Up against a giant
December 1, 2006 2:30 PM
I have a claim in with another party's insurance. What do I need to know/do to make sure my interests are represented?
In the past, our extent with insurance claims have been with our medical insurance and our auto insurance and generally, it has been without incident or issue as they were our insurance companies and our policies. This is pretty new territory for us and we want to make sure that we're treated fairly.
The short of it is, recently a contractor damaged my home while doing an install. I am now dealing with the contractor's insurance company adjusters to get the damaged home property (flooring) replaced. We have been very accommodating and have acted in good faith, but because of our lack of experience and knowledge in this situation, we can't be sure that the adjuster or agency is doing the same. We just don't want to be taken advantage of.
I spoke with my home insurance agent. Our personal home insurance policy wouldn't cover this anyway, so our own insurance is of no help to us really.
The adjuster is trying to devalue and depreciate our carpets best he can thus far, as expected, but are going to rather extensive lengths to do so.
We've received and are still obtaining written estimates independently on our own to replace the flooring with similar flooring and will be submitting those. They have not made any settlement offers yet.
Is there anything else we should be doing? When the insurance company makes their settlement decision, do we have recourse as far as negotiation based on their valuation and offering? Any other advice? We're not looking for an unreasonable amount of money, more than what we're entitled to, but just enough to replace the damaged flooring with comparable flooring and end this giant pain in the ass. We just feel like we're being treated like criminals and don't want to be taken advantage of.
In the past, our extent with insurance claims have been with our medical insurance and our auto insurance and generally, it has been without incident or issue as they were our insurance companies and our policies. This is pretty new territory for us and we want to make sure that we're treated fairly.
The short of it is, recently a contractor damaged my home while doing an install. I am now dealing with the contractor's insurance company adjusters to get the damaged home property (flooring) replaced. We have been very accommodating and have acted in good faith, but because of our lack of experience and knowledge in this situation, we can't be sure that the adjuster or agency is doing the same. We just don't want to be taken advantage of.
I spoke with my home insurance agent. Our personal home insurance policy wouldn't cover this anyway, so our own insurance is of no help to us really.
The adjuster is trying to devalue and depreciate our carpets best he can thus far, as expected, but are going to rather extensive lengths to do so.
We've received and are still obtaining written estimates independently on our own to replace the flooring with similar flooring and will be submitting those. They have not made any settlement offers yet.
Is there anything else we should be doing? When the insurance company makes their settlement decision, do we have recourse as far as negotiation based on their valuation and offering? Any other advice? We're not looking for an unreasonable amount of money, more than what we're entitled to, but just enough to replace the damaged flooring with comparable flooring and end this giant pain in the ass. We just feel like we're being treated like criminals and don't want to be taken advantage of.
If the amount of money is anything remotely significant, get a lawyer. It sounds like the dispute is between you and the contractor, with the insurer as a third party who has no legal relationship with you, so if they don't come up with an offer you are happy with you may be able to sue the contractor directly (although the insurer will defend the lawsuit). It is a different situation from one where you are dealing with your own insurer and are bound by the terms of the policy.
(I'm not your lawyer, and I don't even know what jurisdiction you're in, so any or all of the above may not apply.)
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 11:36 PM on December 1, 2006
(I'm not your lawyer, and I don't even know what jurisdiction you're in, so any or all of the above may not apply.)
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 11:36 PM on December 1, 2006
A little more info: As anticipated, our estimates are coming in at about $5000-$6000 total to replace the carpet. To me, after the insurance company takes the inevitable depreciation, that's not significant enough to lawyer up at this stage but I will if forced to do so further down the road seek out a lawyer or small claims court.
I guess the info I was looking for was more along the lines of what Meeshelle said as far as experience with the process and negotiations, how to handle adjusters, protect our interests, etc.
Thanks Mefites. Any further advice would be greatly appreciated.
posted by jerseygirl at 9:52 AM on December 2, 2006
I guess the info I was looking for was more along the lines of what Meeshelle said as far as experience with the process and negotiations, how to handle adjusters, protect our interests, etc.
Thanks Mefites. Any further advice would be greatly appreciated.
posted by jerseygirl at 9:52 AM on December 2, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by meeshelle39 at 3:34 PM on December 1, 2006