Home flooded- private insurance adjuster??
A toilet in our upstairs bathroom plugged and ran for approx. 2 hours before us waking up to a torrential down pour. Insurance sent out a restoration company which then proceeded to demo the entire bathroom, the ceiling, took out approx. 100sq ft of nail down hardwood floors as well as some carpet.
This is not our first rodeo, 9 years ago our hot water tanks flooded our house in the middle of the night. However, our insurance experience 9 years ago is vastly different than it is unfolding with this flood. 9 years ago insurance sent out an adjuster who used a software program inputing everything that was damaged and needed to be replaced, it was very thorough and specific. Fast forward to now, our insurance has given us the names of 3 contractors that we are approved to use. We can have them out and they will assess the damage and perform the work OR we can use a general contractor of our choosing.
This seems like a conflict of interest, the first company that came out that I ended up sending away was trying to tell me they could match my hardwoods without sanding and staining the existing hardwoods, that is impossible. They proceeded to tell me they could match the continuas piece of carpet and would not have to replace all of it, they carpet is 8 years old how on earth are they going to find the same carpet??
My question is, is it beneficial to hire an independent adjuster? We called one and they quoted us a fee of 10% of the damage. We have called our insurance company asking for an independent adjuster not affiliated with a construction company and they said they don't do that. We had a general contractor out but he was just assuming that insurance would not pay for some things so he wouldn't submit it. Seems like we should submit high and see what they come back with. Do we try to find a general contractor on our own who is familiar with insurance claims but does not "work" for USAA? I feel like we are going to get screwed. I have included some pictures for reference.
Comments (6)
cat_ky
4 years agoDavidR
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Home Insurance Question
Comments (20)I can tell you from personal experience i've been beating State Farm pretty soundly the past couple of years. However, that can change with the area you are in. I don't quite agree with the former salesman that says they inch your policy higher and higher as long as they can "get away with it". All companies (well, more than 90%) will increase the value on your house each year by a certain percentage. This is to keep your house adequately insured (due to rise in building costs and inflation). If you insure a house for $200,000 and left it alone for 5 years and had a total loss...you would be greatly underinsured. So, the increase on the value of the house isn't just to see what they can get away with. I do agree, however, that you should shop your coverage every couple of years or so. Companies increase and decrease rates often. When you shop your insurance, it would be wise to visit an independent agent. They don't represent just one company, but dozens. They work for you as the consumer, and not an employee of a large insurance company (i.e. State Farm, Farmers, Allstate). www.iiaba.org is the national organization for independent agents. Chisue, I'm not 100% certain what State Farm's policy is in regards to coinsurance. That is something you'll need to ask your agent personally if you can decrease the amount you cover your house for. I have a company that requires you to insure it for 100%, and some that require only 80%. If I were you, I would just go ahead and call an independent agent and ask them to quote your house instead of trying to lower your value with State Farm. You might get another policy with another carrier for less premium and more coverage. It wouldn't hurt to shop it....See MoreSeparate insurers for house and auto? Better to consolidate?
Comments (27)We ended up going with Citizens/Hanover. I was actually a little worried because I didn't know much about them, but I did some research on my own and found high reviews. They are also rated AA in the Best Book so we decided to give it a shot. In Michigan, if someone is injured or even has a heart attack in their car, the AUTO COMPANY is responsible for all the medicial bills. It's horrible and has raised our rates to unreasonable amounts; highest in the country actually. State Farm is notorious for not paying, fighting everything tooth and nail and for using very sneaky methods to get out of their obligations. They're going to be great for you until you have a claim or a problem. There is no charge from an insured to use a broker and it really took no time for them to compare rates with 15 different companies. It was 3 days from the day I first called, to the day I had policies in hand. Wonderful experience. I would highly recommend you give a broker a call, send them a copy of your deck sheets and let them see what they can do. There is no obligation, so really what do you have to loose?...See MoreHas your insurance agent or one of their employees been to your house?
Comments (25)In FL, where even inquiring about your coverage can get you dropped, it's a given, as Denita said. One of my neighbors lost her windstorm coverage after an inspection even though she has both impact glass and accordion shutters over it, because her shutters were put up before the rule that they have to have an ugly sticker on them certifying them as meeting code. She had the documentation, but on paper and that wasn't acceptable. This wasn't a new policy inspection, incidentally. There have been several scandals about how the ins cos here mandate inspections, then use them primarily for weeding. The inspectors about this time were given a quota of drops they had to make if they wanted to keep the job....See MoreHow much work and $ should we put into a flood house?
Comments (4)If you have a mortgage, they require a licensed contractor with insurance to do the repairs. They will pay in “draws”, in both your name and the contractor’s name. They require an inspection before releasing another draw. In my case, they paid 1/3, inspect at 50%, paid 1/3, then inspect at 95%, paid the final draw. At least that was in my case of flood damage. My mortgage company required a signed contract before they would release funds. I did not have to use the same guy for everything. Or, if I wanted to fix myself, I could, but had to out of pocket, then once inspected, they would send me all of the insurance funds. I also could have sold my home, paid off the mortgage, then collected the insurance check after the mortgage company was paid in full. Best of luck to you. I’m still dealing with the damage from a flood over a year ago. It sucks. Wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Hope things work out for you....See Moretania71
4 years ago
Denita
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
kathyg_in_mi
4 years ago
MDLN