Insurance claim for kitchen

10 years ago

This is my first time making a insurance claim because I usually just swallow any minor damages so I won't get dropped or see my rates increase.

But, my kitchen underwent so much significant damage that I had to make a claim. Everything except the kitchen sink and appliances had to be replaced; I needed to get new flooring, new cabinetry, new countertops, etc..

But, my insurance came up with a lowball offer of under 10K for the entire kitchen. I knew a kitchen remodel was going to cost significantly more, but I expected my insurance to come up with all these loopholes and other shenanigans to avoid paying for it.

So, with that budget, I was planning on saving money by using inexpensive particleboard cabinets like Ikea and stuff like that even though my original cabinetry were plywood. At the same time, I was sending my insurance an estimated cost for replacing my original plywood cabinets with plywood cabinetry that would cost way more than Ikea cabinets even though it came was from a moderate, not top of the line, cabinet manufacturer.

And, in a pleasant surprise, my insurance has approved that estimate for the plywood cabinets. My 'dilema', if you can call it that, is do I still need to buy those plywood cabinets now that the insurance has approved those plywood cabinets?

I don't want to leave money on the table by buying cheaper cabinetry than what the insurance is willing to reimburse me for.

But, could I just buy the Ikea particleboard cabinets and pocket the rest of the money that would have gone to buying the more expensive plywood cabinets? My friend got in an car accident and the insurance issued him a check to fix the damage to the car but he ended up pocketing the money instead of fixing the car and I was wondering if there was a difference between our situations.

Or, could I just buy the Ikea particleboard cabinets and use the difference to splurge on the rest of the kitchen. My original countertops were tile, and I'm planning on upgrading to granite countertops.

If the insurance issues me a check for something like 30K and I end up spending 30K for the kitchen, is that all kosher even though I spent significantly less for the cabinetry than what the insurance approved?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

nosoccermom
10 years ago
Yes, they will write you check and you can spend the money however you see fit. At least that's how our insurance operates.
mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
10 years ago
So sorry about your kitchen damage--what a tough way to get a "remodel" going! Our insurance works the same way as nosoccermom.

That said, make sure your insurance isn't just sending you a check for the cabinets. Maybe you were just using that as an example, but get estimates for everything that you need to replace, making sure that they're what *you* want. Then it's up to the insurance to make a counter (oops, sorry, ha ha) offer.

Someone else on GW had an upper cab fall off of the wall, crash onto the counter and floor! (I think my dog would never come out from under the bed again.) Her (I believe) insurance paid for all new cabs, counter, and floor because none could be matched in repair. And that's just from one cab! Unfortunately I don't remember if the insurance paid for granite counters if she had had laminate, for example, but maybe someone else does?

You don't know until you ask :).

cheers
Related Discussions
Hire Insurance Adjuster for claim after fire?
Q
Comments (11)
It's a mess. Insurance transferred us to new, large claims adjuster and it's like starting over. He walked through our house Tuesday and was supposed to get us a revised estimate by Friday and did not. The new guy talked directly with our contractor, but the conversation didn't go well. Insurance wants our contractor to further break down each line item for his cost of materials vs his cost of labor. Our contractor told us he will do that, but feels insurance is telling him what he actually should be charging for things like labor, and he will not bend to their pricing - that insurance unfairly prices labor in what it takes in perfect conditions of a brand new build, not dealing with imperfect conditions, uneven walls, beams, etc of our 90+ year old home. Insurance guy emailed us and agrees that contractor convo did not go well and basically implied now we have to use insurance preferred Paul Davis Restoration. Also basically implied we have to move from our hotel because this is going to take awhile now and the hotel is expensive. Then he didn't follow up that email with a phone call or respond to our phone calls. We are so very irritated by that email and lack of follow up! At any rate, whoever does the work, our concern is that they match exactly what was done in our brand new renovation that we had just barely moved into! For instance, we had beautiful new wood floors installed in our new open floor plan first floor, but part of them in the kitchen area got damaged from a failed tarp when it rained through a wall the firefighters ripped open. We need the replacement floors to match exactly so it looks seamless, like nothing happened, or will not consider ourselves fairly indemnified We want all trim work, crown moulding, replaced decking, etc to match what was just done in our renovation. Our contractor literally just did this work so we know they can and will redo it the same, but don't have the same faith in whoever we get through insurance. We may not have the funds to pay the public adjuster as we are already financially stretched at the end of a long renovation, but have reached out to one anyway and are waiting for a call back. In the meantime, we've also reached out to a lawyer (I have access to one as a work benefit), and will also be looking into talking with our states public insurance commissioner. We do feel insurance is bullying us a bit now and want to make sure we understand our rights and our policy.
...See More
Home insurance claim adjuster
Q
Comments (7)
I had a minor flood last year caused by an idiot upstairs - I am in a high rise. I had the emergency water remediation come out to dry out the walls. I needed an asbestos remediation company to check for asbestos and then they had to be paid to remove the drywall because it contained asbestos. I then had to have the drywall installed AND there was damage to the ceiling because the asbestos people tape up a plastic "room" and the tape destroyed the ceiling. I didn't have problems with my insurance company as they paid me what it cost less my deductible. I presented them with the invoices. They approved my choice of the water and asbestos remediation companies and paid their invoices. I presented them with the estimate from the GC for repairs - including repairs for the ceiling damage caused by the asbestos company - and they paid that fully as well. Obviously you need to find out what it is going to cost to completely repair the damage. I have insurance with full replacement value. Something I didn't realize is that they deduct the depreciation until AFTER you finish. In my case this was moot since I had actually just finished a full remodel so there was no remediation. Before hiring a third party, why don't you wait to see if there are issues with the insurance company. Find out what they require in terms of estimates for repairs - e.g. how many bids do you have to provide. My insurance adjuster was great and my neighbors who had even more extensive repairs necessary also didn't need a third party to help them. Some of their claims were pretty massive in terms of gutting kitchens; replacing flooring in an entire floor as well as two months of hotel accommodations and meals because they had to move out while repairs were being done.
...See More
Home insurance claim and Sabotage
Q
Comments (27)
Negotiating Strategy 101: The party with the information has a big advantage. In your case, the insurance company holds all the information. You probably revealed it was your first insurance claim. You appeared emotional (instead of fact-oriented). You didn't have an advocate handy. You don't know much about repairs. You and your husband may not be on the same page. You sit around and wait while nothing gets done. You consider allowing a fraud and a liar back into your house. You don't exert any control at all in the situation. You have revealed yourself to be the kind of customer where they send the bottom-of-the-barrel team to remediate/repair the damage. Now, consider if the opposite situation occurred: You had damage and mitigated right away(using your own trusty, honest plumber)at your expense, knowing you will insist on reimbursement from ins co later. By that I mean, perhaps a bypassed pipe, mopping up of water so no further damage was done, maybe get some fans in there. You have at least a simple understanding of how mold remediation works (fans, ripping out walls, testing for mold by an expert company who gives you documents and pamphlets to explain what to do, what to look for). You have a GC come and write up an estimate of what must be repaired, replaced and what it will cost to do so. You would then understand that it costs money to remove a counter and it risks being damaged. The cost to replace moldy cabinets, walls and floors. You would've reviewed your insurance policy with a fine tooth comb, and had an expert read it so you have a great understanding of your rights. You have investigated somewhere to live while the repairs happen, and how much the ins co will have to spend to pay for that rental/hotel. How much will the move cost? You needed facts and figures. At that point, you would've known this repair will cost a LOT more than the ins co's offer. Which is the strongest negotiating strategy?
...See More
Cabinets for insurance claim
Q
Comments (3)
I thank you both for your replies, but neither is really accurate to our situation. I was only talking about cabinets. It would not be 158k. The flooring is not being replaced. Just rebuilding post mold remediation post dishwasher leak. Secondly, insurance in our area (Florida) has cracked down, and we bought our house last year. Due to many companies refusing to underwrite any more policies in Florida after the aftermath of the major hurricanes and the huge influx of people here, combined with an electrical box that needed to be updated and the previous owners refused, we had to take Citizens insurance. Citizens (as many others did as well) has changed their policies. You do not get cut a big check. You either do their managed repair program or you get 10k minus your deductible. So, we can use $7500 to add to whatever we want to spend on a kitchen redo (for a kitchen that had to be gutted), or we can go with the contractor assigned by the insurance company, which will add much more to the redo. Then, there is a much more open limit for the kitchen build back, within reason, and in relation to what you had before the covered loss. My point was that the RTA import cabinets did not seem to be a like kind and quality replacement for what we had. My question was specifically about the cabinets only.
...See More
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
10 years ago
You can look at it this way: they are paying you for what you lost, not what you choose to replace it with. You lost all plywood cabs, that is what was insured, so they are paying the cost of getting more all plywood.
There is nothing in your policy, I bet, to keep you from buying other than all plywood.

It would be different if your policy was structured so that the insurance co. paid the cabinet shop directly.
weissman
10 years ago
If you think your insurance company is low-balling you, you should consider hiring your own private adjustor to negotiate for you. They will charge you a commission but generally you come out way ahead than accepting the insurance company's first offer.
User
10 years ago
Some insurance companies write checks directly write checks to the contractors that are doing the work on the home. They've adopted that policy to keep people from getting a large check and then replacing the damaged items with much lesser quality than they will be insuring again. If the claim is large enough, many will also want to inspect the work done---with the products that they paid to replace--to be able to keep your policy in force.
Debbi Branka
10 years ago
I'm the person mtnfever was referring to. The insurance paid to replace everything I had in "like kind and quality" meaning they paid for builder grade cabinets with roll out trays, they covered laminate countertops and 4" backsplash, etc. We chose to upgrade to granite countertops so we paid the difference. We didn't upgrade the cabinets because we didn't really know any better and couldn't afford it at the time, but we did make upgrades to the cabinets such as bumping some out farther than the others, and raising some to the ceiling, and we added crown molding to all of them. So the answer here is the insurance paid for us to replace with like kind and quality, and we could upgrade (or downgrade) whatever we wanted.
marvelousmarvin
Original Author
10 years ago
My insurance will send somebody to inspect the kitchen after its finished.

So, if I didn't get the same cabinets the insurance paid to replace, then the policy might not be in force going forward and I might need to get another new policy?

Other than 'like kind and quality', what are the key words and phrases in your insurance so you won't get screwed by your insurance in situations like these?

I consider myself 'lucky' because I know other people in similar situations who also had insurance but kinda got shafted by their insurance. What was the difference between my policy vs theirs?
TripHeath
10 years ago
they would never know the cabs weren't plywood boxes, once the tops are on, but don't use the particle board stuff.....unless you want to replace it again later(which means you have to replace the granite too, since its a bear to get the layout exact enough to reuse the granite).....with $30k you should be able to get new hardwood or tile floors, nice all-wood cabs and 3cm granite and still pocket $10k if you shop around....assuming your kitchen has a normal 12x12-ish footprint

Insurance claim for kitchen

Comments (8)

nosoccermom

mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)

Related Discussions

raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio

weissman

User

Debbi Branka

marvelousmarvin
Original Author

TripHeath

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Insurance claim for kitchen

Comments (8)

nosoccermom

mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)

Related Discussions

raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio

weissman

User

Debbi Branka

marvelousmarvinOriginal Author

TripHeath

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

marvelousmarvin
Original Author