by apaintedpicture » Wed Mar 18, 2009 03:06 pm
I had a fire in my home in February, the fire damage was contained in the kitchen, however heavy smoke and soot damage throughout the home. Currently I am displaced (for approximately 3 months) until the home can be repaired.
I know that the entire home has to be repainted, tile floors regrouted, and carpeting replaced.
How does the adjuster determine the value of the damaged furniture, and other contents, i.e; drapes, blinds, things I have no receipts for? I know that every item depreciates based on the purchase year, but is their a calculation that I can use.
My insurance company used the company they hired to clean the home to also provide a written estimate, I'm also planning to get an estimate from my contractor, what if my contractor does not agree with the scope of repairs that the Insurance company was provided with?
I'm concerned that the estimate (which was just done yesterday) will be based on using lower quality materials.
Since my home is a mess (items in dissaray) throughout my house, I cannot totally inspect after the cleaning, but I did notice a few items that were broken or damaged by the cleaners, which they were advised. I know with the number of items handled, one or two items are bound to get broken, but what happens if when I get back in my home and notice something else broken?
With this being an electrical kitchen fire, my electricity was shut off in certain parts of the home, which renedered all of my frozen and refrigerated food destroyed, along with my baking supplies in the cabinets over the stove/microwave.....how in the world do I even start to put a value on that? Geesh
I am currently living in a hotel (until I find a rental) which is covered through the ALE portion of my homeowners.
Lastly, since this is going to be a major payout, should I be concerned about my homeowners insurance premium increasing next year?
Any help anyone can provide is greatly appreciated.
(PS, I'm sure I'll have more questions.)
Thanks everyone in advance.
I know that the entire home has to be repainted, tile floors regrouted, and carpeting replaced.
How does the adjuster determine the value of the damaged furniture, and other contents, i.e; drapes, blinds, things I have no receipts for? I know that every item depreciates based on the purchase year, but is their a calculation that I can use.
My insurance company used the company they hired to clean the home to also provide a written estimate, I'm also planning to get an estimate from my contractor, what if my contractor does not agree with the scope of repairs that the Insurance company was provided with?
I'm concerned that the estimate (which was just done yesterday) will be based on using lower quality materials.
Since my home is a mess (items in dissaray) throughout my house, I cannot totally inspect after the cleaning, but I did notice a few items that were broken or damaged by the cleaners, which they were advised. I know with the number of items handled, one or two items are bound to get broken, but what happens if when I get back in my home and notice something else broken?
With this being an electrical kitchen fire, my electricity was shut off in certain parts of the home, which renedered all of my frozen and refrigerated food destroyed, along with my baking supplies in the cabinets over the stove/microwave.....how in the world do I even start to put a value on that? Geesh
I am currently living in a hotel (until I find a rental) which is covered through the ALE portion of my homeowners.
Lastly, since this is going to be a major payout, should I be concerned about my homeowners insurance premium increasing next year?
Any help anyone can provide is greatly appreciated.
(PS, I'm sure I'll have more questions.)
Thanks everyone in advance.
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:55 pm Post Subject:
Welcome to the forum! First off, I'm sorry for what you are going through and I hope we can be of as much help as possible. Some of these things that you have asked about are going to depend on your policy and depend on your insurance company (as far as calculating replacement costs and values)...and some even depends on the individual adjustor.
Although I would be worried about the estimate for repairing the damage too, you should first focus on the actual belongings inside the house. Your contractor can come up with an estimate and you guys can go from there...but the damage to the house isn't going anywhere. If the cleaning people are removing items, you want to know what is being removed...once it's gone...it's gone!
Do you have any kind of records as to what electronics and valuables you had in your home that are a total loss? Start a log / list of things that will need to be replaced (for example the items in the kitchen).
Have you met the adjustor? If so, ask him what you can do to help the process...get his suggestions as well.
Unfortunately, most homeowners find that after any type of claim their premiums increase. I had a claim with my homeowners insurance and checked around on prices. If I stayed with my existing company, it would be about $200 more a year (which I didn't consider too bad). Considering how well I was treated during the claims process, I had no problem paying the increased premium. Had they treated me differently, I may have changed.
Good luck with everything, and feel free to ask any questions you may have!
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 02:37 pm Post Subject: Thanks.
Thanks Lakeman,
I appreciate your reply. My adjuster/company are in MA so I haven't met him just phone contact. The cleaning crew didn't remove anything, they just broke a few things. I am currently making lists, but wanted to know how the company assesses the value of the items that are not restorable so I can get an idea of what they are going to pay out.
Thanks for responding to my questions.
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 12:22 pm Post Subject:
I would suggest you to take the photographs of everything at the earliest. As per insurance regulations of state, you are liable to get the same things and same quality replaced as you previously owned. Try to find out if they doesn't agree that way, generally the terms govern it. If you have a good policy, then you must get them. If you don't want the things as were previously you can still claim for that amount.
Your stay charges can be covered as per their estimations of replacements if you chose for replacements on your own. If you have previous photographs, documents, brandnames, bills of furniture, everything will help you. If required you may contact the insurance attorney for any help or the private adjusters. The key parameter to stick with, is to have the things as were lastly and you may argue if the terms of policy allow you. (generally they do).
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 01:53 pm Post Subject:
but wanted to know how the company assesses the value of the items that are not restorable so I can get an idea of what they are going to pay out.
It depends whether or not your policy has replacement cost coverage for personal property either in the policy or endorsed..(it's an endorsement i think on mine)...if replacement cost then who cares..you get replacement cost...but most companys will pay you 50-75% of the replacement cost then when you ACTUALLY replace the item you give them the receipt and they pay the balance...
If you do NOT have replacement cost then of course depreciation applies, but we can't tell you exactly what that is because each item is different...and the adjuster will have a depreciation schedule...for instance if the average 'life span' of an electric coffee pot is 5 years and costs 100 bucks to replace and your coffee pot was three years old then you would get 40 bucks...see? but as i said each item is different maybe a stove's life is 20 years...and so on...
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 02:36 pm Post Subject:
did you take a photo of the extent of the damages before the cleaners actually came in? if not, i think that's the first thing you should do right now. i believe that the adjuster's estimate could be trusted. if you have any doubts, always feel free to seek a second opinion, possibly by getting a professional by yourself. this is going to cost you some extras though.
i understand that you're worried something else may get broken in your absence from your home, hence i suggested taking photos of every corner of your home. you may want to come up with a detailed listing of the appliances that requires replacement. do read up lori's comment on the depreciation of the value of your household appliances, i think they're really useful.
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