Preferred Contractors

Many who know me know that I do not readily advocate using an insurance company’s preferred contractor, because I believe in large part that they are utilized by the insurance company to reduce the amount of the claim that would otherwise be paid. I may however, have to change my mind, albeit reluctantly. My fiancé had a broken pipe in late December 2012. After some difficulty determining where the water came from, we eventually determined that the water was coming from a geo-thermal heating unit on the third floor of her house. Suffice it to say water ran down hill, in our case into the upstairs bathroom and downstairs kitchen. 

Investigative tear out done by the plumber

Investigative tear out done by the plumber

She has State Farm Insurance and after speaking with the adjuster, we decided to use State Farm’s preferred contractor to effect repairs. Troy Hardee, Hardee Construction came out to the house and met me for our scheduled appointment. I showed him what I saw as the damage and he took pictures. I was told he would be back once State Farm had provided him with the assignment. I should note about now that we did not have standing water. We had already poked holes in the drywall and the plumber who did the initial inspection had pulled down a part of the kitchen ceiling to access the area where we initially thought the water was coming from. We were wrong in our initial assessment and it wasn’t until a few days later that we discovered the true source of the water. 

Here’s the funny thing. I’m a public adjuster. How many photos did I take to document the loss in process?  Not a one: didn’t even think about taking photographs. It wasn’t until after the ceiling had been torn out by the plumber that the idea of taking photographs even entered my mind. This just goes to show you that even the professionals sometimes get caught up in the drama of the loss and forget the basics. 

Masking done by Hardee Construction - very professional

Anyway Troy showed back up a couple of days later with a crew to begin removing drywall that was wet. His people were very professional and masked off the kitchen and the upstairs bath and took out the ceilings in both areas. Before any work was started they did the best job of masking and protecting the property I’ve ever seen. I took photographs of this. Compare the prep done by the plumber with the prep done by the preferred contractor… not even close.

As I write this we are still in the process of repairing the property, however, everything is coming alone very nicely. 

Ceiling and wall in the hallway

Meter shows the ceiling was saturated

Meter showing the wall was saturated

Hall bathroom floor. Looked ok until I tested it

Floor was saturated

My training eventually kicked in after the first day of watching Hardee Construction work and I followed up behind them with my moisture meter because their workmen stated that they had removed all the wet materials. Turns out they hadn’t. When Troy came by the next day, I showed him the wet areas from my meter and offered to let him test the areas for himself. My point here is not to try and say Hardee did anything wrong. Far from it. When he saw the results from the meter he immediately expanded the scope to include the newly discovered wet areas. The following day he returned with his own moisture meter and an infrared camera to ensure that all the wet areas had been identified and removed. He ended up placing a fan and a dehumidifier in the bath and hall area upstairs to aid with the drying.

So here’s my advice, if your going to use an insurance company’s preferred contractor, make sure they have moisture meters and infrared cameras and that they do what Troy Hardee did and follow up to ensure that all the wet material is found and removed because in our case both the wall and the ceiling looked and felt dry. It wasn’t until after they had been tested with the meter that we discovered how wet they were.

I'll post again during the repair process.

Bill

Continuing Loss

Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power in the northeast. Yesterday a nor’easter blew through the area cuttings power to added thousands. Temperatures have dropped and overnight temps have been below freezing. None of this bodes well for pipes.  The question that arises is what happens if your pipes freeze because you have no heat? Is that a continuation of Sandy or a new loss altogether?

I think the answer depends upon how it benefits the homeowner. Frozen pipes are covered on most homeowner’s policies. If you are not living in your house due to its being damaged you should take the extra  step of shutting off the water service, if possible and draining the toilet tanks to prevent freezing. If you have done that and still experience a frozen pipe then you should have no push back from the insurance company. If you’re living in the house and need water to flush the toilet and cook, then you have to make do with what you have.

As to whether it is a continuation of Sandy and hence only one deductible, I would make the argument it is, but if a deductible is all that stands in the way of a recovery, take the money and run. 

Don't forget, if you have a claim and need help, check out BenefitBill to learn about the claims process and how to make your insurance claim.

Have a great day!

Bill

Water and Wind

  

In every hurricane there is always an argument over whether water or wind caused the loss. When I talk about water, I am talking about flood and not water that comes through a damaged roof or window. In the case of flood water, if you didn’t purchase a flood policy, you won’t have coverage under your homeowner’s policy. So the argument of water verses wind has financial consequences. Even if you have flood coverage it may have financial consequences if there is not enough flood coverage to pay for your loss.

As a general strategy, work to get as much damage covered under the policy with the greatest limits. And don’t concede to flood property that was first damaged by wind and subsequently damaged by flood. 

After Hurricane Katrina a famous attorney tried to convince the Mississippi court that flood was an ambiguous tem in the homeowner’s policy. That court didn’t buy his argument.  Chances are good that the court of the land will not buy a similar argument in your area either. So if you have both flood damage and wind damage, but don’t have flood insurance, look to identify all the signs of wind damage and assert that as a part of your claim against the wind policy. Not sure how to do that?

Go to BenefitBill. I’ve just posted a new video and workbook on this very subject.

An Einstein Kind of Day

I ran across this post today in Google and it made me laugh, because sometimes I have an Einsteinian day where I too don’t know where I am going.

Albert Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle,
punching the tickets of every passenger.
When he came to Einstein,
Einstein reached in his vest pocket.
He couldn’t find his ticket,
so he reached in his trouser pockets.
It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it.
Then he looked in the seat beside him.
He still couldn’t find it.
The conductor said,
‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.
We all know who you are.
I’m sure you bought a ticket.
Don’t worry about it.’
Einstein nodded appreciatively.
The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets.
As he was ready to move to the next car,
he turned around and saw the great physicist
down on his hands and knees
looking under his seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said,
‘Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry,
I know who you are. No problem.
You don’t need a ticket.
I’m sure you bought one.’
Einstein looked at him and said,
‘Young man, I too, know who I am.
What I don’t know is where I’m going. That’s why I am searching for my ticket”

Since this is a blog about insurance, I suppose I should tie this into claims because for most people having an insurance claim is like being Einstein on that train. They don’t know where they are going, nor how to get there. They are just along for the ride and at the end find themselves vaguely dis-satisfied  with the result.

Starting out with the end in mind is way to increasing your recovery. Don’t know where to start? BenefitBill can help.

Have a great day!

Bill

What’s So Special About October Thru January?

Most of us are attuned to wildfire season during the hot dry months of late spring through early fall in the west. The press is ablaze (pardon the pun) with stories of wildfires covering thousands of acres. Unless you’re in a vicinity of one of those blazes, the reports on the TV or in the newspapers is little more than news.  It really doesn’t affect you but it’s nice to be kept informed. The period between October thru January is another matter altogether. This is fire season too, only these fires are more likely to occur in your home. In 2010, 362,100 residential fires resulted in 2,555 deaths, 13,275 injuries and more than $6.6 billion in property losses.[1]

The question is: are you prepared? Not from an insurance standpoint, but from a life safety standpoint. According to the article, most fatalities in house fires, 70% actually occur when the victim is sleeping and inhales smoke and fumes or when they blindly open the door seeking to escape.  It’s a good idea to have a safety plan in place prior to a fire rather than trying to develop one on the fly. This is all the more important if you have kids. Simple things, like where to go after you get outside, always sleeping with the bedroom door shut and then never opening that door without first checking for heat on the other side can save your life in the event of an emergency. Here’s something I would not have thought about until after I read the article: keep all the toys and stuff away from the window and let your kids know that in an emergency, it’s ok to rip down the blinds and break the window if you need to get out of the house. 

And as for you parents, if the hall is filled with smoke, don’t try to get your kids from that route. Rather break into the window and haul them out the way you got in. remember, practice your plan and have a safe and great day!

Bill

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[1] Readingeagle.com (http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=420976&goback=.anp_4537065_1350518857527_1)