Can i file a claim and not get the work done?

by Guest » Sat Nov 06, 2010 04:53 pm
Guest

I have filed an insurance claim for Hail damage for roof. The adjuster came in and processed the claim. I got a check for Roof Repair cost - Deductible - Depreciation adjustment. I was told by the insurance company that i can get the depreciation adjustment amount reimbursed when i get the work completed and provide them proof of work completion.

Now i had called couple of contractors and they looked at my roof and they said there is hail damage signs on the roof but my roof doesn't need to be necessarily replaced.

So now my questin is can i keep the money without getting the work done? :?:
Since i wont provide any proof of work completion and request for reimbursement of depreciation adjustment amount from my insurance company will my company close the claim after 180 days or will they come behind me to get the work completed?

Total Comments: 93

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 03:18 pm Post Subject: Insurance Claims

I figure I purchase insurance for the purpose of covering any damages I may get to my property, whether it be my car, my house, my roof, etc.... If I get damage and receive a claim settlement, the insurance company has just done what I have been paying it to do. If I do not get the damages fixed it is my choice. I only received what I have been paying the insurance company for all along, all those years that I did not file any claims. Basically I am just getting back some of the thousands of dollars I have spent.

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 12:41 pm Post Subject: Amount of damage repaired

I was cut a check for $1,000 bucks by my ins. co. My auto body co. said they could save me $. They did not repair all of the work my ins. co. said I needed to have. But they did about half. I sent in the form to my ins. co. that the work had been completed. What happens now? Will they reinspect my car? what happens if they see that not ALL work was repaired? Does it effect the value of my car? I wasn't trying to commit fraud or anything. I did get half of the work done. My body shop guy said I didn't need the other work done and agreed! I kept about $400 and got new brakes.

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 01:14 pm Post Subject:

if they see that not ALL work was repaired? Does it effect the value of my car?


The insurance company could care less. They paid you for the repairs they believed were necessary. If they truly weren't, fine, the adjuster was an idiot. If they were, and you did not make those repairs, then you are the idiot.

On the other hand, the idiot might be the mechanic who told you the repairs were not necessary, and you simply relied on that statement. You might want to have the vehicle inspected by a third-party mechanic to be on the safe side.

The value of your vehicle has been affected simply by virtue of the damage and repairs, whether complete or not. If there are additional repairs that need to be made, but haven't, those will also affect the resale value.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 03:13 pm Post Subject: not repaired

First off - thank you for providing some very clear and knowledgeable answers to these questions. It took some searching to find somebody who seems to know what they are talking about.

I received $3000 from my insurance company for a $6400 roof replacement - (this is not my question, but I feel like I got screwed on that deal because for hail damage my deductible is a percentage of the insured value, and they made me insure the house for $50K more than it is worth). Anyway, I had a roofer take a look, and he said that there was minor damage, but did not require a whole replacement. So I didn't replace the roof. (this was 2 yrs ago)

Now I am selling the house, and they buyer's inspector noted the hail damage. I immediately had two more separate roofers come and look, and neither of them recommended a new roof. One of them said the roof is fine, and the other said it just needed a couple of vents put in ($500).

I understand from your previous responses that I won't go to jail for not fixing my roof after receiving the insurance money. But the buyer's insurance company could see that the claim was filed, and told that to the buyer. They are supposed to have their own roofer take a look, which seems like the best thing to do, and we'll negotiate from there.

I just want to make sure that I won't get in legal trouble over this. (I am also wondering if the home inspector could see that claim and so just automatically put down that there was hail damage). What will happen when her insurance company sees that a claim was filed, but the repairs not completed? Does that obligate me to get the roof done before the sale?

Thank you for any suggestions you might have.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 05:02 pm Post Subject:

I just want to make sure that I won't get in legal trouble over this. (I am also wondering if the home inspector could see that claim and so just automatically put down that there was hail damage). What will happen when her insurance company sees that a claim was filed, but the repairs not completed? Does that obligate me to get the roof done before the sale?


Legal trouble? No. You are not required to repair your property unless you want to collect the full replacement cost. When the insurance company writes a check for your damage, they are honoring the contract -- Actual Cash Value. Replacement Cost is over and above that, but only when a replacement actually occurs.

Not sure how the home inspector has access to the CLUE system, but that's a clearing house for insurance claims (like a credit reporting agency).

The only thing that obligates you to completing any necessary roof repairs is your agreement with the buyer. Either you complete the repairs at your expense to make the sale at the negotiated price, or you deduct the cost of the repairs from the sale price and leave it up to the buyer to make the repairs. Same money either way. You just have to agree on the cost of the repairs if you are going to deduct that from the sale price of the property.

If you agree to make the repairs, escrow will not close until those are completed. Pretty simple. You have no problems that cannot be worked out between you and the buyer.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2012 07:07 am Post Subject:

Most states have a blurb in insurance law that insurance is not to be used as a means to profit from claims payment. If you don't fix roof or at least address damage portion then guess what...insurance company can non renew on basis of 'existing damage' and thus you are uninsurable for many companies. It can be a catchy situation and then you may be stuck! [Link removed - Admin]

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 05:25 am Post Subject: Can i file a claim and not get the work done?

The insurance company could care less.They paid you for the repair were necessary. you should be claim on insurance company..

Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 07:57 pm Post Subject: Hail damage question

We filed a claim on our homeowners insurance for hail damange as well. Some of the items the adjuster listed we do not want to get fixed. Our insurance company requires us to send in invoices or receipts when the work is completed. So, what if we don't send in invoices for the things we don't want fixed? Do we still keep the money? or will they call us asking for more invoices?

Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 12:52 am Post Subject:

You may fix or not fix anything you choose. In order to recover "depreciation" under the "replacement cost" coverage, you actually have to replace the damaged item(s) of greater value.

Although your claim is taken as a whole, each of the component parts has a separate replacement cost value, so reimbursement is on an item-by-item basis.

If you received a payment from the insurance company, it was for the ACTUAL CASH VALUE of your loss (replacement cost minus depreciation). That money is yours, whether you make repairs or not. You cannot claim that same damage was made worse in a subsequent claim and expect to be paid for all of the damages (including all old damages).

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:47 pm Post Subject:

We just sold our house. Before the sale, the realtor advised us to have the roof checked out. I had a roofer come and look at the roof, and he found hail damage, and said we needed a new roof. So we filed a claim with the insurance company, and an adjuster came out and agreed with the roofer that we had damage, and we were covered, minus $1,000 deductible. We just received our first check, for a portion of the total cost of the roof. Check was made out to just me and my wife only.

In the meantime, we sell the home, have an inspection, and the roof passes inspection, needing only to replace some shingles.

Since we are selling and we are not required to replace the whole roof according to the inspection, can we just simply cash the check and move on?

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