by slyjoe » Fri Jul 10, 2009 02:02 pm
My neighbor's child shot my A/C unit with a BB/pellet gun resulting in the need to replace the unit. At first his parents were willing to pay for damages until presented with the dollar amount and extent of damage. I ended up placing a claim against my own home owners policy as the damage was $5900 which didn't include loss of use as outside tempuratures were 115, time off work, etc. My deductible was $1000 so I received a check for $4900 and was responsible for the difference. My rates have increased by losing my claim free record due directly to this incident. Though provided with ample proof, the insurer never recovered (don't know if they even attempted) their monies or my deductible. I am considering suing the neighbor in small claims court. Do I only sue for the $1000 I'm out or can I sue for the full amount (I can sue for up to $7500 as the responsible party resides in California) and repay insurer and ask for the claim to be removed from my record and my rates be lowered? Any insight or advice would be appreciated.
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 01:39 pm Post Subject:
I most certainly would sue for the entire amount. You may not get anything for the 115 degrees.
Does your neighbor have a home owners policy? or renters policy? If so have you (or your carrier) not reported this to their company? How old was the child? Have you talked to your carriers subrogation dept. to find out what they have done to try and recover this money?
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 06:46 pm Post Subject:
I think there is some miscommunication. By "full amount" I'm thinking you mean even what the insurance company paid.
You should start by calling your insurance company and asking what the status of the recovery is. They may have turned it over to a collection agency. If they just shut down the file with no attempts at recovery, you should raise some hell.
Ask them if it's already with them if you file in small claims court. Ask them if they want you to include the money that they paid. When you file a Complaint, you want to include every last penny. If it's not appropriate, the judge will rule on that. That is, it does not hurt to ask. You just need to be up front with everyone. That is, if you ask for what your carrier paid, let the judge know this up front. Don't let him/her think your trying to scam anyone.
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