella of protection. Your circumstances are a bit complicated and any answers we provide on here may not apply to your situation.
So, when you say you have $100,000 in liabilty protection under your home in which you do not live, you (and your family) might not actually have that coverage. You can’t assume coverage when you change the dynamics for what your policy provides coverage.
September 17th, 2013 at 10:04 am #Tim
I am still living and working at the primary home in florida. My wife and kids are in rental until I sell this house. I always assumed it covered us in the event that damage was caused to someone else’s property
September 17th, 2013 at 10:16 am #Jason
Tim,
Again, changing the dynamics of your homeowner policy by moving your wife and son to a different residence technically removes the umbrella for resident family members of a household. They may still be your family members but they are no longer part of your household.
Don’t assume coverage. The only way you will find out coverage is by making a claim.
October 13th, 2013 at 7:57 pm #Ad
Are insurance companies subject to state “total loss/salvage title” percentage limits? Can an insurance company legally declare my vehicle a total loss if my state law says 80% is the “salvage title” and my repairs are only 70% of the ACV the insurance company determined?
October 14th, 2013 at 8:49 am #Jason
Ad,
Don’t confuse salvage title laws with the operations and policy of insurance companies. The state law can only define at what percentage a vehicle’s title must be marked a salvage title. The law does not make policy for the insurance companies.
The insurance company can total a car with whatever amount of damage it determines when deciding to repair or total. To answer your question by re-wording it, there is nothing illegal about totaling your car if the insurance company determines that totaling makes more sense than repairing.
October 23rd, 2013 at 10:33 am #los
Haveing problem with allstate renter insurance please contact me. At 3136239854
October 23rd, 2013 at 12:53 pm #Jason
los,
If you have an insurance question, you can post it. I can just about guarantee you won’t get a phone call.
October 25th, 2013 at 11:56 am #Katy
We had some storm damage that destroyed the sash of two windows. The insurance company has sent estimates for putting in windows without a nailing fin, a common replacement method when updating windows that reduces the cost of installing. The contractor we’re working with is insistent that this is not as good of a window – that the nailing fin is integral to water tightness of window. Our insurance contract is for similar construction. Does that mean replacing in the original manner a window with a nailing fin?
October 25th, 2013 at 1:47 pm #Jason
Katy,
The terms referenced in a standard home owner policy are stated as:
(a) using materials of like kind and quality; and
(b) for like use.
If the damage was isolated to 2 sashes, those 2 sashes should be replaced and the window frame should be left intact. If the repair is done this way, there would not be a need to discuss nailing fins.
Nailing fins are primarily for new construction, fin-less windows are for existing structures to replace a window without having to deal with the exterior siding on a home. The policy wording is vague and since it is, that would mean replacement windows they are suggesting is an appropriate repair.
November 9th, 2013 at 7:40 am #Bev Szeliga
I have my homeowners insurance with Farmers Mutual of Salem County. I recently had a serious fire at my house. The insurance company sent me an estimate to repair the house of $216,000. The house was built in the 1800’s and I don’t think any repair will ever totally eliminate the smoke smell. I would like to tear down and replace the house but he insurance company will only give me a depreciated value of $183,000 to tear down and replace the house. I think I could tear down and replace the house with an acceptable, smaller house for $200,00, but they will not pay this amount. Do I have any recourse?
November 10th, 2013 at 2:22 pm #Jason
Bev,
In which state is the damaged house? Is your insurance an ACV policy?
November 12th, 2013 at 6:44 am #Bev Szeliga
My insurance is in Maryland. As the house was built in the 1800s, it is insured for the estimated cost to replace the house and this cost is adjusted for inflation every year.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:18 am #Faye
We purchased a car in 2009 -bought the life insurance on the loan. My husband died in 3/10. The Insurance company wanted all the medical history of my husband -after I turn in a claim to pay the car off. I put it in writing that my husband had a kidney transplant in 2004 and a bypass heart surgery.
The life insurance on the policy was accepted by the insurance company without any other paper work needed. Now they want a list of the medication etc. in order to pay off the claim.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:57 am #Jason
Faye,
Each life insurance policy can be different from the next. I don’t know any of the parameters of the life insurance policy you have but you should review the contractual language of the policy to see what information you are required to submit for a claim. If you are not able to review the policy or don’t understand it, have the insurance company provide you with the parts of the policy that indicate what you need to provide.
December 1st, 2013 at 9:26 pm #Chris
Hi someone recently backed up into my parked car and the person gave me their info and next day told me they had already filed a claim and someone would get with me. It had been a week and still nothing so I called their insurance and they told me that the person filed a claim and my next step was to go to a body shop of my choice and to let them know and they would handle it from there. I have a lienholder on my vehicle but does that sound right for me just to go to a body shop and call them back to give them that info or should their be an estimator come out to me it’s been about 3 weeks now and I haven’t found a shop nor have I heard from them. Can you please let me know what I should do?
December 1st, 2013 at 9:45 pm #Jason
Chris,
Get an estimate and send it to the other guys insurance company like requested.
Your other option is to file a claim with your own insurance company if you have physical damage insurance on your car. It seems that you are causing a delay in your claim.
December 2nd, 2013 at 3:13 pm #Chris
No they didn’t tell me to submit anything to them they told to call and let them know where I was going to drop it off at and they would take care of it.
December 2nd, 2013 at 3:42 pm #Jason
Chris,
Take your car to the place where you want it fixed and then inform the insurance company where you took it. You should do what the insurance company is asking you to do so you can get your car fixed. If you get the car repaired, there is no reason to involve your lienholder.
When you take your car to the bodyshop, the insurance will get an estimate from the bodyshop estimate writer. The insurance company will then approve the repairs. It doesn’t seem there is a need for anybody else to look at your car when a person capable of writing a repair estimate is at the bodyshop. I’m fairly confident the bodyshop will even send photos to the insurance company to document the damage they will fix.
If you have questions or need additional guidance, call the insurance company adjuster and ask. When you talk to the adjuster again, ask if they can authorize a rental car for the days your car will be in the shop. (Usually rental cars are paid on a reimbursement basis, and up to a certain limit such as $30/day.)
December 2nd, 2013 at 3:54 pm #Chris
Ok thanks so much!
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:54 pm #George R Silas Jr.
I bought a pricey $10,000 ring and added this to my home owners policy the day I bought it to make sure I had coverage. My agent with 123 insurance had jeweler fax the appraisal and it was covered. 2 years ago I was shopped by another insurance company. this company is 456 insurance. They said they could lower my premiums and maintain all the coverages I had including the ring. My new agent with 456 insurance, asked for appraisal which I provided as proof of value bla bla bla. I trusted this woman and was happy to save money. 3 weeks ago. My house was broken into and household goods and the ring were stolen. I filed a claim with 456 insurance and the stolen household items were covered. The ring was denied because agent did not add this to my homeowners policy with 456 insurance. I also learnt that my deductible was $1000 instead of the old $500 I had. She promised to match what I had at a lower premium. She lied. She raised deductible. this is what allowed her to beat the premium I had before with 123 insurance. 456 insurance Claims adjuster just told me that ring will not be covered since it was never added to the policy with their company. 456 agent is also now saying I never asked her to cover the ring and claims I never gave her proof of appraisal. That she never quoted this and I never asked to have this separate jewellery rider. Even though I have proof I carried coverage on this with my previous carrier. I am so angry and lost. My jeweler says ring is now worth 19,000 to buy a similar one. That ring was worth 5 years of my savings. What can I do. I was lied to and taken advantage and screwed because I trusted the professional insurance agent. Please help. Thank you. May you send me an email of your answer in case I cant find this site again in google. Thank you.
December 3rd, 2013 at 3:20 pm #Jason
George,
Every standard homeowner policy contains a sub-limit on jewelry of $2500 regardless if the jewelry is scheduled or not. It would seem you were promised and sold insurance under the guise of lies. Not only did you enter into an insurance policy without the ring scheduled, you also had your deductible doubled. Every party that enters into a contract (policy) has to confirm the parameters that were sold to them and to review the policy immediately after it is issued. Doing that would have prevented the situation you find yourself in right now.
Since you didn’t review your coverage and deductible at the time of switching, you share in the blame for what developed. The insurance company adheres to the language, coverage, and deductible outlined in the policy. The insurance company has no obligation to provide coverage not listed in the policy.
Your only remedy right now is to hold the agent responsible for her mistatements and lies. That is easier said than done. You may have to sue that agent. Suit may lead to a claim under her errors and omissions insurance if she makes a claim under that coverage.
If you have not been paid the sub-limit of $2500 for jewelry, make sure you do. Other than that, I don’t expect you to receive anything above $2500 for your stolen jewelry from either the agent or the insurance company.
December 21st, 2013 at 6:03 am #Monica
Geico deemed my older car a total loss due to rear end damage when I was hit while stopped in a drive thru. The body shop left me with additional problems after they disassembled my car – the stereo is not working and trunk seal is off and initially so was the bumper. I would think body shop would be responsible for getting it to the condition in which they got ir, but theyre saying Geico didnt pay them for that. Geico is saying they cannot pay for reassembly since it is salvage and I “retained” vehicle. I cannot believe there isnt a law to protect driver from addtl damages?
December 21st, 2013 at 7:36 am #Jason
Monica,
For a car that is salvage, nobody in their right mind would re-assemble the car. That’s throwing good money after bad money. If you believe paying to have the parts re-assembled, then you will need to pay to have that done or simply do it yourself.
With the radio, I don’t see how an impact to the rear of your car would affect the radio which is closer to the front of the car than the back.
We already have millions of laws. We don’t need anymore just to accomodate your one-in-a-lifetime event.
December 25th, 2013 at 10:45 am #michelina
I was assaulted by a man who was found guilty of assault (not on the multiple counts of rape). He knocked out my front tooth that will cost $1,000’s to get an implant. My insurance does not cover.
This happened at an apartment he leased but he lived at his house which has a mortgage.
Has a HO policy ever covered an assault by their insured off premise? If. so under what language in the policy would it be found?
Thank you so much
December 25th, 2013 at 7:45 pm #Jason
michelina,
A criminal act is an intentional event. Intentional actions are not covered by any insurance company.
No insurance company policy is designed to cover intentional acts such as the one you described. The best place to find coverage is your health insurance policy. The court may award restitution in your case but no insurance policy is designed to cover that act.
December 25th, 2013 at 8:44 pm #Michelina
Thank you Jason, I appreciate your speedy reply.
Happy Christmas and I really enjoy reading your responses to others, I’m always learning something.
Cheers,
Michelina
December 30th, 2013 at 3:25 am #Shiv
Hello,
I had a car accident where my car was totaled. Allstate valued my car but the 20 comparable cars they used for valuation were not certified pre owned. My car is certified pre owned. Due to this the valuation of the car is significantly lower. I sent them 4 comparable cars which were certified pre owned. But when they included in their list of 20 cars for valuation it didn’t make a difference.
Can I tell them that the comparables they are using are not correct and they should compare cars that are certified pre owned just like my car. It had full certified pre owned warranty left in the car. AllState has given me final offer and told me if I don’t agree then I have to go through their Internal Appeals process.
Any advise would be highly appreciated.
Thank you ..
December 30th, 2013 at 6:59 am #Jason
Shiv,
You are hung up on a concept that was designed to fool you. Think about what “certified pre-owned” means.
I attest under penalty of perjury that every comparable car on the list is certified pre-owned. So help me god.
Now that I have assured you that all the comparable cars are not new, can you see how you have been deceived to think your car is better than other cars of the same value?
Warranties are very similar to insurance. If you have a warranty left, cancel it and the prorated funds that are unused should be sent back to you. However, if it’s a warranty stating the car is “pre-owned” (aka “used”), don’t count on getting anything back.
Regarding the internal appeals process. If you don’t agree with the adjuster’s offer and you appeal, you will be asking the exact same people to reconsider their decision. That would be like the adjuster sending you an appeal to accept their offer and asking you to change your mind. How much time and effort would you give their appeal? Their appeal process is imaginary and designed to make you think you could change their mind and their offer when it’s likely a process they are able to get a lot of laughs from. If you want a fair appeal, you would need an independent and un-involved party to make the appeal decision.
January 10th, 2014 at 8:28 am #Josh
I have damage from recent weather to water pipe. The pipe is behind a wall which means the tub will have to be ripped out which will probably mean replacing the tub. If the tub has to be replaced can it be replaced with tile rather than a full surround tub will the insurance company allow that?
January 10th, 2014 at 8:45 am #Jason
Josh,
Your insurance policy owes for what you had prior to things being damaged. If you work out the details with your adjuster and do tile instead, they might support that. You will need to communicate with your adjuster to find out all your options. Please note that displacing a tub to access a broken pipe does not necessarily require the tub to be replaced. Most one piece tubs don’t fit through bathroom doors even if the door is a 36 inch door. Detaching the tub and resetting it may make more sense.
January 17th, 2014 at 10:55 am #Becky
Hello – – We recently had damage to our house from a frozen water pipe. The water mitigators cleaned up most and sprayed for mold (I think). Water damaged 3 wood floors. 2 have been pulled up so they could dry. The third floor had minimal damage (2 feet). Should this floor be pulled up as well if they others were not dry underneath? Also, the cabinets have mold on them. What is the insurance company required to do if there is mold on the cabinets? Finally, our appliances/electronics were soaked with water for 3 hours. The insurance company is talking about not replacing them. I am concerned about problems in the future with our appliances.
We have USAA.
Thank you.
January 17th, 2014 at 11:19 am #Jason
Becky,
USAA is one of the highest rated insurance companies. That is good for you. The water damage occurred to your home and you, as an owner, have everything at stake so you need to make sure the water damage is fully resolved. The presence of mold is the direct result of water and should be covered by your policy. You will have to work with your adjuster about your claim and make sure you and the adjuster are on the same page about everything. I don’t know if your floor should be pulled up. Discuss that option. Make sure the adjuster is aware of your cabinet concerns. I can’t comment on the appliances since I haven’t viewed your claim. If the water was limited to the floor area, I wouldn’t be concerned since most applicances have their electronics and mechanical components higher than floor level.
January 24th, 2014 at 7:43 pm #Tom
I have a 1998 camper that I recently purchased in July of 2013. I recently had a tree branch fall on one of my vent covers in the center if camper causing to shatter and begin to leak January 4th 2014. Upon first inspection I figured I could replace good vent do some caulking and everything would be ok. I went back to inspect camper on January 18th and saw that it was still leaking. So I took it down to my parents house and my and my dad figured it was something we would be unable repair it because the branch actually caused the entire vent unit structure to compress so I took it to shop. The appraiser basically told me I was lying and this camper has had a water leak for a long time, and there is no way that I could have just noticed a leak in January. My adjust called me today and said my claim was denied. Last night I even sent pictures show the inside and no signs of water damage. Service person at shop said the subframe has been destroyed , and thinks previous owner had a leak did repairs and sealed everything back and tree branch caused precious repair to fail. He even stated it was very possible that I would have no idea. I would like to know if should be denied? If some had been repaired before and something happens again shouldn’t it be covered? I think the biggest issue I have besides the loss is being basically called a liar from the appraiser. Any help would be much appreciated.
January 24th, 2014 at 7:48 pm #Tom
Sorry for grammatical errors. I am typing on a phone and not to mention vet frustrated.
January 24th, 2014 at 8:09 pm #Jason
Tom,
You are not lying – you are presenting the claim as it happened to you. Your insurance would not be on the hook for prior damage that was cosmetically repaired by a prior owner. They should cover the most recent damage but you would have to foot the long-term damage, including the damage to the framing.
See if you can have your repair person help you get your claim damage covered and repaired by your insurance company. The repair person would probably have the most influence of what your insurance covers, if anything.
January 29th, 2014 at 4:22 am #Claudia
I suffered a fire back on 4/20/13 in NYS. My insurance is Liberty Mutual. I hired a public adjuster thinking that she would help me with this process. Well, after many headaches, delays, educating myself about the claim settlement process and I winning settlements with my insurance company, the public adjuster was discharged from my claim with a reduced compensation. After the agreement was signed with a clause of their discharge and emailed to Liberty, they were probably notified by one of Liberty’s adjuster that they forgot to add their content settlement fee and the public adjuster emailed me requesting the rest of the settlement. We negotiate to reduce their fee from 10 to 5%. We refused since settlement was signed and once again, it showed the company’s poor management.
Since the content adjuster is still working on the rest of the settlement, she is giving a hard time since I need a regulation 10 form. Despite emailing her multiple times and explaining to her that I no longer work with a public adjuster and attaching the discharge and settlement agreement with the public adjuster, the content specialist continues to stop the process until I give her the reg 10 form. I already escalated the issue to her supervisor however my experience has been that she does not follow through. Does any one know to get the contact information for the chain of command within Liberty insurance home owner’s claim dept.? I have tried in the past to call the toll free number, but they don’t give that information. Also, how do I continue fighting this issue with this regulation 10 form?
Since I have been a fighter throughout my claim process, I feel that this is being done on purpose since the public adjuster mishandled their compensation settlement (what an irony).
Thank you for all the help.
January 29th, 2014 at 7:46 am #Jason
Claudia,
You have to assume the PA called the insurance company and informed them of his negotiated settlement for the personal property portion of the claim. That is a reasonable action if he has money on the line. If he did call, fax, or e-mail the insurance company, your signed discharge is meaningless. (Technically, your commitment to pay 5% is in writing because you admitted that obligation in your post above.)
Because of your dealings with the PA and how you negotiated a lower deal but are not going to honor it, I have a feeling your insurance company has the same feeling I do that you are not being honest. Not being honest about one thing is easily applied to anything you say or do.
You indicate you’ve been a “fighter” for your entire claim process, I have an idea your insurance adjuster is sick and tired of dealing with you and your public adjuster. And if they have a lack of trust in the PA and/or you, they won’t act the same toward your claim as if you hadn’t been fighting the process the entire time. Fire claims are difficult enough without somone fighting your every decision along the way.
If your insurance company wants the Reg 10 form, send them the Reg 10 form. I don’t want to encourage your continuance of fighting about your claim without good reason so I won’t provide any guidance other than to suggest you conclude your claim with the adjuster or his/her manager in a fair and honest way.
January 29th, 2014 at 9:16 am #claudia
Hello Jason,
thank you for the response. I was not trying to be dishonest actually they had broke down the settlement in the different amounts describing the amount they would be entitled to. After it was all signed and email, that’s when the PA came with an “oops”. I will be signing the documents since finally, the PA decided to email the forms
Yes, I agreed that my insurance company is tired of dealing with me because I have been fighting for my rights within my policy.
Thanks
February 11th, 2014 at 6:04 am #Ken
I am in a dispute over an insurance claim on my boat. The insurance company has denied my claim saying that the damage was a manufactures defect when in fact the hull was crushed by the marina who is not taking responsibility. While I fight this can I have my boat repaired or do I have to leave it in limbo till everything is settled.
February 11th, 2014 at 7:26 am #Jason
Ken,
You own the boat. You alone dictate what goes on with it – and nobody else. If you want to fix your boat, you have all the control and power over that decision.
February 27th, 2014 at 8:43 am #Sandy
Is it lawful for an insurance company to cancel homeowners insurance for reasons of “vacancy” when the insurance company is aware that the home is contaminated and re-occupying the home would put health at risk for occupants? Contaminant is formaldehyde.
February 27th, 2014 at 10:23 am #Jason
Sandy,
Absolutely insurance can be canceled if a home is vacant. Vacant homes present more exposure to loss that can occur and the insurance doesn’t want to be exposed to those extra risks. Usually when a home is vacant for a period of time, certain coverages cease to apply.
Bottom line is that insurance companies can cancel anybody, for any reason, and at any time. (60 day notice is required by law, but that’s it.)
March 20th, 2014 at 6:02 am #Mb
I need to know if I should make a claim on an accident that my son had two nights ago in a bad snowstorm.
I have two sons on my insurance under 25 years of age. Last year my younger son had a car accident in the rain and totaled his vehicle. A claim was paid out for the car. (He was faulted but not ticketed.) He also got a ticket this year and the point/points were not dropped in a different state. My older son had this accident two nights ago. He damaged his vehicle, the hood is buckled slightly, the grill is slightly damaged, and the front driver side panel over the front wheel is damaged. The car is drivable and all the lights work as well as the engine parts. It doesn’t look as though the engine was damaged only exterior damage. The car is a 2001 and only has 90,000 miles on it. Should I make the claim or have my son drive it the way it is?
March 20th, 2014 at 8:27 am #Jason
Mb,
You have insurance in the event your insured car is damaged. If you want insurance involved, make a claim.
March 22nd, 2014 at 11:16 am #tom mcardle
I had a carport on someone else land and it feel down in a snow storm the lady turn it in to her homer insurance should I get the money because I owned the carport
March 22nd, 2014 at 11:38 am #Jason
tom,
Ownership of something is based, in major part, by possession of the item. On the surface, if the homeowner made a claim and was paid for the damaged carport, it appears she collected for the damage and loss of use of the carport. She seems to have made the claim under the pretense that the carport is owned by her. She also has the expense of disposing of the damaged carport. I can’t imagine you paying for the carport’s disposal expense.
I fail to see a loss on your part since you don’t have possession or use of the carport. The woman submitted a claim of the loss and she was paid. If you can convince her that you should be paid, then perhaps. But short of that, no.
March 23rd, 2014 at 5:45 pm #Bill
Had a dishwasher that was covered under extended warranty through sears that sprung a leak. The extended warranty company turned the claim over to the manufacturers insurance ( Electric insurance for GE products). The water damage to the floor has been cleaned up but we are with out a functioning kitchen and have been for 4 weeks since lower cabinets were all torn out due to water damage along with stovetop and sink they were connected to. We are now having to eat out every day where usually we would have breakfast, lunch and dinner at home since we work locally only 10 minutes from home . The insurance company is claiming that they only reimburse anything over 200.00 per week for a family of four.. We have been saving the recipts from having to eat out and our total for 4 weeks is 1100.00. Our typical weekly grocery expense is 100.00 per week.
Can we hold them accountable for reimbursement for us having to eat out all meals since our kitchen is not functioning? any advice would be greatly appreciated.
March 23rd, 2014 at 6:31 pm #Jason
Bill,
You have a contract for insurance coverage including loss of use and/or additional cost of living with your homeowner insurance. You would be the insured with your homeowner claim.
With the sears warranty and the GE involvement, you are the claimant. I have no idea what their obligation is to you because warranties are not standard insurance products. GE is likely handing the claim by following tort law. When you are a claimant, the responsible party legally only owes you ACV. And in your case, they are applying generic conditions to your extra expense claim. With your homeowner insurance, the coverage is replacement cost.
If you continue your claim through GE, you will have to negotiate the best you can to get them to cover more of your extra expenses. Get their claim manager involved and complain about how their guidelines should not apply to your family. Justify to them why they should pay more. Otherwise, start over and submit this claim with your own insurance company. Your homeowner insurance will then collect the money from GE, including your deductible to return to you, and you won’t have to deal with negotiating with GE.
If you cannot negotiate more for your extra expense, your option would be to sue GE. Suing doesn’t mean you will be successful.
May 2nd, 2014 at 3:40 pm #CHERYL MILLER
My husband and I have progressive insurance. Neither one of us has had any wrecks or tickets. My youngest daughter is also on our policy. She’s 21. My husband recently had an accident (last week) he hit a concrete mailbox on the side of the road. No other vehicles were involved. How much of an increase in premium should we expect????
May 2nd, 2014 at 3:42 pm #CHERYL MILLER
My husband and I have progressive insurance. Neither one of us has had any wrecks or tickets. My youngest daughter is also on our policy. She’s 21. My husband recently had an accident (last week) he hit a concrete mailbox on the side of the road. No other vehicles were involved. How much of an increase in premium should we expect????
Please respond as soon as you can. Thank you,
Cheryl Miller
May 2nd, 2014 at 3:50 pm #Jason
Cheryl,
That depends on progressive’s underwriting policy. Your agent may know the answer to this question so direct your question to him/her.
May 6th, 2014 at 4:23 am #melissa
We recently had server storms and hail. I have insurance and made a claim on my car. My house has a 5k deductible and I did not make a claim but I have tons of roof damage even a broken window, but with the high deductible I know I can have it replaced cheaper and no rate hike. The car I took into the adjuster and after about a week or so I had to take it to a special adjuster that explained there is a red mark on the car so it looks like fraud? out of I don’t know 30 to 50 dings there is a red mark in one. Ok there is a red mark on a seven year old car. I haven’t had any kind of insurance claim in ten plus years and that was a fender bender and then 8 years before that one that was not my fault. I have no criminal record. Have made some repairs to the car already (windshield). Have plenty of money to make all repairs in the bank but thought “this is why I have insurance” This guy wants pics of my roof and window no big deal I can email but statements from neighbors? All this for a fifteen hundred dollar claim? He keeps saying this is normal? It doesn’t feel normal! I honestly don’t have anymore time for this run around but keep jumping threw hoops cause isn’t this why I have insurance? What if this was a large accident? Any advise, help or comments are appreciated.
May 9th, 2014 at 1:51 pm #Mary
Hi I was in a accident 3 months ago. The lady’s insurance claims it’s my fault. They never came to look at my car and there is no police report, I did not have insurance at the time. They called me recently and said I have to pay 7 grand for her repairs. They never called me before for any reason. I took a picture of the lady’s car to a body shop and said it’d be about 700 to fix but was never contacted by her or her insurance to take the car to get fixed. I think 7 grand is an unreasonably high amount to pay. Do I have to pay? Is there a way to lower the amount?
May 9th, 2014 at 6:28 pm #Jason
Mary,
You can pay if you want. If you don’t, they would have to secure a judgment against you and either garnish your wages or do a garnishment of non-earnings. It would probably go to collections before they tried to secure a judgment.
You can ask for the estimate or invoice from which the insurance company paid to see if all the items match the items you damaged.
May 9th, 2014 at 10:23 pm #Mary
Thanks Jason ! The only thing the lady told me on the phone was that it was for repairs and a rental and that I’d get a letter explaining the rest. I don’t mind paying the damage but the rest of the stuff I don’t feel I should be obligated to pay.
May 10th, 2014 at 7:31 am #Jason
Mary,
Because the total amount seems so high, it may be that the other driver had injuries in which that person received treated.
Technically you would be responsible for everything related to the accident – including medical payments paid for an injury. The decision to pay it voluntarily is entirely up to you.
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:17 am #Leo
Homeowners question. Mom and dad are going through a divorce in domestic violence court, not yet finalized, he burns down the house which is in her name. He has not been found guilty but is charged with arson 2. would insurance pay if he was found guilty, and would they be more likely to pay if he is found insane? Thanks for the time!
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:17 am #Jason
The matter of sanity doesn’t matter with insurance. What matters is if he is considered an “insured” under the insurance policy and generally a spouse is included in that definition. If he is considered an insured along with your mother then the insurance can be denied because an intentional act of burning a house is not accidental.
Many states are addressing this situation involving an “innocent insured” where one insured burns or destroys property without any involvement from the other insured. Some claims are paying half the claim, others are paying all of it to the innocent insured. Some are still denying the claims. Much of what the insurance company will do depends on the laws in your state. Look up the laws to find out more concerning innocent insureds and how insurance companies address that concern in your state.
June 16th, 2014 at 2:18 pm #aj
our car was damaged during a hailstorm in reading pa recently and our car insurance wont cover it due to us having liability. Is there anyway we can getmoney back for the car thru the insurance company or any other company?
June 16th, 2014 at 2:24 pm #Jason
aj,
You need to have physical damage insurance in order to expect payment for a loss to your car. Liability coverage protects you against claims of damage to other people’s property, or other people’s injuries, that are caused by you.
There is no way you can get anything for the damage to your car. Without physical damage insurance, you are self-insured for any damage that happens to your car.
June 19th, 2014 at 7:53 am #Monty
Hi,
My water heater went out, the insurance company sent someone out and they told me that the insuance company will only pay for the water heater and the instalation, but because of some many codes have changed I have to pay for all the code upgrades and permit this is over $1200 the water heater that went out is over $800. I called another plumming company and they said that the the insurance company should pay all of it. By chance does anyone know if I should just pay it and move on or try to make them pay it. This insurance company has already replaced the water heater about 8 years ago.
June 20th, 2014 at 9:05 pm #Jason
Monty,
I have no idea why your insurance company would be replacing your water heater that has failed. The only thing insurance should be replacing are items damaged due to a covered cause of loss. Failure of a water heater is not a covered cause of loss. You may have some other policy, other than insurance that is addressing your water heater.
With homeowner insurance policies, covered damage is paid to include material, labor, and assessment of fees charged by a municipality or a complicance compliance authority.
June 30th, 2014 at 12:26 pm #Mary
So I was in an accident and the other party’s insurance is charging me for repairs and for total loss. They started repairing the car then declare it total loss after repairs were made. Am I requires to pay both ? Shouldn’t it be one or the other ? They are also charming me car rental for a month and storage time for the car while they decided what to do with it .
June 30th, 2014 at 6:16 pm #Jason
Mary,
If you are legally liable and you cause total loss damage to another person’s property, you owe the other person the cost to replace that car. Either a car is totaled or it’s repaired. Both are not done with it. If that happens to be the case, then the insurance company should be bound to any repair costsx or tear-down costs to determine if it’s a total loss. If you are legally liable for the towing, storage, and rental expense, then it is something they can ask you to pay.
A good way to transfer your liability to another party for a relatively inexpensive premium is to have liability insurance coverage on your car. I think all 50 states require a minimal amount of insurance coverage, or a bond of some sort in lieu of the insurance policy.
July 7th, 2014 at 6:10 am #Teddy
I had a fire in my trailer trailer (batteries shorted) Except for smoke and soot damage (nasty and not cheap to clean up) The only damages (cannot be completely determined until repairs are underway) were the melted batteries, inverter, the cabinet and floor where they were located and connections to the various components of the trailer that require power (yet to be determined).
My insurance company is thinking of totaling the trailer. Cost new just under $50,000, repair estimates about 1/2 of this. But I have $25,000 in additions and permanently mounted accessories. Does that bring the value up enough so they cannot total the trailer?
July 7th, 2014 at 4:07 pm #Jason
Terry,
There are not permanently mounted accessories in your trailer. The items may be attached but nothing is permanent.
Cost new has nothing to do with your damaged trailer. What is important is the ACV of your trailer just before the fire. If it’s totaled, you don’t get a new trailer, you get enough money to replace your trailer.
Added items don’t increase the trailer’s worth by as much as the cost of the added items. An insurance company will total a vehicle or trailer if its damage reaches 75-80% of the item’s ACV value.
July 11th, 2014 at 7:12 pm #premraj
My omni was accident inlast two month full dame in front and driver door and left side door and then other doors are lightly damage all glauses totally damage how to giving the percentage of amount sir pls explain
July 11th, 2014 at 9:17 pm #Jason
premraj,
Please post your concerns using English. Thank you.
July 12th, 2014 at 5:01 am #Teddy
Jason: although I appreciate your reply it is not entirely correct. I found a GREAT Public Adjuster to work with. He is going to negotiate with my insurance company (he has a copy of the policy) for far more than what they have offered. (They “totaled” the trailer.) First, the insurance Company will not let me remove the “extras” because they ARE considered “permanently” attached. To get them back I must “buy back” the trailer (at salvage value”). “Making me WHOLE” again is the bottom line. It has been 8 weeks and I have lost of my quality & enjoyment of life. I have been a “full-timer” in my trailer for 8 years I have learned more about insurance that I ever knew existed. Finding a GREAT public adjuster is well worth the 10% they take of whatever they get me “over and above” what the insurance company offers…. If I accept the insurance company offer, I will have to buy back the damaged trailer and it will another 3 -4 weeks for repairs. There is NO comparable trailer I can buy used anywhere. But I found a new one that is. So the PA is going to try to get the full value for the new trailer, plus compensation for moving the “extras” to the new trailer (the upper limit of the policy will cover this.) If this does not come 100% in my favor, the damaged trailer is repairable and if I have to “buy it back” it should have enough value in salvage to pay for moving the extras. But another 4 weeks without a place to live just adds to my “nightmare.” I HIGHLY recommend to anyone who does not know how to read their policy (they are awful!) to get a Public Adjuster to negotiate with the insurance company. The burden of the battle has been taken off my shoulders and now I am finally beginning to see a “light at the end of the tunnel.” I takes someone VERY experienced in reading and negotiating to fight for my rights. I will be VERY careful in selecting a new insurer the next time around. I sure hope this helps someone else who has a “major disaster” from getting “screwed” by their insurance company.
July 12th, 2014 at 7:41 am #Jason
Teddy,
You indicate that my reply is not entirely correct, yet you skipped over what part of my reply is not correct. I stand behind the content of my reply.
The 10% fee very likely starts with the very first dollar of your claim. What that means is if the insurance company had already offered $30,000 before and they eventually pay $32,000, the amount you need to pay the public adjuster is $3200 (10% of $32,000), not $200 (10% of $2000).
In the above example, you would have been better off taking the initial offer from the insurance company. Repost after it’s all said and done with how it all worked out because I don’t think you will “highly recommend” a public adjuster.
To any PA’s: If my understanding of the fee charged is incorrect, please let me know.
July 12th, 2014 at 8:08 am #Teddy
It took a lot of searching (weeks). I have a contract. He gets 10% OVER AND ABOVE what I have been offered. The insurance company also considers my “add-ons” as “permanently attached” items. I cannot discuss the details here. But, YES, I WILL be searching for another more “customer friendly” insurer and have an expert go over the policy before I sign!
The part you stated that I challenge is this:
“Cost new has nothing to do with your damaged trailer. What is important is the ACV of your trailer just before the fire. If it’s totaled, you don’t get a new trailer, you get enough money to replace your trailer.”
The “devil is in the details”. These policies often vary. In my case the public adjuster I hired (who came after many searches and interviews and ended up being a referral) is a rare gem. It’s not all about the money he receives, but about making my insurance company not only adhere to the policy provisions, but to attempt negotiations to “make me whole”.
I have interviewed far too many public adjusters and the vast majority want a quick fix for quick money. There ARE honorable and knowledgeable people out there. It’s time well spend in asking the right questions and believing their answers. Most people don’t argue enough and, like myself, have a difficult time deciphering policy language.
It took a lot of searching (weeks). I have a contract. He gets 10% OVER AND ABOVE what I have been offered. Maybe the majority get what you state above? The insurance company also considers my “add-ons” as “permanently attached” items. I cannot discuss the details here. But, YES, I WILL be searching for another more “customer friendly” insurer and have an expert go over the policy before I sign!
Confusing to me is that their offer is very close to the original purchase price. (Trailer is 6 years old). And, they have NOT (even after repeated requests) responded to my request for the breakdown of the offer (pricing for all my additions which I want back.) OR their “valuation” off the add-ons. Most likely they have considered these in their offer (as they would keep them.) I am told as well (buy the insurer), that to get my “additions” back, I would have to buy back the trailer. So far I have not been given that figure
July 12th, 2014 at 8:22 am #Jason
Teddy,
Yes, then your arrangement with the public adjuster is different from the regular way they charge for their assistance. The way you have it set up makes perfect sense. You did your homework.
All vehicles and trailers are insured at an ACV value. The only exception to that is a stated value policy where a specific amount is paid for a total loss. A stated value policy is for unique vehicles like much older vehicles that are antique or collectible vehicles. Either way, cost new has nothing to do with it – not even for a stated value policy.
If you are receiving a total loss offer, the insurance company likely has a valuation report from which they have based your offer. Your PA will likely get a copy of that report to aid him in his negotiation efforts.
You are welcome to indicate the name of your current insurance company on this site so others can be aware of what insurance company is making settlement so difficult for you.
July 12th, 2014 at 8:32 am #Teddy
Yes, I still have a lot to learn.
My policy is from Blue Sky. (and if they read this, they will know what I am doing) but I have not disclosed anything that is not true. They are underwritten by RLI.
I have learned at LOT in the (now) 8 weeks of staying in one place! Bless the internet and forums like this!
July 12th, 2014 at 8:47 am #Teddy
Another question: since I am having a hard time understanding my policy): I have done the depreciation calculations and I am told they are accurate (but were based on the 2008 model year). My policy reads: “in no event will the total of all payments under “purchase price guarantee” exceed the purchase price”. Also, the rating basis is for a 2011 model (which is the year I first insured with this company) and my trailer is a 2008. Also it says: “Total loss means a loss for which the cost of repairs (including parts and labor) exceeds the ACV at the time of loss.
Well the offer they have made MUST be based on the 2011 calculations since they are offering me slightly less (minus my MANY “permanently attached additions) than the purchase price.
So I am still very much confused that my trailer has been determined to be a “total loss”…
I know you are going to say I should take it, but the additions are almost 1/2 of the purchase price! Some are not longer available or are at a much higher price. Plus it will cost a considerable amount to have to buy back the damaged trailer and pay to have the additions moved.
July 14th, 2014 at 12:48 pm #Maxwell Lyle
Hi I live in the state of Florida and I pulled out in front of a porshe… I was sited on the seen and his car was totalled. i had 10,000 dollars of property damage coverage. But his car was worth around 20,000. Now his insurance company is calling me saying I have to pay the excess 10,000. The man was Deffinetly Speeding when he hit me about four car lengths from a red light. He also told he he totaled another vehicke two weeks prior to our accident. I don’t feel as if I should have to pay the 10 grand what should I do????
August 9th, 2014 at 5:49 pm #Andrea Trevino
I had bought a 99 explorer about a wk later I got ins for 6 mnts for it and about 4 days later my boyfriend that was on my policy crashed it I hadnt even had a chance to put my name on the title I had just got the ins and was gonna get the name changed I wasnt there at thd accident so I showed up a lil after and wasnt told to much about what happened the othed ca that was in the accident wouldn’t even talk to me I tried to get info from them but tthey refused the next day I filed a cliam and was told that I would receive a call the next day but I didnt ever get that call so a couple days later I call to find out what was going on I spoke to someone who got the info that I new about she was gonna call me back she didnt so I call her and she said that without the police report she wasnt able to Tell me what may happen so a couple wks Later I call ti ask if she found any thing ouf she says no ty then about a wk later I call to give them the police report number and the accident was on 6 26 14 I have heard nothing at all I don’t know what happened with my car or cliam on nothing yday I got a call some man asking why I wanted my ins cancelld I said why would I want ins if my car is not being used I asked about my cliam and what was going on he said he will call back by the end of the day with some thing to tell me its been two days and I have heard d nothing
August 9th, 2014 at 8:45 pm #Jason
Andrea,
Do you have an insurance related question?
August 11th, 2014 at 8:49 am #Drew
Hi I have an homeowner policy for years now, We recently got a leak, now basically they are now telling us the cause is due to the builders fault and only granting us $282.25 less the deductible $1000.00 net Claim is -$717.75. I called them to get an answer to their finding they advise me the case is now close, the report basically said I can not file another complain after 1 year period – not only the leak the adjuster pointed out in photos that the roofs needs to be change. any suggestions ?
August 12th, 2014 at 6:29 pm #Sean
Hi,
A car hit our house and caused major damage. When we received the first estimate from our insurance adjuster, I was upset there was no mention of floors sagging upstairs, or a beam in the basement that started to twist from the house moving a few inches. (the car hit the northeast corner and shifted the front of the house and punched out blocks on the northwest side, sending cracks in the basement blocks 3/4 of the way along that wall to the SE corner…the beam in question is 1/2 along that wall, and the floors on the 2nd floor room directly above are sagging)
This was brought to the attention of the adjuster who advised that we would take care of what was major now, and wait until the house was moved, and then deal with supplemental. (I have emails)
We ended up needing to get a new contractor as the 1st did nothing for 3 months. When we met the new one, he said he had never seen such a bad report from a structural engineer. Almost like he had no clue how to do his job. Once I heard that, my ears perked as the 1st contractor was mentioned by our adjuster as one they work with, and why these obvious issues (to me) that we brought up that werent mentioned in the report seemed strange.
At one point the new contractor called the adjuster to mention the floors on the 1st floor sagging, and that we wanted our insurance to cover the cost of jacking up the floors to level them as the middle of the house was going down slightly. The adjuster denied this claim, and the structural engineer immediately said “pre existing” without even taking a pause during my contractors call to even pretend to look at any files after 7 months since he’d been there. Our contractor let me know that and I immediately sent him our home inspection from the year before, which had no mention of any floor issues. He called the adjuster back, and wouldn’t you know it, he added an extra couple thousand for it and some beams were installed below the impact and the floors lifted at the center of the house.
It’s now been a year since the car hit the house, and we’ve been back in the house for 5 months. Slowly, the house is settling, and doors are not able to be closed easily like they were when we moved back in. The floor upstairs is sagging, and the beam on the opposite side of the basement is still twisted, and doing it more so…which directly effects the floor on the 2nd floor, but apparently not!
The wall on the first floor above that beam had several cracks from the accident and had to be redrywalled, which shows me there was significant stress from impact, which should show the twisted beam below would be an obvious connection.
I emailed the adjuster letting him know of the issues that remained, and the ones popping up after moving the house and lifting the floors. He emailed a 3rd party, I mean THE SAME ENGINEER to come out and reinspect the house. Oddly enough, it’s all preexisting and they feel no more money is due.
Now, my wife and I were totally ignorant to the entire process and look back and shake our heads, but the one thing we knew to do was save everything. I looked at the first report, and there is zero mention of anything to do with floors, or this beam…and this report is a joke. About 20 low grade photos and a couple bullet points. Some of the photos are even of the wall above the beam and cider blocks below the beam. The 2nd report has no pictures and a couple paragraphs stating “preexisting” or “due to fixes” made during the contractors repairs.
What advice or steps should I take as the adjuster ok’d the work, the insurance is supposed to return the house to “as it was or better” status, and the engineer they brought in seems to either not know his job, or is in cahoots with the adjuster?
Thanks for your time!
August 13th, 2014 at 7:29 pm #Jason
Sean,
If an engineer is saying pre-existing, I have to go with that. I don’t put much weight in home inspections that don’t mention a condition as it not existing previously.
I don’t doubt you had serious damage in your house. If you want to combat an engineer, you will have to do it with another engineer. Engineers aren’t cheap so you have to weigh that option. Your engineer might even agree entirely with the current engineer – I don’t know.
Get your damage repaired and your claim closed since it’s been a year. The longer nothing additional happens with your claim, the less likely anything additional will take place in the future. Make a list of things you want fixed or repaired and stay in constant contact with your adjuster until you find acceptable results.
August 16th, 2014 at 5:15 am #Gregory Lynumn
After signing a release form from a insurance company I received a check for less,I cashed the check as I needed the money how do I get the balance ?
August 16th, 2014 at 7:25 am #Jason
Gregory,
You should have received the amount indicated in the release, if you didn’t, you need to contact the insurance company and request the balance.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:36 pm #Daniel
Hello, my wife and I are in a chapter 13. Earlier this year we had a double water leak. Now we have received a check from the insurance company for the damages to get repaired and have mailed it to the mortgage company. I mentioned to them that I might be able to do the work myself. Since than that asked for a list of all materials and price sheet. I was happy to send that to them, but they will not send the money for the labor. I did call them and explained that I will not be able to the job myself and need the rest of the money to pay the individual to do the job.
So how do I get the rest back and do they have a right to keep any extra that is left over. They get paid thru the courts that is on a time schedule.
Any help is helpful.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:03 pm #Jason
Daniel,
Your question is not insurance related – it’s mortgage holder related.
September 6th, 2014 at 11:17 am #Matt S
Hello,
Our neighbor’s tree fell on our house and caused some roof damage and fence damage. Our insurance covered everything and included money to replace the aluminum siding on that part of the house even though all that is wrong with the siding is a couple small dents (less than 1 inch) where small branches must have hit it.
I talked to a few contractors and they all recommend leaving the siding alone because it would be almost impossible to match it to the rest of the house and all the damage is really just cosmetic. Is it okay for me to just keep the money for the siding and put it towards my deductible or something? My mortgage company already signed off on the check and said they don’t need any proof of repairs because the amount is below their cut-off amount for that.
Thanks!
Matt
September 6th, 2014 at 4:41 pm #Jason
Matt,
Yes you can do that. You have to realize that if you have future damage to that side, it won’t be paid for because you were already paid to replace it.
September 28th, 2014 at 2:50 pm #Guest
Hello,
My business state in an area which the storm went through yesterday. The electric company had been shut down about couple hours because the storm, then they turn on the power, but not enough to turn on some lights, air conditional, etc. All plaza had the same problem-“business loss” up to now. How do I claim for the loss and whom I can send the claim to? Please let me know your advice.
Thank you very much.
September 28th, 2014 at 6:08 pm #Jason
Guest,
A general waiting period for business loss is 72 hours, but your policy may be different. You would contact your agent to submit a claim.
October 18th, 2014 at 5:24 pm #Minnie Lewis
If I have a carport,and friend car park there and my car park under tree and limb falls on my car will my insurance pay for my car
October 18th, 2014 at 6:11 pm #Jason
Minnie,
If you have comprehensive insurance coverage, your car damage will be covered.
October 24th, 2014 at 11:21 am #Cynthia
We had a severe storm where I live last month and that day my ac stopped working. I have had repairmen come out 3 times and they cannot locate the problem. The ac is old, 22 years old. Would homeowners insurance cover this?
October 25th, 2014 at 4:51 pm #Jason
Cynthia,
It is unknown if insurance would cover the non-functioning A/C. The only way you would know is if you made a claim.
October 28th, 2014 at 7:41 pm #che morgan
i had received a check from a auto accident claim and tried to cash it and my bank called the insurance company and they cancelled the check because they made a direct deposit to a bank account instead. the owner of the account has now called and stated they received the money and it wasnt theirs and need to pay it back. the insurance company told me they have to investigate the problem. how does that work in sending me another check?
October 28th, 2014 at 8:02 pm #Jason
che,
Your insurance will likely verify the payment was made incorrectly and should issue you a replacement check. This is a question you should be asking your insurance company.
November 12th, 2014 at 11:47 am #mike hunt
Our organization held an event. We used a prop during this event. The prop was on a property owned by someone else. This prop was vandalized (set fire). The fire resulted in damage to the property. Would or should our liability insurance cover the damage to the property? It was denied because they say that vandalism is not covered. But we are not seeking recovery of vandalized item but recovery of damaged property as a result of our vandalized object.
November 15th, 2014 at 6:39 am #Jason
mike,
Your liability coverage requires the organization or a person representing the organization to be liable for some reason. That means your org. needs to be negligent. Even though there is no coverage for vandalism, there is no negligent by your organization when a vandal burns something and causes other property damage.
December 8th, 2014 at 5:10 pm #mike rinehart
my car was hit a month ago there insurance told me to get estimate 2 days after I was hit estimate was 1200 they told me to just get 1 week later got check in mail for 800 where is other 400 told autobody guy hes been trying to get hold of the insurance people so am I can not get them to return call meanwhile car been sitting in yard un drivable for month how long do they have and why did they short check
December 8th, 2014 at 5:27 pm #Jason
mike,
Claims people try to settle a claim as soon as possible, and certainly within 30 days. I don’t know why your check was not for the estimate amount. You will have to ask the insurance company that question.
December 15th, 2014 at 9:26 pm #Gus
Hello i took my truck pep boys in for an oil change in November 13th 2014 a day later my wife was driving the truck on the interstate when the oil plug fell out causing internal damage to the engine we called the store and spoke to the shop mgr who gave us the runaround for 2 weeks until I contacted my local pep boys then I got a call from the store that did the damage and gave me the claim number and contact info. I get a call from an adjuster for pep boys that makes time and comes out to see my truck takes pictures and i gave him the original invoice where i had my engine replaced in December of 2013 he turns around and tells me that my truck might get totaled because of the cost I then later in the week get a call from him that pep boys aproved my truck to get repaired and to send it off to my mechanic for it to get fixed the apraiser calls and says he wants pictures which the shop does and gives me the pictures he tells me that pep boys has mailed him the check and release form for me to sign i paid for the bill call the adjuster to set up a time to sign the release and now he’s changed his story stating that he was supposed to take the pictures himself and that he wasn’t releasing the check ive called the claim adjuster from pep boys with everything he’s demanding im just wanting to get reimbursement for my money i put into my truck again
December 21st, 2014 at 10:29 am #dogwoman
I live in California. I was in a minor (very minor…hardly noticeable damage to my car and the other car had equally no noticeable damage but the bumper was already scratched) fender bender, my fault, but the other person involved has not responded to my requests for estimates. Is there a time limitation where I am no longer responsible?
December 21st, 2014 at 11:48 am #Jason
dogwoman,
There is a statute of limitations in CA that applies to property damage, which is 3 years.
January 16th, 2015 at 8:03 pm #vondon
A couple of months ago, I came home to find one of my others cars was damaged. I was told that it happened in a parking lot so I filed a claim with my insurance company. They paid to have my car fixed. I now find out that it was in an accident. What should I do?
January 17th, 2015 at 7:02 am #Jason
vondon,
Who told you it happened in a parking lot? Don’t do anything except make sure those close to you stop lying to you about important things.
January 17th, 2015 at 7:09 am #vondon
I received a police report stating it was in a hit and run.
January 17th, 2015 at 7:13 am #Jason
vondon,
As I’ve said, make sure those close to you stop lying to you (and with the latest information, the police).
January 17th, 2015 at 7:19 am #vondon
Thank you! I am just scared since I had no idea about it. I am being told that I could go to jail for filing a false claim and sued for whatever damages to the other vehicle
January 17th, 2015 at 7:55 am #Jason
vondon,
Again, you are being very vague. You said, “I am being told…”. Who is telling you this?
It is reasonable to believe YOU did not file a false claim, that YOU did not file a false police report, and YOU won’t be sued for the other person’s damage.
I can assure you that the person close to you lied to you which caused you to file a false claim, that person close to you knowingly and willingly filed a false police report, and the other person’s insurance company would like to know who is responsible for the damage (person close to you) they paid based on false and incorrect information.
I assume, correctly or incorrectly, that the person behind this is your child.
January 17th, 2015 at 8:36 am #vondon
The report I received was sent in the mail from the police department. Also, you are correct that I wasn’t the one involved. I was not even there.
February 18th, 2015 at 7:26 pm #Gary
I was in an accident at no fault of mine. I was stopped at a stop sign on a hwy off ramp when a driver rear ended me at a pretty decent speed. His insurer was Progressive.
I too my Truck to their claims center and after 1 hour in their “shop”, the adjuster came out and gave me an estimate of $661.00 on an intemized sheet. He stated that it would be a bumper repair versus replacement and it included about 90% of the damaged area. I questioned about the other corner that was broke out and he stated that had to have been there from earlier as there was a gap of 11 inches with no damage to that area.
Then I asked about the full plastic Red reflector piece on the tail gate that had a small area busted out. He stated that too was not part of the accident as it was 13 inches higher than the bumper damage.
I then asked about the tail gate stuck shut and wouldn’t open. He stated that issue must have been prior to the accident.
He then stated “Your check for $661.00 is attached to the estimate”.
I was reluctant to take it but he stated that they could always amend the claim higher if they deemed necessary.
I went back to the accident scene and located about 6 pieces from my reflective tailgate portion that they didn’t want to cover. I informed him I had those pieces.
Today he called me back and stated they are sticking with their $661.00 estimate.
Total crap as they are not addressing the damage on the opposite corner of the bumper, the broken out reflector tail gate piece nor the non functioning tailgate.
Any suggestions on what I do now?
February 19th, 2015 at 4:25 am #Jason
Gary,
Return their check and then make a claim with your insurance company. So what if you have to pay your collision deductible because your insurance will then collect your deductible from progressive and return it to you. If you are not being treated right, this is what you should do.
February 23rd, 2015 at 2:01 pm #Mike patel
call me . I have hotel and has wind damage roof.
February 23rd, 2015 at 8:56 pm #Jason
Mike,
I don’t call anyone. If you have a question, ask it in this forum. Upon further review, you didn’t even provide your telephone number. If you have a question, post it.
March 3rd, 2015 at 6:46 am #Michael
I recently had carport damage here in TN due to the recent snow storm. When a contractor came to asses the damage, he also found hail damage on my roof. My agent is warning me of filing both the carport damage and the roof damage because the insurance company may drop me for coverage, for filing multiple claims. what are my options?
March 3rd, 2015 at 11:43 am #Jason
Michael,
Don’t be afraid that you have insurance coverage, covered events damaged your property, and you intended to use your insurance when damage occurs.
Sure, you might be dropped, or non-renewed but that could happen at any time and regardless of a claim or claims filed. Your insurance company can non-renew you at any time for any reason. In fact, they don’t even need a reason – they just need to give you enough notice of their action (usually 30-60 days).
Your choices are to A- file no claims, B- file 1 claim, or C- file 2 claims.
March 5th, 2015 at 5:55 pm #Jenni
Been having a problem with GEICO covering the transmission in my husband’s accident. When he got into the accident it punctured the transmission cooler of the radiator which made the transmission run out of fluid. The mechanic is telling us it needs to be replaced because there is now a shutter/vibration under acceleration. He said it is because of the accident and the transmission getting run with no fluid. He showed me what was left in the transmission when we brought it in you can see the metal flakes in the black fluid (there was maybe a tablespoon left). The adjuster that was assigned to our claim is telling us that they won’t replace it because the transmission wasn’t hit during the accident. She even told Evan that maybe the fluid was low before the accident. And the shutter/vibration is normal for the vehicle because of the miles. She told us that for them to cover it we have to prove that the Jeep had no problems before the accident. I don’t understand why we have to prove that it was fine before when the mechanic is telling us that it was because of the accident. The mechanic said he is more than willing to talk to anyone about this but the adjuster keeps telling us that it is normal. The Jeep was perfectly fine and had no problems before this. I just want it fixed since it was not a problem before. What do I need to do to get this covered?
March 15th, 2015 at 4:48 am #lisa martinez
I own my own home and rent out the first fall well some ice fell off the roof and totaled the ten tents car will my home owners insurance pay for it
March 16th, 2015 at 3:51 pm #Jason
lisa,
Nope, you did nothing, or didn’t do something, you were required or not required to do. You have no negligence or liability for what the weather does. It’s called an act of nature for ice to fall and damage property.
March 16th, 2015 at 4:55 pm #Rob
My insurance paid a claim for my roof that was damaged by hail. The contractor stole the check and forged the endorsements. No one will do anything. I never was able to replace my roof. Can I ever file another claim with my insurance company for storm/hail damage?
March 16th, 2015 at 9:43 pm #Jason
Rob,
Your insurance company already paid for your claim. Your contractor is the one that messed things up. Your issue remains with your contractor.
Your claim with your insurance company is over and your claim is considered entirely complete.
March 17th, 2015 at 12:24 am #jonny
Hi I have a important q an don’t see any answer to it…..I bought a 99yukon an got insurance, the same day while I was at work my gf wrecked it.Long story Allstate is refusing to pay for damage said the was dropping us…..I found a motor an put it in ,but now we r blackflaged or something,gf said no insurance will cover us….how do I fix that?….I just dropped another 200 in it an will I be able to drive it?…..I could really use some help….thank yu very much
March 17th, 2015 at 12:27 am #jonny
Another 2000…wish only 200 I have got to get this fixed…. Thanks again
March 17th, 2015 at 7:14 am #Jack
Jonny,
Call Progressive, they insure anyone, baring you haven’t been convicted of any insurance fraud…. You may want to say why they are dropping you.
March 23rd, 2015 at 4:40 pm #MEM
I had a total fire loss on my home. My home has since been re-built, however during demo, excavating, and grading, my driveway has been destroyed- severely cracked and crumbled by heavy equipment and such. The grading is also much higher than it was, almost swallowing what is left of the asphalt that was once my driveway. This loss was covered by my Allstate Deluxe HO Policy (FORM AP780) with the Building Structure Reimbursement Extended Limits Endorsement (FORM AP357) and Deluxe Plus Ammend. Endorsement (Form AP357). I no where reached or maxed any of my policy limits.
I have a $10,622 other structures coverage, which only $2,000 of that was used for replacement of my shed.
My first question, is a driveway typically covered or considered ‘other structures’? Second question, if the driveway could potentially constitute as ‘other structure’ would the damage to it, as I explained above, be covered under my total loss claim? For example, unavoidable damage to ‘other structure’ (driveway) caused by the rebuilding, repairing, restoring and stabilizing of a dwelling resulting from a total loss Allstate covers?
Appreciate any help I can get.
-MEM
March 23rd, 2015 at 5:10 pm #Jason
MEM,
A driveway is considered another structure that is not a building. There are two views that may develop from your situation. The first is that the contractors did not take the necessary care to not damage your driveway as they restored your home. The driveway damage would be indirect damage due to the fire resulting from the work product of the contractors.
The second is that the repairs to the home could not be accomplished without the expected and needed damage to the driveway – unless resulting in much higher costs to repair the dwelling.
You ask if the driveway is typically covered. It is not since driveways are very rarely ever damaged by fire. If during the reconstruction, the driveway is damaged out of necessity to facilitate the reasonable repairs, the driveway may be unavoidable collateral damage that is directly related to (or nearly-directly related to) the fire damage.
I think if you present it to your insurance company in a way that the driveway damage was unavoidable to rebuild your home as soon as possible without added expense to avoid the driveway traffic, you should be able to get your insurance to cover the driveway damage.
I will never beat around the bush. Allstate is consistently rated very highly in customer claim dissatisfaction and you really need to consider choosing a better insurance company.
April 21st, 2015 at 5:18 pm #joel
I recently had afew roof leaks that damage five rooms in my house. The insurance company told me to take up the cacarpet due to the padding being soaked. In doing this my son bump the wall which caved in. My shower is behind this wall, I found alot of mold and black wet 2x4s . The adjuster said it was not covered because it was existing damage. How was I suppose to know there was a leak or water damage there . Also they only want to remove the sheet rock on the cceiling. WWhat about the water that went down the walls.
April 21st, 2015 at 5:28 pm #Jason
joel,
It seems your insurance company is covering for your roof leak but not considering a leak from another water source. Since you live in your house, you have the best opportunity to discover a leak (or water damage).
April 23rd, 2015 at 2:43 pm #Heather
We purchased our home 5 months ago (December 2014) from a for sale by owner. We had an inspection done and said everything was ok. We also had a hail storm in October 2014 and everyone in neighborhood is getting new roofs. The seller said he had someone I spent it and they saw no damage and the inspector only looked at roof with binoculars because the roof was wet that day. Just last week we had a roofer stop by asking to take a look and found a lot of damage to the roof. I have no idea now if this is from before we bought the house or after (we had 2 major snow storms and several bad spring storms, flooding high winds) I asked the seller to see if he could file a claim, in which he has not responded. I have no idea if that is even possible to so, but thought it was worth a shot. Im terrified to call our insurance company and they say it is old damage then want to drop our coverage unless we fix it. We just had to replace the HVAC system this week so we have no funds to replace a roof. I do not know what to do now? Any suggestions?
April 29th, 2015 at 3:08 pm #mandy
Hi, ok so I have full coverage on my truck. Yesterday I was hauling a trailer with all of my tools on it, for a tile job. I also had a washer and dryer, welder and a few other things. I was driving slower than the posted speed limit when all of a sudden my trailer came unattached from the truck and ran off the road crashing into a fence and rolling. Alot of my tools were damaged and the trailer is ruined, not to mention the fence.
How do I deal with my insurance company so I don’t get screwed.
April 29th, 2015 at 6:27 pm #Jason
mandy,
Make a claim. Your insurance is not out to screw you – only to settle your claim fairly and within the guides of your policy.
May 8th, 2015 at 1:09 am #Scott
I had a water line freeze on the second floor of our home. We do not use it for anything but storage. It is finished space. Anyway, the water line froze, broke and when it warmed up, leaked. It must have leaked for a couple days as about 18 inches of water was in the basement. Water eventually came through the ceiling and when it did it soaked some stereo equipment. I mopped up over 15 gallons from 1st floor!
The stereo manufacturer stated that repairs not really possible as problems will continue to happen repeatedly and continue. That is their experience. I also consulted a second repair facility knowledgeable of my equipment. They had the same advice. The insurance company (Country Companies) wants to try clean and repair. I am uneasy with accepting this instead of replacement. My stereo was high dollar when purchased, and still is. I understand their reluctance,but do I have to accept a repair with no future ability to be covered if it needs future repair or is it my choice to replace. I have factory opinion in writing as does Country adjuster.
May 8th, 2015 at 3:39 am #Jason
Scott,
Continue to insist to the adjuster that you want the damaged items replaced, not cleaned. Be persistent.
You have to realize that your claim is not closed until both you and your adjuster agree on the final outcome. Until then, it is not settled. Your adjuster is trying to settle your claim and will be flexible to get to that end point.
May 8th, 2015 at 1:33 pm #Qasim
so i filed a claim with my home insurance last year.wind damage to my roof
the insurance reported as a total lost and wanted to replace my roof due to
high deduction i decided not to replace it. this year i have changed my insurance with different carrier and filed same claim. now my claim was
declined because i have filed same claim with different insurance carrier
which i chose not to replace,also they stated that we need to note that it was total loss they will not honor my claim. what is my options please help
i live in state of georgia
May 9th, 2015 at 9:02 am #Qasim
any comment or suggestions will be appreciated
May 9th, 2015 at 9:14 am #Jason
Qasim,
Insurance companies have data sharing sites in which they report claims to a central area and insurance companies can review this information so they can avoid paying claims, such as yours, that have already been paid.
Your option is to have an uninsured roof until you replace your entire roof. There are no other options.
May 9th, 2015 at 9:32 am #Qasim
thanks jason. how long my report claims will be in their sharing data sites
May 9th, 2015 at 9:40 am #Jason
Qasim,
Probably forever.
May 12th, 2015 at 8:18 am #Scott Hansen
Thanks Jason,
That was my feeling also. Just wanted an informed second opinion.
I emailed the repair facility on the 11th. to let them know to not repair.
Received call from adjuster on the 12th a.m.. Guess I will call him back.
Scott
May 18th, 2015 at 5:52 pm #Fran
Hi, I had a storm on April 24, 2015 here in Texas I think there must have been lightening as there was a loud boom and shook my town home my crystal and china fell from the cabinet I reported claim didn’t have receipts but sent pictures as requested from my insurance company now they are sending a Special Investigator to look at items and take pictures. He is telling me he has to take another recorded statement. My adjuster told me this was a field adjuster he told me no he is a Special Investigator whatever that is, can you help me, I have no idea what id going on here.
May 18th, 2015 at 6:12 pm #Jason
Fran,
It’s very likely you have no policy coverage for the damage you sustained. You indicate the cause of loss is the vibration from the thunder/lightning. Vibration/sound waves are not a covered cause of loss within your insurance policy. Their process is to treat you with the benefit of doubt and make sure your loss is as described so they can properly deny. Sure, they will look for covered causes of loss but absent a covered cause of loss, they will have to deny your claim.
May 24th, 2015 at 7:31 pm #norm mac
In Illinois the best referal source is the Illinois Association of Public Adjusters. They work on percentage only no up front fees and do not do the work. They are True Adjuster not a construction or roofing company posing as an Adjuster. I would recommend Illinois Associatiopn of Public Adjusters only..
May 27th, 2015 at 6:25 pm #Rochelle
I was in a car accident and I was in the right my insurance company paid for everything cuz I have full coverage the other vehicle did not have insurance a month later I found out that they did have insurance can I still get money from them as well.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:34 pm #Jason
Rochelle,
Your insurance company paid for everything relating to the accident and you are asking if you can get more money even though you’ve been paid for everything?
No, that’s not how it works. If you were paid by your insurance company and the other person’s insurance, that would be called double indemnification, which means you were paid twice.
The only thing that may be of concern is that you probably paid your collision deductible to have your car repaired. It appears from your message that the other person was at fault. That person, or their insurance company, should reimburse your insurance company for what they paid, and they should also reimburse your insurance company for your deductible. When the reimbursement occurs, your insurance would return your deductible to you. Just make sure your insurance company is aware of the other insurance company so they can work on getting your deductible recovered for you.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:51 pm #Rochelle
But my insurance company totaled it out and paid the lien holder. But I still haven’t settled with my insurance company as for as my pain and suffering .And here it is a month later I just found out that the car that hit me did have insurance shouldn’t they be responsible for something and I had gap so they paid for my deductible.
May 27th, 2015 at 8:34 pm #Jason
Rochelle,
Your insurance company doesn’t settle pain and suffering with you. If you have medical insurance, they may pay medical bills as those bills are incurred. Pain and suffering isn’t something paid by your insurance company. That is only something paid by an at fault driver, or their insurance company. Pain and suffering is paid as a one-time settlement and usually requires a signed release of any future liability of the at-fault driver and his/her insurance company.
June 4th, 2015 at 5:13 pm #Tammy
I put a claim in for my camper received a email from them on the settlement results was told they was totalling the camper . Today received a phone call from the salvage company that they took my camper with out the keys . So I called the insurance company about this and they informed me that they was denying my claim and they want to return the camper . Help can anything be done
June 4th, 2015 at 5:52 pm #Jason
Tammy,
I’m sure the reason for their change of position and a denial instead of coverage may tell you something. For what reason was your claim denied?
June 8th, 2015 at 2:21 pm #sandy chandler
I live in Asheville, NC and bought my house Aug 2014. On June 1st, we had a torrential downpour, like couldn’t see past the yard, downpour. It rained like that for a good 20 mins. My husband works from home in the basement and heard water dripping. He walked out of his office and water was pouring in from the windows, outlets, light switch, and sliding glass door. We called our ins carrier and they set us up for Mitigation and said they would cover the damage caused to the basement. Upon further investigation, we found that the rain had overflowed the gutters and siding and water was pouring in behind the siding into our house. Since this incident we have had 2 addt’l rain storms and water continues to come in the house. We have had rain previous to this event and never had an issue. Our insurance says they do not cover siding, but isn’t siding considered covered under Dwelling? Please any advice on how to approach this situation??
June 8th, 2015 at 5:54 pm #Jason
sandy,
Your homeowner policy doesn’t provide coverage for water that enters your home at or below ground level. I have no idea why they would pay for the mitigation (and repairs) in your basement.
Within your homeowner policy, and more specifically, your coverage of Accidental Discharge Or Overflow Of Water does not include water that discharges or overflows from your home’s gutters and downspouts.
Siding is part of your home and it is an item that is covered by your insurance policy. They may have relayed their message incorrectly to you. They should have told you that the cause (heavy rainfall and overflow of water from gutters) is not a covered cause of loss and no matter how much damage the rainfall and overflow caused, the overflow event is not a covered cause of loss.
You mentioned, “…overflowed the gutters and siding…”. I don’t know what you meant by “overflowed the … siding”. I took that to mean the water overflowed the gutters and traveled behind your siding before it reached the ground.
June 29th, 2015 at 7:38 pm #Jona
Hello there,
I was recently rear-ended by a Travelers insured driver in Texas. Now, Travelers is taking responsibility to repair my vehicle, and the appraiser told me to take the vehicle to my chosen repair shop or Serviceking Collision Center for the appraise/estimate. The apprise also mention about “tearing down the car for the estimation” in the shop.
My question is, can I ask Travelers to cut me the check after the appraise/estimate done by the shop, most likely at Serviceking Collision. The repair cost will be roughly ~$5000, and I am not sure if I want to keep the car with that much of damage repaired done on it. Anyhow, I would like to have sometime to think about what to do with the car. Also, can the bodyshop insist to repair the car after the estimation? Especially, after they put time and labour to tear down the car? How can I prevent these issues now before it’s too late? Thank you for your input.
August 11th, 2015 at 4:16 pm #Cpisano
I recently had a large tree fall, it took out part of the fence separating me and the rear neighbor plus personal property of the neighbor. I was lucky that I didn’t have damage. I also didn’t have the money to have the tree removed from my yard. I called my homeowners insurance, in case there was a way to cover removing the tree. Our conversation was taped, the adjuster then tells me that I can file a liability claim and I wouldn’t have a deductible but it would have to be due to homeowner fault. I said “they will cover it if I am at fault and I won’t have a deductible, but if it fell for no reason, then they would have the 1000.00 deductible. I said that’s a no brainer for me because I am a student, mother and I can’t afford to have the tree removed. About a month later the adjuster called to say they sent my neighbor a check. I asked her when they were going to remove the tree from my yard and she said liability only covers the other party, not me. That they consider the tree a maintenance issue. After we went back and forth on who said what, I asked for the recording we made when I filed claim and her supervisors name. First she said they wouldn’t be able to send me the recording, I insisted that she send the recording. I re-listened to the recording and its blatantly obvious what I am thinking we are filing and the agent never said “wait a second, this doesn’t cover you …” I sent her supervisor the recording and explained my issue and the supervisor said they can’t change anything because liability insurance does not cover the homeowner, period. My problem is, when we discussed filing a claim and the adjuster said I wouldn’t have a deductible, I even said “so you remove my tree and I won’t have a deductible” and she said yes. All I want is my tree removed like they led me to believe. I am hoping there is something I am not aware of that sides with homeowner when the agent just files what they want even though the homeowner is stating something different. I believe is my agents job to educate me on what my rights are and if its obvious that I am saying what I want to happen at the end result and that result is not possible, then it is their job to advise me of that. Now my yard is dead and I told them now it is a hazard because if electric company comes in yard to document meter, they could fall over branches they can’t see. I appreciate any information you have. I can also submit the recording if needed.
Sincerely
Cpisano
September 17th, 2015 at 7:19 pm #Jim
Just filed my first claim with carrier that we have had for a few years. The claim is recoverable per letter from the carrier Allstate but the claims adjuster from is giving us a very hard time. We had water damage from a faulty piece of equipment. When we gave them a list of personal items that were damaged by water they wanted to inspect every item and took a picture of every item, even a pair of headphones worth $10. Every item on our list was produced except two, I might have misplaced them but they probably didn’t have more than a $50 value. Why is the adjuster giving us such a hard time and cataloging every item, taking notes and pictures of every single item? Thanks
September 18th, 2015 at 8:22 pm #Jason
Jim,
The insurance company is creating receipts for every single payment it makes for your damaged property. The more documentation, the more justified they are in making any payment for your loss.
What they are doing seems normal. As far as your current insurance company, you may want to consider another insurer because allstate and farmers are ranked very high in customer claim dissatisfaction. Find another insurance company asap.
November 18th, 2015 at 11:37 am #Benjamin jenkins
Hello,
I have a complicated situation.Let me give you some back ground I have never filed a claim ever or used an agent until Sept, 23 2015. I was referred by a family membet to use an agent out of first general insurance agency. I had communicated mostly through email . The lady sent me numbers based on the information I provided. She asked me for my license and address information ect. I agreed to the terms and then came into sign 5 days after the fact. Signed within 10 minutes without reviewing and then she brought me the papers she had my registration everything so I thought. She didnt get a copy of my license but had a copy of registration. I asked her if she needed anything and she said no. Im assuming she didnt verify anything because my driving record was very good , so I thought. Well on Oct. 8 , 2015 i was rear ended by a police officer that was speeding . He turns around gives me the ticket after totallying my car with my family in the car from behind no side damage. He produces a witness out of no where saying i turned in front of him and had to take a u turn at 30 miles an hour to cut in front of him which is impossible from a dead stop . Regardless these people make the law fit them when ever they want. They are lying .So they gave me a ticket for failure inter the inter section which was a crock correctly and dwls without knowledge. I was very confused I had just gotten insurrance they have to run my mvr don’t they ? Now my insurance company is trying to get me to come in and do an eua for misrepresentation of material fact. After talking to my windhaven adjuster she said that the address and the exclusions on my policy where incorrect . What do I my insurance screwed me and how did I get insurance when my license was suspended and she sent an emailing telling me it wasn’t
November 18th, 2015 at 7:44 pm #Jason
Benjamin,
I don’t know how to respond. The information is unclear and a bit confusing. All of a sudden your license is suspended and you were told by someone it wasn’t? Nothing you presented makes sense.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:48 am #Benjamin jenkins
Okay , I will clear you up . I went to get new insurance on 9 23 2015 through an agent I was referred to by my wife. I provided her with the information she requested and came in and signed documents quickly because they were closing . Then on Oct. 8 2015 was rearended by a police officer. At the scene the police officer told me my license has an fr suspension. I had not had a ticket in many , many years . I didn’t understand. Regardless my question is wasn’t my insurance agent suppose to catch this how was I able to get my insurance if my license suspended.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:14 pm #Jason
Benjamin,
Perhaps you don’t know how insurance companies utilize agents. Agents gather your information and make an application to the insurance company based on the information you provide to the agent. The agent doesn’t research or review data bases for your accidents, your license status, or your accidents.
The area that is done in is called underwriting and that is a department of the insurance company. When underwriting receives your application, they review it after comparing it to information they receive from third parties about your accidents, license, violations, and other things.
Underwriting is the group that makes the determination if you are insurable.
Let’s say your license is suspended and you report to the agent that your license is valid and not suspended. Underwriting will interpret that error as a misrepresentation and your insurance application will be rejected. No insurance company in their right mind would issue insurance to someone with a suspended license. No agent would know your license is suspended because they rely on the information you give (or fail to give) them.
Also, I still don’t understand everything you’ve indicated. For example, I don’t know what a “fr suspension” is.
December 2nd, 2015 at 9:59 am #Daisy
I had a vehicle stolen from me my insurance recovered it and found it had a new owner with title , I never sold the vehicle obviously . The police recovered it but placed a hearing because of it being stolen and sold it has to go to court now to prove it it mine. Spring 2016 will be two years since its been gone . What can I do about the miles put on my vehicle as well as the depreciation?
December 2nd, 2015 at 6:19 pm #Jason
Daisy,
Probably nothing. I can’t believe you and your insurance company didn’t settle your claim already if it’s been over 1.5 years since it was stolen.
December 2nd, 2015 at 6:22 pm #Jason
Daisy,
You might not be able to prove it’s your car so the miles and depreciation should be the least of your concerns.
If you already settled with your insurance company for the theft of your car, the car isn’t yours any longer – the owner would be the insurance company.
December 11th, 2015 at 11:51 am #Dafirestar
I’ve read a great deal of the material on this website and I find the information very good. I’ve adjusted property and casualty claims for the past 25+years, finding useful information on the web is near impossible. This site can be very useful to understanding the claims process, as a professional in this industry I recommend the information highly.
December 11th, 2015 at 1:27 pm #Daisy
No the claim hasn’t been settled they found my Tahoe and are in the process of returning it to me . I sent my original title to AllState for proof it was mine and I never sold it. The adjuster did mention the person that had had it had a title which I don’t know how that was possible when there was a lean on it from the bank I financed it from.
December 11th, 2015 at 9:21 pm #Jason
Daisy,
Why has it taken over 1.5 years to settle your claim? It doesn’t even seem reasonable to wait this long for the hopes of recovering your vehicle.
December 19th, 2015 at 3:42 pm #Mary jones
Is the insurance company still liable to keep renting me a vehical if our car is already been totaled and given us a check for the damages and totaled out my car and we bought it back from them and we still can’t drive it and we still need a vehical to drive because my car ain’t legally able to be driven because of the damages done to it are they liable to provide me with something to drive till we can fix it and we have full coverage on it
December 19th, 2015 at 5:03 pm #Jason
Mary,
No, the insurance has fulfilled its obligation to you in full upon settling your claim. You are not entitled to a rental car no matter what if your claim has been settled.
January 5th, 2016 at 10:14 am #Shawn
Torystandalone Thomas
Ok so my home was broken in November of 2014 but here is the downfall I obtained my insurance I increased the policy in 2014 so when I did the the claim I thought I was working with my new policy and instead was still dealing with the original policy that I took out at the start of it all. But my agent didn’t send the new policy into the underwriter for it to sealed on the deal. So when the payout came I settled but hadn’t realized that the policy had not been increased until the payout came. So of course I raised sand , tried to fight it contacted the Illinois department of insurance but still no help. So I kept the coverage and now I obtained the increase for the policy of 35000 but I assumed that American family insurance would drop me after all the sand I raised so I took out another policy with all states a back up. So my home gets broken into again July . So of course because of all the sand I raised they really nasty towards me so I’m trying to process this second claim with both of the insurance company . Now I just went and did statement under oath for both company’s . They have my
Nebiors statement
Video survalience
Bank statement
Receipts of purchase
Someone one was into the home as well so there stamens was given
Police statement
Detective statement
My statement
Pictures of items
Boxes for actual items and if there was a control for the item was given as well
When I say it’s stressing me out too the 10th power . I know the insurance try not to pay out claims .
I run a business out of my home as well through a website called AirBnb . I basically recant rooms .
So I had to show the information from the guest sent to me as they where robbing he home as well. Now they did a background check on me of course.
I am a convicted felony from 2002. By also made my agent aware of me being in that jam.
I also moved to Chicago 5 years again and have not had an issue with my home being burglarized until I moved to Chicago . But I am so worried that they will deny my claim. An I have giving them all I got.
I had to pay 6 grand for a lawyer to take my case why 6 grand becuase I have the 2 insurance company so they are 2 different agency I have had to pay dibble for he help.I had to pay 6 grand for a lawyer to take my case why 6 grand becuase I have the 2 insurance company so they are 2 different agency I have had to pay dibble for he help.
Dec 8, 2015
Torystandalone Thomas
Also I have never had insurance before until I moved to Chicago . So I knew or know nothing about reading a policy . My agents have never went over with me on how to understand or read my policy . That was my first down fall thus far. And once I obtained the new policy with the same company after all the mess I indured they still have not taken the time to go over my policy with me . I knew nothing about the a statement under oath like all this shit is new to me . They are trying to find any little thing to deny my claim I feel. I understand that becuase they just paid the kid on a claim in November that they feel it’s a scam from the break in July. But this so overall true . I have spent my all trying to fight my insurance company’s . I feel like I been robbed by the niggas who broke in my home as well as my insurance company’s overall. Not one of my agents have called and asked me if everything is alright do I need any help dog kiss my ass or nothing . Now that I have obtained a lawyer they have no words for me everything has to be sent through my lawyer . So I just trying to get some knowing and understanding on how all this works. Any information I know today is from reading off line about it all I have had to teach my self the know how’s on what I’m dealing with and the denial ranges from here there and everywhere and I’m not sure what to expect . I feel as if I’m walking blind and just doing what what they tell me to do until there finished with me. I never know what the next step is or should be . I’m just walking blind once again and im tired of walking blind through all this shit . I wanna know something my lawyer ain’t telling me shit
Dec 8, 2015
January 5th, 2016 at 10:22 am #Shawn
So now my issues is becuase I’m a felon can they build a case off my background from 2002 when I was basically a child and never had another offense after the situation . Also with me providing new reciepts for my clothing from the stores them self can that be a reason to deny my claim.
Becuase I have never done an property list becuase I submitted 2 list stating the same thing just written differently can they deny claim even if I stayed that j asked for assistant from the claims rep and they declined and then going so far as to ask if they could direct me in the way of a business that could assist me and they Denies knowledge of information again.
Becuase I been going to school since moving to Chicago and had not obtained a job till 2014 and did not provided the insured the tax forms for the past 3 years will this affect me in my claim even if I have proof of purchase for everything on the property list and supporting evidence of the home invasion as well as video proof and all that I stated before in the Tex previously stated in the earlier part of this Tex .
January 6th, 2016 at 3:08 am #Jason
Shawn,
You are paying an attorney concerning the specific insurance questions you have. You should ask him/her. He/she knows your situation way better than I do. I refuse to get between a client and their attorney.
January 6th, 2016 at 6:14 pm #GregLo
Hello,
Two months ago I bought two industrial printers. I paid 18k plus 500 for shipment. Paid for full cover and 3 days later I got the printers. However, when downloading them, one was dropped off on top the other one. I filed a claim. Since then, We have been emailing back and forth. They had asked me lots of questions and for all kind of documentations such as: bill of sale, proof of insurance, pictures of items ship, bill of landing, pictures of damage items, description how it all happened. After 4 weeks of my claim they send an adjuster to verify. So I had to paid another $550 to rent a truck and get help to bring the printers to the manufactures in order to get an estimate (7k in repairs). Another 3 weeks pass by and I am still emailing them and not getting solid answers. Then I got an email stating that they are just “waiting for the underwriters to release the funds” By now I have taken the time to explain to them that I am an entrepreneur going on my 2nd year and that is essential for me to have the printers before December. Suddenly, they begin asking me the same questions all over again. And I just replied by copy/paste emails. December came and on the first week I had to reimburse my clients deposit. I did not have the printers. Some orders I had to outsource making little to nothing in profits then I stop taking any orders. I hardly broke even in the last quarter by selling other merchandise. It has been so frustrated and I am thinking to hire a lawyer but not sure if I will have enough to reinvest in my business. I still don’t have the printers.
Please advise.
January 6th, 2016 at 8:30 pm #Jason
Greg,
Do you have any specific question or questions? Providing advise is kind of vague without knowing what you are looking for specifically.
January 12th, 2016 at 8:33 pm #Shawn
I’m asking with information provide does my insurance company have s claim with the information stated in the information given in opening Tex to you . This not about a lawyer. This qestion I gave was about 2 insurance company that are trying to find fraud in my claim . Do you see from reading my first intial question asked do you see probable cuase to deny claim
January 13th, 2016 at 4:38 am #Jason
Shawn,
I repeat my response shown in post 429 word for word.
January 14th, 2016 at 11:24 am #Eva
This weekend we had a pipe burst. We noticed because as I was showering I noticed the hot water and pressure was down. When I got out the shower I mentioned it to my husband. He went to investigate and noticed a hissing noise near the kitchen. He then went into the crawl space and saw a burst pipe flooding the crawl space. He took video. He came out and I showed him steam coming out from a crawl space vent. We immediately turned off the water and called a plumber. The plumber indicated it was a leak due to a pin hole in our copper piping that burst. He also suggested we call a restoration company as there was mold. The restoration came out and advised we had mold and we should contact our insurance company. We did. The adjuster came out 3 days after our first discovery. We provided him our story, pictures, the pipe, the video and our homeowners inspection. We have been in our home less than 30 days, first day on Dec 14th.
Yesterday, a day after inspection, he called to say the claim was denied due to it not being an immediate burst and it being deemed a long term issue. However; we have proof of maintenance in the homeowners report showing that no leak or mold was present just two months. We also are required to report as soon as we find out and we did, within 24 hours. The plumber and the restoration company agreed that it could have been caused by the pressure of turning the water lines off and on during moving and added the cold temperatures we having been experiencing. IF between the inspection and us moving in a leak was caused in our crawl space how were we supposed to know. We did our due deligence. Is there anything we can do?
January 14th, 2016 at 12:10 pm #Jason
Eva,
See response under home insurance claims, post #2127.
January 20th, 2016 at 4:40 pm #Teddy
OMG! I got mail a day ago (forwarded from my office and dated almost 2 weeks ago–as I am out of state) that was a collection notice for my vehicle insurance. I know better then to call the collection agency, so I called my insurer AFTER I looked at the card I keep in my glove box. Yes my insurance had expired (months ago!) I was NEVER given any other notice prior to this collation notice. So I call my agent and they refused to keep me insured because I did not pay on time! I am on the road most of the year, so my mail gets forwarded. But until this notice I got NOTHING regarding any payments due on my insurance. They have my email address and my phone number, but NO ONE EVER contacted me! So: 1) I am currently uninsured and I MUST drive my vehicle to work. 2) I have a PERFECT record (even at age 67 I have only had one claim for a vehicle fire that was ruled not my fault). No traffic violations, no accidents. FYI I drive a Freightliner (I have a Class A CDL)towing a big travel trailer. I also have a Jeep. ALL of my policies are expired! What can I do! My rig is not “normal” and I can find no one who will insure it, especially on short notice! I found one that demanded an appraised (at MY cost) and I hired one today who came to inspect my vehicles ($250 my cost.) Nice guy, but obviously a newbee. (I might also ad that my insurance card lists THREE different companies. This country seems to be going down the drain (and me with it!)
January 20th, 2016 at 5:03 pm #Jason
Teddy,
You can take some time and get some insurance. Go to an independent insurance agent and let them know of your needs.
Your insurance company is not required to call you when your insurance is due. They are required to send you a renewal notice, non-renewal notice, or a cancellation – and it’s likely the required notice was sent to you.
I agree – this county is deteriorating fast.
January 20th, 2016 at 6:12 pm #Teddy
Thanks.. I have been trying. But I drive a Freightliner towing a 50 foot Travel Trailer (garage for my Jeep): unusual enough (but not unheard of). Seems most agencies only want the easy vehicles. I am registered in Montana, but am spending the winter in Florida. I have a call into the Montana Insurance Commissioners Office so maybe they can help.
I THOROUGHLY expect to get ripped off by whatever agency I can find that is willing to insure me….
January 20th, 2016 at 7:45 pm #Shawn
What do you do when your lawyer stops working on your claim .
January 20th, 2016 at 8:04 pm #Jason
Teddy,
Don’t waste your time with the commissioners office. They are not going to help you at all. Their only function is to make sure the insurance industry remains strong and viable in their respective state. They are not an advocate for people who are insured – although you may have that perception.
Yep, agencies want easy vehicles. That would be due to the simplicity of placing an auto/truck on a personal auto policy where they know the premium for your vehicle based on information they already have in their office.
To do a commercial insurance policy, it takes more time and they don’t know all the underwriting rules so they don’t want to do those unless they have to with a customer who brings them a lot of other things to insure.
January 20th, 2016 at 8:05 pm #Jason
Shawn,
You contact your lawyer and discuss what’s going on.
January 20th, 2016 at 8:48 pm #Teddy
I am not commercial, not for hire..I do not carry anything for anybody but myself. Granted, I have a big rig, and it is not as big as a traditional commercial carrier. I just live in the full-time! Perhaps I am non-traditional, but I also have a perfect driving record. ONE claim ever which was deemed not my fault. I’ll keep hunting. I normally have little use for lawyers either. They, too, want the easy cases.
January 20th, 2016 at 8:59 pm #Jason
Teddy,
It’s not what you do with your freightliner/travel trailer, instead, it’s what they are. The freightliner is a a commercial vehicle and if the trailer is pulled by a commercial vehicle, the trailer is commercial too.
I can assure you that the freightliner is not a considered a private passenger automobile for a simple automobile policy.
If you live in the freightliner, that is going to cause more concerns than just driving it around.
January 20th, 2016 at 10:46 pm #Shawn
Now see I was trying to refrain from involving you in the disclaimer with my lawyer. He breached me before the first company as telling me to answer yes or no to the questions an to not allow my self to get in my feelings about the question being asked . But the question where more about my job and my passed history’s that didn’t have any relevance to burglary nor did he tell me that if u loose that I could be prosecuted for fraud and would have to pay back the money that was given in advancement . I haven’t worked or processed income tax with the irs due to be not working but was receiving state assistants to keep my self afloat. So he never told me that even though all the evidence line video,bank documents. Nebior statement,police report ,guy in home at the time statement , investigators of both insurance company did In home statements n investigation , agent of main policy took pictures of home and Personal property before issue of policy, reciepts , my pictures of items , original boxes and remotes and pamphlets from items that even though I did not provide income tax documents the would void my policy from what I read on line . Nor did he answer my question to if they took pictures of home and Items sent to the underwriter for verification to approve the policy before issue why am I having to do statement when they have its proof that the agent took for the company. I asked him why didn’t object to question that didn’t concern the break in . He got mad and stated he was through with my case and stated that he told me that my case would be a difficult case. But him informing of anything has been lack there of you ask me . He’s not telling me what I should know
January 21st, 2016 at 4:17 am #Teddy
Jason: You are incorrect. I have driven this rig (and an older one before this) for 20+ years. There a MANY travel and horse trailers being towed with these “mid-size” Freightliner Trucks. I have a gooseneck hutch, not a fifth wheel as well.. The trailer has complete living quarters and was designed to carry a vehicle. I have had insurance during ALL of the past 20 years and had no problem insuring it in the past.
January 21st, 2016 at 7:33 am #Jason
Teddy,
What do you assert I am incorrect about? You have a commercial set-up and I don’t doubt you had insurance for 20 years.
I am fairly confident you did not have a personal auto policy for your coverage, but instead a commercial policy. Trailer connectivity to the vehicle pulling it makes no difference.
January 21st, 2016 at 7:38 am #Jason
Shawn,
You might want to review your contract with your attorney. I’m fairly confident it says not to disclose anything involving your case on social media. That seems to be a fairly common clause in a client/attorney contract.
If you have questions, discuss with your attorney, not others.
January 21st, 2016 at 9:19 am #Shawn
If I didn’t work for the last passed 3 years and did not file taxes will I loose my case with my insurance company of I did not present the documents
January 21st, 2016 at 12:10 pm #Teddy
Jason: have you ever heard of RV Insurance? I have been insured with Blue Sky, RV America, Progressive and Foremost. I am NOT commercial. By FHA standards or any other agency I am NOT considered commercial. I am NOT “For Hire”, I have a complete Living Quarters and a garage in the back. I have been doing this for decades and full-time for 10+ years. I KNOW what I am talking about! There are a great many RV’s and horse trailers (with living quarters) that are being towed with the mid-size Freightliners. What we have is an uneducated, ignorant and corrupt insurance system and agents/employees that want the “easy” policies. The rules may have changed, but evidently no one want to do anything but sell what they know.
February 13th, 2016 at 12:41 pm #Terri King
65 year woman owned her home before marriage, ex-husband was not on the deed or the mortgage. He left her in 2001 then divorced her in 2006. She failed to have his name removed from homeowners policy, and there was a fire in 2014. They are refusing to issue the check for the depreciation in her name but has it in his and her name, and will not change it. She cannot get the check cashed. Although he has no interest in the property, and can’t be located. What can I do? Any ideas?
February 13th, 2016 at 12:51 pm #Jason
Terri,
I don’t think you can do anything unless you are the 65 year old woman or her ex-husband.
What she needs to do is find her ex and have him sign the check. He will probably want half of it since he is still insured by the policy.
He may not have an interest in the property but because he is an insured and his name is on the check, he has an interest in the proceeds of that check.
February 15th, 2016 at 12:06 pm #Chris
So my house was broken into on 1/29. Called the police and called my insurance company farmers ins. So when the incident occurred my insurance said ok just make a list of all that’s missing and we will get on your claim as fast as possible. Well I had asked for a field agent to come and check out the house I said I’d feel more comfortable since this is not the first time they broke in. The agent said that is no longer necessary and they do all of it from there home base. So a week goes by and she feels me she is still waiting on some things. Week 2 goes by and I call to ask what’s going on she said if you could provide more info like instruction manual or something to show proof of ownership. I said that I’ll keep looking and send whatever I can find. Week 3 has come by and she is like we are wrapping up a few things and it should be done. So grid 2/12 I get a call saying that they are now going to send a field agent and do an investigation and I was like ok why? So she said we didn’t provide enough information and cause we had a previous claim on theft it just flagged the system. I was like ok but you knew we had a previous claim and we asked for a field agent at the beginning. She then replied they are going to do a background check and another thing that flagged was we had a bankruptcy. At that point I was like what dose that have to do with anything? I don’t know what should be done?
February 15th, 2016 at 2:39 pm #Jason
Chris,
They are sending an adjuster to address your claim. It also seems your claim has been elevated and will be more closely scrutinized.
Please recognize that farmers has one of the highest customer claim dissatisfaction ratings in the industry. Whatever the result of your claim, you should look for a better insurance company immediately.
March 9th, 2016 at 1:03 am #Brian
My vehicle was destroyed in a fire at the body shop. I had prepaid for the work. Am I entitled to a refund of that money in addition to the replacement of the vehicle?
March 14th, 2016 at 9:41 am #Donna B
Hello
I will try to keep this short. I had a room collapse in my home. After further
investigation, the collapse occurred because of mold and wood rot. That being
said; let me give some background information. I bought an old farm house in
which I have renovation room by room since 2003. Renovations included new
HVAC/heating, duct work, plumbing, vinyl siding, new roof, electrical just to
name a few. I have put $60,000 plus into this house. I am to the last
renovation of two rooms then the whole house will be modern. Then I had a
collapse to the room I am renovating. I called insurance filed a claim.
Insurance sent a forensic engineer. They submitted a report saying 75% of
flooring system needs to be replaced. After asking insurance for estimate of
loss – they said they do not have one. The insurance adjuster and my contractor
with me present decided we need a structural engineer. Insurance told me due to
delay in insurance in finding/scheduling a structural engineer to go ahead and
use my contractor’s engineer. I got the structural engineer report which stated
the same thing as the forensic engineer stated in his report. However, with the
structural engineer I have an estimate of the cost of repairs. The estimate is
$110,562. The assessed tax value on just my home is $44000. My paid appraisal,
in 2008, was $132,000 which includes land, 3 out buildings and the home. My
insurance is saying they will only cover the room that the collapse happened in
and the back side of my dining room. It has been discovered the wood rot has
destroyed the entire sub-floor and everything below sub-floor.
My question: How can insurance say they will only fix the collapse portion and
the sunken dining room floor area? One cannot sister onto rotten wood. Also,
the insurance engineer stated to me (did not put in his report) that my house
should be condemned. It could collapse at any given moment. I just trying to
understand my rights. If insurance will only pay for that area then can I
cancel the loss payee on my insurance policy to get the little settle money paid
to me in just my name? I understand the mortgager will then place force placed
insurance on my mortgage. Can the mortgage company come back to sue me for the
insurance settlement check?
Thank you for your help.
Donna
March 14th, 2016 at 10:19 am #Claudia
Hi, I had an accident two weeks ago. I was at a stop sign waiting to turn to my left side when suddenly some one hit me from the back.
My rear bumper is damage and is missing half of the right side.
I took my van for an estimate but the estimator told me that just the rear bumper would come up to 1,114.00 and since it is rusty on the side where the bumper should be attach I would have to pay the rest which would be around 3,000. So it would be a total loss that’s what the estimator said. Now the insurance from the other party just wants to send me a check for the amount of 1,114.00 and I would not get my rear bumper fix.
I don’t agree with that because if the guy wouldn’t of kit me the rear bumper wouldn’t have fallen even if on that right side is rusty.
What can I do in that case.
March 14th, 2016 at 10:30 am #Claudia
Hi, I had an accident two weeks ago, I was on a stop sign waiting to turn to my left when suddenly some one from the back hit me.
My rear bumper is damage and is missing half of the right side bumper.
I took my van to do an estimate and the estimator told me that just the rear bumper would be 1,114.00, but since the right side where the bumper has to be attach is rusty I would have to pay 3,000 out of my pocket which he said that for him is a total loss. But in the estimate that he email to the other party insurance he didn’t stated that only the amount of the rear bumper and that the area is rusty.
the Insurance would only pay me 1,114.00 which is what the bumper repair cost.
I don’t agree with this because if the guy wouldn’t of hit me my rear bumper wouldn’t of fallen even if the right rear side is rusty.
What can I do in this case.
March 14th, 2016 at 11:06 am #Jason
Donna,
I responded to your e-mail that you sent to the ich.org e-mail. If you want me to copy the response in this forum I will. If I don’t receive a response from you, I will assume you received the response and don’t want it posted here.
March 14th, 2016 at 11:18 am #Jason
Claudia,
I don’t know what your van is worth. You have the option to submit a claim with your own insurance company but that requires you to have had collision coverage. That generally is the best route.
Since you may not have collision coverage, your claim isn’t settled until you agree to the terms with the other insurance company. Why don’t you ask that they total your van? If you go that route, they will pay you the fair market value of it and then the van will be theirs. Sure you can then buy it back from them but that move would essentially lessen the total amount you actually receive for your van.
Look up your van’s value at nada (dot) com.
Perhaps with the $1114 payment, your van is already totaled and you get to retain it.
April 7th, 2016 at 4:24 pm #Joe Smith
Hello,
I had a question about renters insurance. I rent a house and recently I left my kid in the tub on the second floor of the house. While I was working in the kitchen below he spilled a lot of water out of the tub so much that it wet the ceiling of the kitchen below. It resulted in a stain and some peeling of the paint.
I have renters insurance and I am wondering if they would pay for this damage. Please advice. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.
April 17th, 2016 at 9:06 pm #tory
so i was waiting for my insurance company to make a decision on my claim ;from July 13th. this is the second time my home was broken into that i have had to process claims.so i got a letter in February stating that the claim was approved. then i get a letter stating what the company was planning to settle the claim out for. so in august i got a advancement from the company. so the the company was given a property list for 52,ooo in claims of lost items. so the property list was sent back to me not in the form that was given from me to the company. so then they also did not include the items that where to claim in property list. so my question is are the company able to send the list back not in order that it was sent. are the company able to ask for more information as well after the claim has been approved for a legitimate claim. can they only approve for 7,000 on a 52,000 once again after approval of claim on the claim after approving the claim as a legit claim. i sent the company the floor plan again of documents i sent originally after the manager told me he didn’t get the property list as i stated was sent via email/ seems to me i am having to reissue the documents all over again .
April 18th, 2016 at 1:52 am #Jason
tory,
The company can investigate any part of the claim at any time it wants even though your overall claim was approved. I don’t know the specifics of your claim but it’s not common to have a burglary once in a lifetime, and certainly it’s way less common to have two in a short period of time. Provide the information until you claim is settled. I can’t comment on dollar amounts of your claim because I don’t know anything about your claim.
April 18th, 2016 at 6:37 am #Lilibet
We are about to remodel our master bath because we found a broken tile in the lower part of the shower wall and thought this might be causing the mildew issue we have been having. My brother in law suggested contacting our insurance company to see if insurance would cover any of the cost. Fast forward…
The adjuster came to our home last Monday, 11 April, to look at possible water damage to our master bath. As he was leaving, HE noticed water inside our front door and stated this would be a whole new claim. No, we had not seen this before that time.
He sent out a leak detection company and sure enough, we have a leak in the slab at the front door but not in our bathroom. The following day he sent out an engineer to look at both the master bath and the confirmed leak. The engineer came and went through the whole house looking at the floor finding hollow and cracked tiles in places I hadn’t noticed before. He wouldn’t really tell us anything other than we would get a report in about a week.
Insurance will reimburse us to stay at a hotel in the meantime and part of our living expense. However, I’m a disabled vet with a medical bed. So my husband and I decided in an effort to keep the insurance bill from being so high we will ‘camp’ in our home and go to a friends to shower and fill water jugs. We keep the jugs of water on hand to use the toilet.
The adjuster stated we have two options.
1. Go through the slab to repair the leak
2. Have the house re-piped
Option 1 gives us new floors (love that idea) and is faster
Option 2 gives us new plumbing and will take longer.
Adjuster stated if this were his home, he would choose option 1
Our concern is, if we go with option 1 and another leak happens, will insurance then pay to re-pipe the home?
Kinds regards for any guidance you can provide.
April 18th, 2016 at 6:09 pm #Jason
Lilibet,
Results of a claim that may or may not happen of a hypothetical situation is not something I entertain. There are too many variables and too many possible results.
A claim’s outcome cannot be determined until a claim occurs.
April 28th, 2016 at 3:24 pm #Rebecca
Hello, my husbands car was parked on a public street in San Francisco and was hit by another car in the middle of the night. Most likely because of drunk driving as there was only one person found in the vehicle passed out in the back of the car when police arrived on scene. We found a police report ticket on he windshield the next morning. The other persons insurance company gave us an estimate on the damages which was around $6,000. Then we had to wait a month later still no response because they couldn’t put they’re client at the scene of the accident because she wasn’t cooperating with her insurance by ignoring their calls. Finally they got back to me and said they did place her at fault and they want to pay me but now they only want to pay me the “value” of my car which to them is about “$4,000″. My car isn’t a ordinary car i have customized part of the engine and rims, interior and such. what can I do in this situation? Are they obligated to pay me for my damages?
April 28th, 2016 at 4:54 pm #Jason
Rebecca,
They owe you the lower of the fair market value or the cost to repair. If you don’t like their offer, submit a claim to your insurance company if you have collision coverage. If you use your insurance, your insurance will collect your deductible from the other person’s insurance to reimburse you for it.
May 1st, 2016 at 10:36 am #Pam Donovan
Hi! My daughter’s car is titled in her dad’s name(we are divorced), but the insurance policy on the vehicle is in my name. If this vehicle was in an accident and deemed a total loss, is my name include on the payment since I’m the named insured, and pay the insurance premiums?
Thanks for your help!
May 1st, 2016 at 11:33 am #Jason
Pam,
The check would never be written to anybody if this car was involved in a total loss based on who owns it.
You don’t own the car and you have no financial interest in it according to insurance industry practices.
If the car was totaled, the insurance would require the signed title before they consider writing a check. Since you are the insured, and not the owner, the insurance company would close the file with no payment of any sort.
May 3rd, 2016 at 8:02 pm #Maureen
Hello. My family and u were putting a second level/addition on. We just finished remodeling everything downstairs. We live on Lake St Clair/north channel. My contractor and/or framer didn’t tarp correctly. Everything ruined. Company came took everything out. Ceilings and walls even garage gone. Have to rebuild. My question how long should my personal/contents sit in water damage home. I have 2 small children worried about health w mold etc. it sat for 2.5 wks and they still let it get rained on for another wk after I found it. They claim they cleaned most everything. But I have been doing my homework. I have my dec page and we have good insurance. Any advice on anything that should b kept or they just trying to save money. My insurance is being great but I think they know they will go after contractor next. Thank u so much. Time/wks is what I’m looking for. Thanks!!
May 3rd, 2016 at 8:34 pm #Jason
Maureen,
Ideally your personal property should spend any time in a water damaged home.
May 3rd, 2016 at 8:51 pm #Jason
Maureen,
Correction: Ideally your personal property should not spend any time in a water damaged home.
May 3rd, 2016 at 8:52 pm #Maureen
Hi Jason. Thanks for the quick response. U mean it shouldn’t spend any time in water damage home? I had video coverage. First person to find it. March 23 and the ppl who came to clear out the house were there April 7th. With a few more rainfalls in between. The adjuster told my husband text contractor tarp this house. We have lots of proof. Everything is very new 1 year max on furniture 2. Kitchen was less than a year old and my son is just a year. I’m asking u about all our personal property/contents because we are suppose to look at everything tomarrow. On company website they have maybe 70 items damaged but like crayons coloring books etc. I have also been reading that they cannot clean your things unless u give them permission is this true? I just want what is fair and what our home was like b4. I heard things can get worse overtime wood pours things. Thanks again. Very helpful
May 3rd, 2016 at 9:00 pm #Jason
Maureen,
As the property owner, only you can give anyone permission to clean your property.
I don’t know what you are asking. Only you can determine what became wet and wasn’t damaged. I can’t do that for you.
May 4th, 2016 at 4:28 am #Maureen
Thank you Jason. I understand. It’s all new to me. Just doing a spreadsheet of all belongings like I was told. Thank u for all your help
May 4th, 2016 at 12:45 pm #Terry Ziegler Jr
Dose anyone know a pain management doctors located in Bastrop
TEXAS OR AUSTIN TX or Smithville TX.
MUST TAKE LOP FROM MI ATTORNEY. CLAIM WAS FIELD IN MI.
go pro se?
May 4th, 2016 at 12:48 pm #Terry Ziegler Jr
cataclean 8 of 2011 State of Arizona for car accident hundred percent not at fault other party rear-ended me offer submitted 50000 I was honestly getting surgery my attorney at the time was a trial lawyer he settled without my permission nor any knowledge absconded with 50,000 when claim would have been worth over 300 limited liability were over 300 he said we tended limited 50,000 we did not and do I go after these errors and omissions insurance in the State Bar of Arizona is already settled with seven other clients and use the funds have been exhausted there may be a exponential experience circumstance claim I’m waiting to hear back please tell me how to get his errors and omissions insurance but she did have before he was disbarred on the line and what kind of attorney do you use for this thank you
May 25th, 2016 at 3:19 pm #sex
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May 26th, 2016 at 10:49 am #Summer
Do I have any options to decline my insurance company power of attorney in an instance of a total loss on a lease? They want to pay the financing company directly but the actual cash value on the car is much higher than the payoff. This is to great condition of the car and high down payment. The financing company states in fine print they will not reimburse for what they receive from insurance but I am liable for more. Since I am financially tied to this, is there a way to get two checks from insurance or pay lien directly?
May 26th, 2016 at 6:40 pm #Jason
Summer,
There is no lien on the car. The car is owned by the lease company.
You pay for the insurance to protect yourself and the vehicle’s owner, which happens to be the lease company. The owner in all cases receives all benefits related to a total loss. According to the lease agreement, you would owe the owner the difference between what the insurance company paid and the car’s value at the time of the loss.
As a non-owner, you want to intercept the benefit the car owner seems to be getting from the total loss situation. If you wanted to intercept that benefit, you would need to purchase the totaled car from the lease company. Since there would be no benefit for the lease company to sell the totaled car to you, that is a very unlikely option.
There is no possible way for you to get two checks from your insurance company. Also, there is no lien on the car so that also is not an option.
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May 31st, 2016 at 7:01 pm #Jen
A car hit our mailbox destroying it and a retaining wall. It also went through and destroyed a large portion of our wooden/barbed wire fence. We found the car sitting in our yard abandoned the next morning. We live on acreage is why we didn’t hear it when it happened. A police report was made and the car was towed away. We have contacted the car owners insurance several times. They tell us that the owners husbands friend was supposedly driving the car. Until they get a statement from him they cannot proceed. 3 weeks later same story, they insurance company is telling me they cannot proceed because the supposed driver has not given a statement. They keep calling and no one will answer the phone is what they tell me. Are we just out of luck?
June 1st, 2016 at 1:22 am #Jason
Jen,
No, file this with your insurance company and get the damage taken care of. Your policy will provide you with more coverage for your loss than the other person’s insurance.
Sure, with enough time passing, the driver’s insurance company will ultimately make a decision even though they don’t have all their information but you will have to wait until that happens.
Your insurance company will attempt to get your deductible reimbursed to you when your insurance company seeks to be reimbursed from the responsible person.
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June 15th, 2016 at 10:44 am #Rene White
My car was broken into right in front of our home. They got my rolling case with workout gear and my jewlery case. I was tired when I got home ..shame on me I didn’t take it out. My wedding ring appraised and insured at $42k was in it. The ins. company is now telling me that they will only pay wholesale value of $20k. They want me to use their jeweler to replace this ring and their work is substandard at best. How can they do this? there is no way we can buy this ring again for this amount.
June 15th, 2016 at 4:57 pm #Jason
Rene,
The replacement ring for you is going to be great. It will be at least as good, if not better than your stolen ring. If you would have originally purchased the ring at wholesale, you would have paid less than $20,000, without a doubt.
You actually had a ring worth about $20,000 and paid a tip or sales fee of $22,000. There is a substantial sales markup on jewelry.
I disagree with you when you say their work is substandard – it is as good or better than any other retail jeweler out there. When you get your replacement ring, you can insure it again for $42,000, or more, because that will be the appraised value on the replacement ring.
June 16th, 2016 at 1:21 pm #Russ
Yes I have an insurance company deeming my car a total loss on water getting into the intake and hydro licking the motor. The car was not in flood water sitting or anything like that. Drove through 4″ of water and got sucked into the intake. So I got the shop to do a repair estimate that is $2200 cheaper the total loss amount of $6200. The insurance company is denying the claim and deeming it a total loss. Will pay the finance company but I get nothing. No down payment for me, no vehicle for me, and another words “I am SOL”. Anything I can do to have them repair the car??? Please help!!! I have not released the vehicle to the insurance company and don’t plan too.
June 16th, 2016 at 5:17 pm #Jason
Russ,
The insurance company is not denying your claim. Your insurance company can either pay for the repair, or total your car. You don’t have a say in their decision about what they will do.
Your insurance pays the lien holder of your vehicle first, and you get any remaining funds. If there are no remaining funds, then you owe more than your vehicle is worth. Your insurance company doesn’t pay for your, or anybody’s, down payment.
If you don’t surrender your vehicle to your insurance company, perhaps you can buy it back from them, but why would you want to buy a vehicle with a blown motor? Also, if you don’t surrender the vehicle to your insurance company, they won’t send the settlement check to your lien holder.
June 21st, 2016 at 2:10 pm #Angela Curry-Marable
Do insurance company pay when sunroof blows off
June 21st, 2016 at 6:15 pm #Jason
Angela,
If you have comprehensive insurance coverage, that seems like something that would be addressed by insurance. You will find out when you make a claim.
June 24th, 2016 at 7:19 pm #all brokers
Still it is advisable not to jump into impulsive decisionjust because the property is available at cheap rate.
One important aspect of owning a building as investment property is the benefit of the tax deductions related to the property.
Have fun with it and make it a place you’d want to hang out and Sims in the town will be sure to visit it.
July 1st, 2016 at 9:39 pm #alejandra
Hello,
My brother owns a bicycle store, one of the employees was asked to assist in the installation of a car rack. The customers car got scratched and now she is claiming it was the employees fault. Is the store liable for that? Does my bother have to pay for the damage? Also, if he does is he also responsible for a car rental. The shop is stating it will take 2 days but the customer insist it will take 3 days and want the rental for that long. If my brother does not fix her car can he get sued? Please help.
Thank you,
Ale
July 1st, 2016 at 9:40 pm #ALEJANDRA
Hello,
My brother owns a bicycle store, one of the employees was asked to assist in the installation of a car rack. The customers car got scratched and now sh
Alee is claiming it was the employees fault. Is the store liable for that? Does my bother have to pay for the damage? Also, if he does is he also responsible for a car rental. The shop is stating it will take 2 days but the customer insist it will take 3 days and want the rental for that long. If my brother does not fix her car can he get sued? Please help.
Thank you,
July 1st, 2016 at 9:42 pm #ALEJANDRA
Hello,
My brother owns a bicycle store, one of the employees was asked to assist in the installation of a car rack. The customers car got scratched and now she is claiming it was the employees fault. Is the store liable for that? Does my bother have to pay for the damage? Also, if he does is he also responsible for a car rental. The shop is stating it will take 2 days but the customer insist it will take 3 days and want the rental for that long. If my brother does not fix her car can he get sued? Please help.
Thank you,
July 2nd, 2016 at 5:20 am #Jason
alejandra,
I don’t know. You didn’t provide enough information to determine that. I don’t know if the person who allegedly did the scratch was working as an employee at the time or not. Who asked the employee to assist in the installation? I don’t think you can provide enough information to make a definitive liability determination.
Since I have no idea if your brother is liable, I don’t know if he would be responsible for the scratch. Since liability is not known at this time, discussion about a rental car is premature.
Anybody can sue anybody for anything.
July 11th, 2016 at 7:45 pm #Andrew
I live in Alaska my house burnt down lost everthing can I demolish my old structure all inspections have been done
July 12th, 2016 at 3:04 am #Jason
Andrew,
Do you have a question?
July 17th, 2016 at 8:45 am #Zackuary
Someone backed into my car at Walmart and the cameras can’t see it. I have a warranty through Chevrolet where I would have to pay a 100$ deductible am I allowed to file a claim with my insurance company and keep the check then just go to Chevy and get it fixed? I am also paying on the car still.
July 18th, 2016 at 5:36 pm #Annette Newhouse Clemente
Hello to years ago I submitted a claim to nation wide when my hot water heater burst, they sent a check for 1,200 for kitchen floor to be put back in post any work, serve pro came out and took piece of floor to check for asbestos. I never heard from them again, recently when checking into why my premium went up so much I found out serve pro was paid 10,000 for work they never did! My mom had passed during that two years and I was dealing with intense stuff with my daughter, and also never realized they were paid, I never signed off on work to be done or even heard if I had asbestos. My house is about to be forclose on so having the work done now is of no point, I have been paying higher premium for two years. What recourse do I have?
July 18th, 2016 at 5:39 pm #Annette Newhouse Clemente
Hello to years ago I submitted a claim to nation wide when my hot water heater burst, they sent a check for 1,200 for kitchen floor to be put back in post any work, serve pro came out and took piece of floor to check for asbestos. I never heard from them again, recently when checking into why my premium went up so much I found out serve pro was paid 10,000 for work they never did! My mom had passed during that two years and I was dealing with intense stuff with my daughter, and also never realized they were paid, I never signed off on work to be done or even heard if I had asbestos. My house is about to be forclose on so having the work done now is of no point, I have been paying higher premium for two years. What recourse do I have?
Thank you
July 18th, 2016 at 5:40 pm #Annette Newhouse Clemente
Hello to years ago I submitted a claim to nation wide when my hot water heater burst, they sent a check for 1,200 for kitchen floor to be put back in post any work, serve pro came out and took piece of floor to check for asbestos. I never heard from them again, recently when checking into why my premium went up so much I found out serve pro was paid 10,000 for work they never did! My mom had passed during that two years and I was dealing with intense stuff with my daughter, and also never realized they were paid, I never signed off on work to be done or even heard if I had asbestos. My house is about to be forclose on so having the work done now is of no point, I have been paying higher premium for two years. What recourse do I have?
Thank you annette
July 18th, 2016 at 5:50 pm #Jason
Annette,
Probably none.
August 24th, 2016 at 5:44 pm #Chris and Deb
Hi,
We were recently hit by a truck. Our Toyota Camry has ~150,000 miles and therefore had a good deal of life left. The car is still drivable but with a smashed window and ajar door, will be hard in the winter. The couple who hit us were very apologetic and admitted 100% fault. Since the accident, the other drive has admitted fault to us over the phone and has told his insurance agency the same.
Our problem is that the average of the repairs (we’ve had three estimates from 4800 to 7200) is over the before-accident Bluebook value of the vehicle. However, strangely, note that the same make/model and year/mileage of the car is routinely listed (Craigslist, ebay, used dealerships) for the average of the repairs. And so, if the other driver’s insurance only uses the Bluebook, they will likely call it a ‘total.’
We spoke with the other driver’s insurance today. They are sending out an adjuster soon. The secretary on the phone said something alarming: if they give us ‘cash value’ or similar, they are going to confiscate the vehicle. I have never ever heard of this occurring, especially in this state. When did this become common practice? There are many people in our state who drive ‘totaled’ vehicles and pocket the money or do their own repairs. I’m not saying this is moral or that we plan on doing this. However, how/where can an insurance company take your vehicle? Is this legal in all states? Can we play hardball and refuse but still receive money? Again, this was 0% our fault. And, insurance demanding a vehicle is totally new to both of us and we’re older adults.
Thank you in advance for your time.
August 25th, 2016 at 3:21 am #Jason
Chris,
It has always been like this. Your vehicle is worth so much money before an accident – for example $7500. If the other person totals your car, the insurance company is actually buying the car from you, and will pay you $7500 dollars.
You say people keep and drive totaled cars. Sure they do. Because those totaled cars have remaining value after their actual cash value has been paid. The insurance company will take the car totaled car they just purchased and sell it for salvage value at a salvage auction. It’s completely legit.
If you want to buy the totaled car back from your insurance company so they don’t have the extra expense of acquiring it and selling it at auction, ask if you can buy it back. The cost of buying your totaled car may be between 10-20% of the amount they pay you for the total damage.
August 30th, 2016 at 8:32 am #Chris and Deb
Thank you for the answer. I have never heard of buy-back occurring anywhere in our state. The insurance company cuts the person a check, they do the repairs, or not, and drive the total without repairs if not. I’m sure insurance laws vary by state.
The clincher: The buy back amount won’t cover replacing the car (buying an equivalent) OR the repairs. It doesn’t make sense. No matter what a Kelley Blue Book amount is, this vehicle very likely had another 50,000 – 60,000 miles of use in it. We’re stuck. How to get unstuck?
This system is ridiculous if people think about it. An insurance customer who has been paying their insurance company through the nose for years… damages valuable property owned by other people. Property they rely on to access employment, health care, etc.
The system is #$@%ed.
August 30th, 2016 at 6:55 pm #Jason
Chris,
You have the right of first refusal when it comes to property you own and is then being purchased by someone else. This is a good option for you.
The ACV is the actual cash value of your vehicle and is not dependent upon what replacement cars cost or how much the cost of repair is.
You can guesstimate how many miles were left but that has only a little to do with the value of any particular car.
If you don’t want to pay insurance coverage, then don’t. Nobody forces you to do that.
September 7th, 2016 at 4:03 pm #Brittany
My vehicle was hit,while it was unoccupied and parked. The other party left a note saying sorry I hit your car. They hit my car hard enough to take the entire right side of the bumper off. Before this incident there was a small crack on the rear of the left side. The insurance company (unfortunately we both have have the same insurance company) is taking the stance that they would reattach the right side to my car,but because there was a small crack on the left side they won’t reattach it b/c they can’t reattach damaged parts. After I fought that they agreed to replace the bumper over,but if something prevents them (they didn’t specify what) from reattaching the bumper I would have to pay for it. My stance is that if the other person hadn’t hit my car, I wouldn’t have to have it reattached. Also, the person at the repair shop (that has a partnership with the insurance company) said that my trunk was uneven,but it looks fine to me. Plus if my old bumper was on there with things like they were they should be able to attach a new one right?
September 7th, 2016 at 5:46 pm #Jason
Brittany,
I don’t know how your bumper attaches to your car.
September 15th, 2016 at 6:49 am #Ann
We’re working with a public adjuster on a large commercial claim. When meeting with him to receive the 2nd claim funds check from our insurance company, we of course swapped checks and gave him his percentage. He also had the water damage company representative at the meeting, and we were asked to write them a large check for the “unpack, moveback, and cleanup” of our contents that have been in storage.
This work has not yet been done. (Will be meeting at the property in two weeks to get the items returned.) We’d like to receive most of the boxes and set them aside to sort/clean ourselves at our leisure rather than having the crews on site doing it all.
Question… is it not legal and right for us to expect the water restoration crews to return to us the portion of monies for work they have not yet performed and that we don’t want them to do?? Anything that was saturated, moldy, or a health hazard has been discarded, so that is not an issue.
September 15th, 2016 at 8:07 pm #Jason
Ann,
Ask your public adjuster. You hired him to help you with your claim.
September 15th, 2016 at 8:52 pm #Ann
Yes, sir… but it appears very much to be that they’ve worked as a team on many occasions and I believe he has their best interest in mind rather than ours. I’m looking for an outside opinion, and would rather not go directly to our insurance company unless I have to. I thought I understood from past claim experience that it was ok to be our own “contractor” on things like the clean up? I just want to be armed with knowledge when I speak to them about wanting some funds returned to us. If possible, I’d appreciate your input. Thank you.
September 16th, 2016 at 3:55 am #Jason
Ann,
You’ve hired the public adjuster. You pay him money for his expertise. He is an insurance professional who knows the details of your claim, not me. If he doesn’t have your best interest in mind, then fire him. I won’t step on his toes because he knows the details of your claim way more than I do. Ask him bluntly the question you’ve asked me. He works for you, not the other way around.
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January 24th, 2017 at 3:01 pm #Nicole
Hi,
I bought a car a few years ago from a local company here in AZ. While I was at the dealership I call Geico and got set up with insurance. I told them there was a loan on the car and I needed whatever was required by law (full coverage) 2 years later my car was in possession of my little brother. He went to a friends house and passed out. His friend, drunk, took the keys and the car. He then wrecked it in a wash, totaling my car. He was caught and arrested. When I went to report this to my insurance company they told me I did not have full coverage and there was nothing they could do. So the car was repossessed from the tow yard and there it sits on my credit. I was paying an attorney to stop all the collections calls and recently decided I didn’t want to file..so it’s been 3 years. I still don’t feel this is right. Is there anything I can do?
January 24th, 2017 at 3:30 pm #Teddy
I suggest you find a good public adjuster: one that works for YOU! Most insurance adjusters are paid by your insurance company and it is in their best interests to assist your insurance company while a public adjuster works for you. I has given this advice year ago and I could not have done anywhere near as well without hiring a public adjuster. You will have to pay one (usually less than what a insurance company adjuster gets), but you will have someone who is looking out for YOUR best interests.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:37 pm #Jason
Nicole,
The only insurance required in every single state is liability insurance. There is nothing you can do about no physical damage coverage on the vehicle. I don’t know what you are talking about when you mention you don’t want to file.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:44 pm #Jason
Teddy,
Incorrect – the best interest of an insurance adjuster is to fairly settle a claim.
If you want to talk about the best interests of someone, the best interest of a public adjuster is to make as much income as possible. How does that interest benefit the insured if his goal is to make as much income as possible when his goal should be to make sure his client receives the most from his insurance coverage?
January 24th, 2017 at 6:11 pm #Teddy
My experience with insurance adjusters differs from otherrs perhaps. The insurance company adjuster I got for my trailer fire years ago could not even find anything to compare with, got the estimate entirely wrong (even though I had the information and receipts on all additions which were considerable). He could find NO COMPS either! On top of that my insurance policy gave me less than a week for living expenses (I lived in my travel trailer full time), it took more than 2 months before I got anywhere and only after the public adjuster brought the company to it’s senses. There was NOTHING available on the market ANYWHERE in the USA. I was offered $80,000+ to buy a new once (but it would take 6-8 months to make.)
We negotiated a settlement that enabled me to rebuild my trailer (it took more than a month). Without a public adjuster I would not have received a fair compensation, for would I have a place to live (I was a full-timer in my rig.) Yes I paid the public adjuster and he did his job well. He actually researched current pricing comparable to what I had. The insurance company adjuster got NOTHING right…
I suppose there is bad and good that comes from each. In my case, the public adjuster came to the rescue.
January 25th, 2017 at 3:19 am #Jason
Teddy,
A good, competent adjuster, whether public or not can and will do a great job for their customers. For every good story involving an adjuster, there is a matching horror story as well.
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March 15th, 2017 at 7:54 am #joyce
Car was totaled Dec 20th 16 signed over to Progressive Jan 9th 2017, still owed what it was worth due to high interest rate,I felt they undervalued it , a 2010 Chevy HHR with 96 000 miles. Thjey said $6000 I pulled several comps etc showing a 8-10000 value and sent to Progressive.
Looked up DMV record on car yesterday now shows Progressive as legal owner and me still as registerd owner, why am I still registered owner when they took possetion of car and sent me $450 salvage funds, also on Progressive website payment to me and to lienholder shows as partial?
March 15th, 2017 at 8:20 am #Jason
Joyce,
See response provided under the auto section of this site. A partial payment was made to you and a partial payment was sent to the lien holder. Neither check represented the total payment – only a partial.
March 16th, 2017 at 3:43 pm #Rebecca
I have an allstate business policy on a building i rent. Two years ago a pipe burst, the water was undetected for 48 hrs it flooded my studio. No i am seeing mold. They did not take the carpet out when my bldg flooded. They sent a smart ass allstate adjuster out who came in and immediately told me it was not the pipe he was only there 15 min. He did not even want to see where the pope burst. He came in already with his mind made up for allstate that was not in my favor. They denied my claim. My whole studio is contaminated with mold, i had testing done and have some of the worst mold you can have. The blamed it on the exterior of my bldg. What do i do? I can’t work there its contaminated, I cannot move my stuff out? Need h help. Also Billy who was also very rude and unprofessional called me a liar, Something needs to be done with these unprofessional people at Allstate insurance Company
March 16th, 2017 at 3:57 pm #Jason
Rebecca,
I don’t know what you can do about the denied claim. You should have a different insurance company currently. Why would you still have allstate?
March 19th, 2017 at 10:51 am #Rebecca
well this is my business policy i thought would stand behind me but I was very wrong. The environmental hygienist said it was negligence on the landlord for not keeping the exterior of the building up, so i have to wear a respirator when i go in the bldg, i am looking for an attorney
March 19th, 2017 at 10:57 am #Rebecca
my insurance company hired two outside adjusters, and a so called leak detector to find any little thing wrong with the bldg. Of course they sided with Allstate and not in my favor.
I am going to cancel with Allstate, some adjusted called Billy at allstate called me a liar on the phone and yelled at me like I was a criminal, I would like to know who I can report him to because he was not professional to me at all.
March 19th, 2017 at 11:07 am #Rebecca
I asked Allstate in Texas for copies of the adjusters report, so I could see why my claim was denied, they refused to send it to me said it was confidential and they could not release the files. The refused my claim saying water damage was not the problem from the busted pipe . I need my own adjuster that works for me not allstate to evaluate my claim
March 19th, 2017 at 12:57 pm #Jason
Rebecca,
If you rent the property, why are you still there if you need to were a respirator to enter the building. Find a building to rent that doesn’t require protective equipment to enter it.
When you find an attorney, what are you expecting to happen? Landlords can upkeep their building anyway they deem is appropriate.
Consider Billy reported. Reporting him with any other entity will yield absolutely nothing for you.
Your claim was denied based on the information in your denial letter. Your insurance company is correct – they won’t release their internal documents. No insurance company does that.
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May 6th, 2017 at 4:09 pm #Regina
I have a homeowners policy with The Hartford. They recently paid me directly through EFT to my bank on a claim for a downed tree and fence repairs. No claims adjuster came to my home, as they are out of state. I was not asked to sign anything, nor was I advised on how to proceed with the contractor who provided the estimate. The insurance company paid me based on one of three estimates I sent them. They also had a conversation with one of the contractors. My question now is, am I obligated to work with the contractor who provided the estimate and spoke with my claims adjuster? My claims adjuster made sure to clarify with me that it is up to me to pay my contractor, not them and that they don’t get in the middle of these transactions. I then asked the contractor if they could lower their price to allow me to cover my deductible. I also suggested that I could get the work done for about half of what they estimated. The contractor stated that I was trying to defraud the insurance company and that I am not allowed to profit on an insurance claim. Is this true? My questions are: 1) Am I required to work with that contractor? 2) Can I go with a lower cost contractor? 3) do I have to pay the insurance company back if I get the job done cheaper? Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer!
May 6th, 2017 at 6:37 pm #Jason
Regina,
You are the homeowner. You can hire whoever you want. It doesn’t have to be the contractor your claim was based upon. If you can get it done less expensively, that is up to you. Your contractor who said you are defrauding your insurance company is wrong – you are simply making a wise decision based on the information you have and the insurance money you have. You don’t have to return anything to your insurance company, even if you get the repairs done cheaper.
May 8th, 2017 at 3:46 pm #Dinese
My child died while waiting for the bus, the driver that killed her died as well. I was working with a lawyer and after 8 months he said I could go on with the wrongful death suit, but that the ck would go to her ex husband (separated for two years) I then declined to go forward. Two weeks later I receive a check from the party’s insurance that killed my child. My question to you, if I cash this check am I then on the hook for any hospital bills that were not paid? Ck=10grand Hospital=50grand Should I just send the ck back and be done with it? Would it be illegal for me to cash it as her mother because, though separated, she was married? She was 26 and living with me when she died.
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Dinese,
Talk to a different attorney about the wrongful death claim you have for losing your daughter. Your son-in-law is not the only person who suffered a loss by her death. Their marriage didn’t nullify that are her mother.
Ask your questions that you raised to your attorney about the check you received.
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June 29th, 2017 at 8:41 am #J D Sherman
Structural Engineer reports says house needs to come down. Would the insurance company be liable for the entire policy amount at this point?
June 29th, 2017 at 6:11 pm #Jason
JD,
No, based on what you’ve indicated, it is common that no insurance company provides any kind of coverage for structural engineer reports. Structural engineer reports are not a covered cause of loss, and as a result would not even trigger any insurance coverage, or insurance payment, at all.
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August 8th, 2017 at 4:20 pm #Steven
I was recently injured in a hi speed collision, I was at work returning from a out of town service call driving my company van when a cab driver did a illegal u turn causeing a collision between our two vehicles. I was injured in the accident and got a lawyer. My lawyer has been telling me we have a very strong case for the last 2 months but on my last visit he dropped a bombshell and said that not only my company’s insurance (sears) but also the cab company’s insurance are both claiming to not be liable. Now when the police report was taken the cab driver took complete responsibility for the accident beings that he was at fault and told myself and the police that he was running an errand for his boss so thankfully there wasn’t anyone else in the cab at the time we collided. Now the cab company’s insurance is stateing that because the driver wasn’t registerd thru the state and the cab was brand new (it did already have the company’s logos and everything else you would expect to see on a cab on it) and supposedly the cab driver didn’t have permission to be driving it at the time, that the accident isn’t covered at all and that they aren’t liable for the claim. Now here is the kicker now Sears insurance is doing the same thing and stateing that because the other driver was at fault and not myself that they also aren’t liable and aren’t covering anything. My question is can the cab companys insurance really deny coverage because ( supposedly ) The driver did not have permission to be driving the cab and neither were registered although somehow he was in possession of both and currently employed by them? My second question is can sears insurance really deny my coverage being a sears employee who was on the clock and driving a company vehicle at the time because I wasn’t at fault???
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Steven,
You have hired, and pay, for your attorney in relation to this accident. He/she knows way more than I do about your situation. Ask your questions directly to your attorney.
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October 28th, 2017 at 5:19 am #Adam
Damaged my car, I am the only one involved. Amount to fix damage amounts to $20k. I owe $10k on the car still. Because it’s got a lien on it, I understand that my insurer will cut the check to both me and the lienholder. My questions are: (1) How does the lienholder go about releasing the funds to me, and (2) if I have the vehicle fixed for less than $20k, what happens to the extra money? (3) If I use a shop on my insurer’s “preferred list” of shops to fix my car, are they in cahoots with the insurance company? ie: Is it better to use a shop *not* on that preferred list? Thank you!
October 28th, 2017 at 5:41 am #Jason
Adam,
I don’t know the valuation of the car but with $20,000 in damages, the fair market value would have to be around $30,000 for any insurance company to consider fixing it. Since that is probably not reflective of your cars value, I’m going to assume the damage amount will total the car.
The lien holder will apply the funds to the loan after you sign the check to the lien holder. If there are any funds available after that, the bank will issue you a check for the difference.
You said the damage is $20,000. I have no reason to believe the repairs can be done for less than that. If the car is totaled, there is not an option to repair it.
Cahoots means, colluding or conspiring together secretly. Rest assured the unnamed insurance company and unnamed repair facilities are not colluding or conspiring together secretly. You can use any repair shop you want – in this case, with $20,000 in damage, I’ve assumed the car is totaled.
October 28th, 2017 at 2:47 pm #Adam
Thank you, Jason!
They are not totaling the car, it’s an exotic. Am I understanding this correctly: they send me a check for $20k addresed to me and the lienholder, I send the check to the lienholder who takes the loan amount ($10k), and then they send me back the remaining $10k? Since the damage amount is $20k, I have to either have an unfixed vehicle, or apply my own $10k of funds to fix it?
October 28th, 2017 at 3:11 pm #Jason
Adam,
No, that prior response was based on the car being totaled. The check will either arrive in the name of your lien holder and you, or the repair facility and you. You will then have the car repaired. Your loan has nothing to do with insurance except that your lien holder’s rights are protected when they hold a lien to your car. If the car is being repaired, the repair funds are for repairing the car, not paying the loan amount.
October 28th, 2017 at 3:31 pm #Adam
A: “If the car is being repaired, the repair funds are for repairing the car, not paying the loan amount.”
Q: So how does the lienholder go about releasing the funds to me, so that I can fix the vehicle; and what happens to the extra funds, if there are any at all?
October 28th, 2017 at 5:04 pm #Jason
Adam,
If the check is written to the repairer and you, the lien holder doesn’t have to worry about sending you any money.
If the check is written out to the lien holder and you, the lien holder will have a policy of how they want things done. Since that is a lending/borrower relationship between you and them, I don’t know what they require or what you can expect. You will need to contact them.
I don’t address extra funds because if the car is repaired based on the details of the estimate, there will be no extra funds.
October 28th, 2017 at 11:49 pm #Adam
Jason,
The reason I inquire about extra funds, is because the estimate is generated through the insurer’s system, and quotes OEM parts. Insurer mentioned that once the check is cut, I can use aftermarket parts if I wanted. He said if the aftermarket parts were more expensive, I would have to pay for that. In cases where the aftermarket parts are actually cheaper, and check is written to me and the shop, what happens to the excess funds?
October 29th, 2017 at 6:47 am #Jason
Adam,
When a check is written to the repairer and you, the repairer controls what happens to the money. If there are aftermarket parts used and it’s less expensive, the repairer controls the labor. For example, it may cost more to install aftermarket parts compared to OEM parts. The estimate can and will be adjusted if there is extra money to be applied to the job in labor (or any other category). Just like you want extra money from this repair, so does the repairer. Unless you are the repairer, there won’t be any extra money. Perhaps you can work with the repairer to reduce your deductible but they aren’t required to do that.
October 30th, 2017 at 6:15 pm #Adam
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November 3rd, 2017 at 4:28 pm #Mirjana
I was in a car accident, the other person admitted fault. My car was totaled, I was out of work for almost 5 months does to hip and shoulder pain. My car insurance paid me 1400 a month (I make 2500 a month) they paid my medical bills. I called to clear to claim and today her insurance State farm called to make an offer. They are offering 25K, maximum that she had on her policy but then they said that my insurance paid almost 24K and they might want that money back. This is the first time that I was in a car accident and I don’t understand why would my insurance want to take that money back? I had a 35K coverage on my policy. Could you please explain this process to me? Thank you
November 3rd, 2017 at 6:52 pm #Jason
Mirjana,
Your insurance company isn’t responsible for the negligence of the other driver so they should be reimbursed what they have paid to you for the actions of that other driver.
I could explain it to you if you would let me know in what state the accident occurred.
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November 8th, 2017 at 10:19 am #Mirjana
Thank you so much for your response, the accident was in WA state.
November 8th, 2017 at 6:22 pm #Jason
Mirjana,
Your insurance company paid money to you that became an obligation of the at-fault driver to you. The at-fault driver’s insurance company is responsible for the damage caused by their insured up to $25,000.
Your insurance company is not responsible for the negligence of another party, but they will pay you with the understanding that they will be reimbursed from the at fault party, the at fault party’s insurance company, or if you are reimbursed, they would expect you to reimburse their payments paid to you based because of the negligence of another person.
Your total claim is well over $25,000. You have a couple of options. You can accept the total liability claim of $25,000 from the at fault party’s insurance company and that let’s the at fault driver and the at fault driver’s insurance company off the hook for anything more. However, with that $25,000 settlement, you will need to reimburse yourself for your pain/suffering, medical expenses, payments your insurance company made for you due to the accident, and others things like lost wages, etc.
That $25,000 is for your entire claim, including any payments paid by others to you for the negligence of that other driver.
The second option you have is to refuse the $25,000 and sue the at-fault driver for the total of your claim (this includes what others have paid to you or on behalf of you for the at fault person’s negligence. There is a potential that you may be able to recover $25,000 from the at fault driver’s insurance company (nearly guaranteed) and other amounts above $25,000 directly from the at fault driver. This option basically requires that the at-fault driver has assets from which to recover. This options potentially benefits your insurance company while you incur all the legal expenses of hiring an attorney for the suit.
The last option you have is to do nothing. This is not a reasonable option but since you are not required to do anything at all, this is always an option.
November 20th, 2017 at 9:42 pm #January
vehicle totaled, ins company made offer around $250 less than payoff. older vehicle w/low mileage runs great. husbands a mechanic & really takes care of car, has minor damage that we can repair, front fender, broken tie rod. charging $175 to retain vehicle w/salvage title. lienholder refusing to allow us to keep vehicle. we have gap insurance that will payoff, owe less than $400. even if we payoff, ins company wont release without lienholder consent before hand. adjuster is very rude, gave me 12 hours notice to return rental day after making offer. emails are all returned from adjuster as “refer to lienholder” is there anything at all I can do to keep my vehicle. at fault drivers insurance, refused to allow us to do independent appraisal stating we do not have an appraisal clause, take it up with your own insurance company. Do I have the option to drop the insurance claim? any suggestions appreciated
November 21st, 2017 at 3:30 am #Jason
January,
It’s your vehicle, and your vehicle only. You can do anything you want. The lien holder issue you have is not an insurance issue, but one that is between you and your lien holder.
Don’t rely on other people’s insurance to protect your property. If you had physical damage coverage of your own, you would have the appraisal option.
By doing absolutely nothing, that would essentially drop your claim. Or if you give the adjuster notice of your intent to withdraw your claim, that is another option and everybody would be informed of what you want or don’t want to do.
December 13th, 2017 at 9:31 pm #January
jason
the insurance company wont release my vehicle unless the lien holder signs an owner retains letter and the lienholder is refusing to do that, even though they are being paid off by the insurance company. i had held off on signing the power of attorney until we could get some further information on redeeming our vehicle. however today i was notified the insurance company paid off my vehicle without ever getting the title from me or the power of attorney. my vehicle is at the insurance company salvage yard. the lien holder is refusing to help in any way. the insurance company will not release my vehicle without the lienholders permission, since they have issued the check my vehicle is paid off so the lien holder now claims to have no involvement in this at all. how can they pay off my claim without the power of attorney or title to my vehicle. i told the adjuster to hold off, we were going to file the claim with our own insurance carrier, this is the at fault drivers policy that is covering the claim now.
December 13th, 2017 at 9:37 pm #January
jason
the insurance company wont release my vehicle unless the lien holder signs an owner retains letter and the lienholder is refusing to do that, even though they are being paid off by the insurance company. my vehicle is at the insurance company salvage yard. I told the adjuster to hold off, i would file the claim with my own insurance company. i refused to sign power of attorney or give them my title. today i recieved a call from the lienholder, the insurance company went ahead and paid my vehicle off anyway. even though i asked them not to, the power of attorney was never signed and i still have the title to the vehicle. they are still refusing to release my vehicle even though its paid off now and the lienholder is essentially no help, claim to have no involvement since they are paid.
December 14th, 2017 at 6:25 pm #Jason
January,
If you don’t want to be part of the claim settlement process, the settlement process will avoid you. That seems to be what happened here. The insurance company can settle your claim with your lien holder even without your cooperation. If you don’t think that is true, look at your claim because that is what happened. Can you file this through your insurance company instead of the at fault insurance company? No. Your claim is settled. If you want to screw with the process, there are ways to avoid your interference.
February 23rd, 2018 at 8:30 pm #Doug
I had a recent flood claim which damaged my apartment. My home insurance is covering much of the damage and has agreed to pay my contractors scope of work estimate. Since this is a co-op my buildings HOA is responsible for repairing my floors except for the refinishing and repairing the damage to my walls which a seperate insurance company came in and also built a damage assessment for those repairs.
My HOA is looking to send me a check for repairs. Is there any risk to taking this payment from my HOA if my contractor included both repairing floors and refinish floor in the estimate my insurance is approving and agreed to pay? Can I take the payment from my HOA In addition to my insurance? would this pose any problems-no one seems to be questioning things but I don’t want an issue.
February 24th, 2018 at 5:24 am #Jason
Doug,
To recap,you are being paid from your insurance company and from the HOA insurance company for the same repair of repairing floors and refinishing floors.
Your question does not directly involve insurance – instead it involves honesty, integrity, and morality. The only advice you should be seeking is your own because you have a choice to make.
February 24th, 2018 at 5:16 pm #Doug
I would say it is a wash on all the other thing insurance is not paying and fighting me on. So moral compass goes out the door when insurance doesn’t make one whole when that is the reason one purchases insurance in the first place. I don’t believe you answered the original question-if insurance is informed of what the HOA is lying me or if that even matters.
February 24th, 2018 at 5:29 pm #Jason
Doug,
That’s the first time you mentioned lying. That’s also the first time you mentioned insurance isn’t paying for all the damage. Is this your attempt to justify something? Lowing your standards doesn’t make things right. Regardless, if you take payment for the same repair work twice, it boils down to insurance fraud.
February 24th, 2018 at 5:40 pm #Doug
Love how typos come out on a mobile device. Meant to say insurance is paying. I am not lying about anything But if I chose not to mention HOA payout if no one asks-does the insurance company typically inquire about secondary payments from another source.
If insurance chose to inquire I clearly would come forward so there were no issues.
February 25th, 2018 at 5:42 am #Jason
Doug,
Now that it’s clear there was a typo, what you are asking is if I can be a co-conspirator to your proposed insurance fraud endeavor.
I will reiterate – your inquiry is not insurance related, instead it is the subject of insurance fraud.
Organizations that deal with insurance fraud may be a better sources to ask your question(s). A couple of these organizations include Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, or the National Insurance Crime Bureau (800-835-6422)
June 6th, 2018 at 9:47 am #Daniel kallie
As a Lease truck driver who pay money from his payroll for a group insurance policy, to be cover under a occupational accident trucker’s insurance. Now if I have a job-related injury and the job don’t file a claim on me in wo days.
Because they tell you God CAUSE YOUR INJURY AND THAT FALL UNDER AN ACT OF GOD. So when you tell them you is going to suit , so they set you with a outside insurance co to file a claim for you and later lie to them later to keep from pay you.
Can this be done by the state insurance dept. to okay this?
June 6th, 2018 at 10:37 am #Jason
Daniel,
I don’t know enough details, and I don’t know what you’re specifically asking.
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January 30th, 2019 at 12:30 am #Doug
General Global Assistance
Hi Jason,
I don’t know if you can help here, but am really hoping you may be able to point me in the right direction. I appreciate what you are doing here on this site either way.
I rented an RV through Outdoorsy – the Airbnb for RVs. I picked up the RV for a 10 day rental and at pickup, noted with the owner that the RV had minor existing damages (none were noted on our departure form as I did not expect this situation would happen). During our rental, the RV broke down on us on day 1 as the tip out would not retract, and then again on day 8 resulting in us being stranded for 2 days, and returning th RV 2 days late. The RV owner stated he would not charge us for the 2 days late, and at return of the RV, we noted only a very small (~$75) item as damaged on the return form.
Two weeks later I get an email from Outdoorsy stating I was required to pay the RV owner ~$1,800 for damaged and missing items, none of which had been justified by the owner (no evidence submitted when I returned the RV or ever provided to me to justify the claim). I contested these charges, yet they charged my card for the full amount.
Two weeks after this, I get an email saying I have an arbitration hearing in less than a week and as a result of this arbitration, I am required to pay an additional ~$6,500. This ~$6,500 amount was calculated as charges for the 2 days late which the RV owner stated he would not charge us, plus an amount from a single estimate which the owner provided for repair of items where many of which were either preexisting (such as scratches on countertops, and the issue with the slide), no evidence submitted that they were caused by us, or were general service items. We had insurance that covered exterior damages, so ~$3,000 were covered by the insurance, less a $1,500 deducible, so we netted ~$1,500 in protection from the insurance. Many of the items on this estimate were for outlandish amounts. For example, the facia of one of the drawers had come apart as it had U-shaped staples which pulled out, yet nothing was broken, it simply needed to be reattached. The esitmate stated facia would cost ~$2,000 to fix, yet neither Outdoorsy or the arbitrator challenged any of the amounts on this estimate.
All in all, we were never protected by Outdoorsy prior to arbitation or given a fair arbitration process as administered by FairClaims. I have since requested to have the claim re-reviewed by Outdoorsy and FairClaims, would like to file a complaint with the BBB, but would like some ammo before I do so as they seem to have strict rules against cases that have gone to arbitration. The basis of my BBB complaint and request for re-review of the case is due to the RV owner being awarded the full amount (costing us an additional $6,800 on top of the original rental amount of $2,700) which was asked for the following:
1. Claim amount which did not align with the evidence and documentation, or which did not have substantiation to justify the claim amount (I was not able to view the documentation until the arbitration decision had been rendered to validate the basis of the amounts claimed). The claimant also made multiple false claims which were used in the calculation of the total amount owed
2. Claim amount which included amounts to pay for existing issues to the RV (multiple of which were admitted to by the owner during the arbitration hearing), as well as the charges relating to the RV being returned 2 days late due to and existing issue with the slide out which rendered the RV inoperable for the 2 days
3. Claim amount based on a single estimate where no vetting of charges or amounts was performed to confirm that charges were reasonable, and the total of this estimate was arbitrarily (pun intended) used as the award to the owner. Additionally, no validation was performed to verify that work was performed and not claimed through insurance
Again, this is a stretch, but would you be able to point me in the right direction on my protections on items 1 – 3 above?Do you think I have any grounds in a claim to BBB and to get this arbitration decision re-reviewed (Outdoorsy acually suggested I request to have it re-reviewed by a different arbitrator at FairClaims, and they are also re-reviewing it internally, though I have already paid half the total and am required to pay the remainder in the next two months)?
Thank you in advance for any help you are able to offer,
Doug
February 8th, 2019 at 4:10 pm #Jason
Doug,
I don’t know. I really fail to see this as needing help with an insurance concern. Instead it seems you are having issues with the company you rented the RV which is directly related to their honesty and integrity. The insurance seems to be working as intended.
February 13th, 2019 at 3:59 pm #Frank Varner
In May of 2011 I had hail damage on my home and I was with State Farm insurance. My contractor completed the repairs and was paid by State Farm. Four years later I decided to change to Farmers Insurance. I did not know later that they did not have this information because they did not ask me how old my roof was. I just found out that my insurance would have been cheaper had they known. I called State Farm and got verification of the claim and what they had paid the contractor, along with papers showing they had paid all the expense except the deductible. Then my Farmers Insurance agent said that that was not enough information to show that the work had been done. I was told that I would need a copy from my contractor to show that the work had been completed. I have not been able tto contact my contractor, because he is unavailable and may be out of town. It is clearly evident that my roof has been replaced not very long ago. My former insurance, State Farm hass tried to help me in every way possible. They told me also that they had received a call from me verifying that the work was completed. My question is; is my present insurance company being fair with me by not accepting the information that I provided?
March 15th, 2019 at 5:46 am #Chris
Jason,
My father has a 2013 Ford truck he purchased for $69,000 and accidentally put DEF an additive that modern diesel trucks use to reduce emissions into his diesel fuel tank. There are separate tanks for diesel and DEF but they are located under the same fuel filler door. The DEF tank has a green cap and the diesel fuel has a black cap with 3″ between the caps. It was purely a mistake on my fathers part but it happened. He has USAA insurance and an adjuster determined the accident was not malicious and a mistake but his insurance denied a comprehensive claim based upon the following paragraph:
We will not pay for:
d. Mechanical or electrical breakdown or failure, including such damage resulting from negligent servicing or repair of your covered auto or its equipment. We will pay for ensuing damage only to the extent the damage occurs outside of the major component (such as transmission/ transaxle, electrical system, engine including cooling and lubrication thereof, air conditioning, computer, suspension, braking, drive assembly, and steering) in which the initial mechanical or electrical breakdown or failure occurs.
The contamination of DEF in the diesel tank causes crystal growth in the fuel lines requiring a total fuel system replacement costing $10,000. If it gets completely into the engine which will happen over time if not treated quickly the engine will also need to be replaced at a cost of roughly $15-$20,000.
My father had the truck immediately towed to a Ford dealership the same day after he realized what he did and the truck started sputtering or missing after about 40 miles of driving. The truck sat at the Ford dealership for a month when the insurance company was investigating. The Ford dealer let my father know he needed to replace the entire fuel system for $10,000 but he did not have the funds to pay for the repair. As he did not have the funds to pay for the repair the Ford dealer told him he needed to move the truck so it was towed to his home.
My father has been paying his $780 monthly payment plus his full coverage insurance payments for 10 months now while not being able to use his truck.
This was clearly an accident, there must be some recourse. The Ford dealers service manager told my father they had replaced 3 fuel systems as a result of the same mistake for 3 people and their insurance companies covered the repair. How can his not?
Please help!!!!
May 9th, 2019 at 6:53 pm #Jason
Chris,
The coverage within your father’s insurance policy excluded the damage as they’ve presented in their denial of coverage letter. The exclusionary language due to that loss incident is being systematically updated in more and more policies. You know the exact exclusionary language of your father’s policy because you had access to the denial letter. I cannot speak of the language in any of the other insurance companies because I don’t know the insurance company, companies, or the specific policy language.
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June 27th, 2019 at 1:05 am #Sara
My car was hit while parked. I filed a claim with Mercury (the driver’s ins. co.), who sent me to one of their “preferred shops” for an estimate. The estimate does not include replacing the obviously cracked headlight, which leads me to doubt the estimate altogether. Mercury is being pushy to bring my car into that shop so they can get started on the repairs.
Thing is, I would like to “cash out.” How can I be sure to get an honest and fair amount at this point? I’m in California.
August 27th, 2019 at 4:58 am #Jason
Sara,
File a claim with your insurance company under your collision coverage and settle the claim with them.
February 9th, 2020 at 12:43 am #Gary
I needed to know about high heat fires at homes that will compromise integrity of CMU concrete tile walls as that never was even addressed by Allstate or Interstate Restoration that did repairs or reconstruction of my home May of 2016. I called as our insurance adjuster now works for Interstate Restoration here in Hawaii, as I live Kaneohe Hawaii and although case reopened I need ammunition before another Allstate adjuster comes here. And in case you want to reach me by phone, 8087216803, and thanks if I can get your help! Gary Rokuta
February 24th, 2020 at 6:05 pm #Judy Hayed
Will my insurance pay if I file a claim that my grandchildren put deep scratches on my trucks one side and my cars. They are way to deep to buff out and will need repainted
March 16th, 2020 at 10:26 am #Jason
Gary,
It’s difficult to assess conditions or damage of a fire and a claim over the internet. The best way to assess any damage is to personally inspect (and/or test) the potential damage of the item claimed. Sometimes a structural engineer will need to be involved. If you have any specific questions, simply post again.
March 16th, 2020 at 10:31 am #Jason
Judy,
Each claim will be investigated based on the facts surrounding it. If the loss occurred because of a covered cause of loss, then it should be paid.
August 23rd, 2020 at 2:16 pm #Jessica
Hi!
My father passed away two days after Hurricane Michael. The home sustained quite a bit of damage and a loss claim was filed by the Personal Representative on behalf of my father’s estate. I was the named beneficiary of the home and it was deeded to me about a year later, at which time I procured my own homeowner’s policy for the property with the same company.
Despite this, the original claim and the estate are still open, as a few supplemental claims were filed with insurance payments being made to the estate. I now need to file a supplemental claim for mold remediation (air quality testing and mold inspection were performed by a licensed professional and I have received an Xactimate estimate from a licensed remediator for the work to be done per the assessor’s protocol), but I have three questions:
1. Do you have any advice or best practices for filing mold claims? It, of course, was not present at the time of the adjuster’s initial evaluation, though it grew over time. The mold is not, however, active, as a new roof was installed almost immediately and the walls have since dried out. I’m worried they will say that it has been too long and that the mold can no longer be attributed to the initial loss. The Personal Representative said they had the house checked for mold, but it’s clear that the evaluation was either done too soon or was assessed by someone who did not look behind baseboards and wallpaper or under the carpet.
2. I will not be able to occupy the home for a few weeks while the work is performed so I also plan to file for the loss of use coverage. Would be filed through the original policy, or mine? I didn’t live in the home full-time on the date of the initial loss but have since moved in and now reside here permanently. The insurance company was notified about my father’s passing and my inheritance of the property.
3. Michael was ultimately deemed a Category 5 hurricane and I heard that the time limit to file claims related to the original loss would be extended to five years. Is this true?
Thank you so much in advance for any insight you can offer!
Jessica
September 3rd, 2020 at 3:00 pm #Patricia
I need to serve papers on All State Insurance for a loss in Oregon Who do I serve?
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May 23rd, 2022 at 4:00 am #Peter
That is true.
The only way we can fight with the big insurance companies is to stop getting insurance from them.
Here is a true story of a huge Allianz insurance companies method. They don’t even care about disabled people
https://youtu.be/jJnRF3TnA_I
https://fraudbyinsurance.wordpress.com/
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