Homeowners insurance claim question...

[Shadrach]

Shadrach's abode experienced a kitchen fire courtesy of my goddamn dishwasher. Not a huge fire, mind you, but smoke the likes I have never seen.  My joint was busting with smoke.

Traveler's adjuster was out today to see what's fucked and what isn't. One thing that I noted is that only my bottom kitchen cabs have fire damage.  Is it customary to replace the top cabs post-fire even if they aren't cooked, too?  May joint had popcorn ceilings.  The adjuster dude said they are going to wash, seal/prime all the walls.  What do they do for the ceiling?

I have tons of questions as I've never filed a homeowner claim and can't believe I am dealing with smoke damage.  

What do y'all know?

[Rogasingingdawg]

Sorry for your troubles. This is an area I have zero helpful advice.

All I know is all my acquaintances that have had fire/smoke damage, all have many unpleasant words to say about insurance agents.

[DawgNatty]

There are a couple of guys here that can probably offer more (like JC).

The trick on your cabinets is…can they match what you have? If they can, they’ll try to get away with only replacing what’s damaged. I would lobby hard to get the kitchen replaced. Ceilings redone too. Smoke is hard to get out of a room. That sealing he’s talking about means sealing the smoke smell IN.

Travelers is okay, but they will try to get out paying for as little as possible. I’d have my own contractor look at it before I agreed to their payment.

[LegalBeagle]

I would recommend looking into a private adjuster. basically, an insurance adjuster that represents your interests in the claims and knows what the hell they are talking about.

[McDonoughDawg]

No question here, bulldoze to the ground..total rebuild..shocked none of you jokers haven’t stated the obvious. Don’t sugarcoat this thing.

Beagles and ND’s advice is also good..

A dishwasher, a damn dishwasher…

[JC-DAWG83]

Get an estimate from a contractor you trust who does restoration work so you will have an idea of what the work should cost.  I don't know where you live but I'm sure there are restoration contractors in the area who specialize in repairs like what you need.  They have some amazing technology to deal with smoke damage.  They know what the policy covers and have lots of experience working with insurance companies.  Don't rely on the adjuster to tell you how much the repairs will cost.  The policy is supposed to put you back in the position you were in before the claim happened.  If your upper cabinets are undamaged, they are probably not going to replace them.  I would think the ceiling would have to be scraped clean and then skimmed and repainted or have new popcorn sprayed on if you want that.  You didn't have a completely new kitchen before the claim so I would be surprised if they paid for a total new kitchen.

I'd wait until I saw what Travelers is going to do before hiring a private adjuster.  If the claim was much larger, say the fire burned a fair percentage of the house, I might go ahead with a private adjuster but a small claim like you have really doesn't lend itself to a private adjuster being able to help a whole lot.  Private adjusters can't create coverage where none exists in the policy and I can tell you Travelers will not like you hiring a private adjuster and will probably non renew your policy and that will open up a whole new can of worms.  I would make hiring a private adjuster a last resort thing.  Fire and smoke are pretty black and white perils in a homeowner policy.  You won't have to worry about Travelers saying there is no coverage.  Your challenge is going to be making sure the repairs are done correctly and that is where a good restoration contractor can really help.

Finally, unfortunately, your agent isn't going to be able to do much.  The days of the agent calling the adjuster or the company and having any pull as far as claim payments or coverage are long gone.  The agent isn't even contacted by the company regarding claims outside of a report on the company's system showing a claim has been filed and what has been reserved and paid.  Insurance companies do not want agents involved in claims at all if possible.  After Helene, all of our companies gave us dedicated email addresses and toll free numbers to give to insureds who wanted to file claims.  The insurance companies want to deal directly with the insured.

[Shadrach]

Thanks guys. Solid advise as usual. I'm waiting out Traveler's and their recommended contractors and go over the deets. I'll probably have some bids done after they give me a written estimate of what they feel needs to be done.

Thanks again.

[viper2369]

Thanks guys.  Solid advise as usual. I'm waiting out Traveler's and their recommended contractors and go over the deets. I'll probably have some bids done after they give me a written estimate of what they feel needs to be done.

Thanks again.

I think this is a solid plan, and while I never dealt with fire damage, I had 4 different claims in about a 4 year period once and I'll throw a few thoughts on my experience.  Three water damage claims and a lightning strike.

1. small leak in water pipe coming into the house, just before the pressure regulator.  It was leaking in a finished basement, and I didn't know about it for a few days.  As others have said, their goal was to make it as it was before.  I got fresh paint throughout the basement, and all new floors.  They also paid for a water remediation company to come in and dry everything out.  Even areas of the floor that weren't damaged were replaced because it was all part of the "same" flooring.  In this case, carpet stretched from the bedroom where the leak happened, and most of the water damage, through a small hall area to an office space on the other side of the basement.  I ended up painting the hall and office area myself, as I was planning to anyway, and the contractor "paid" me to do that. 

2. Again, water damage due to a leaking pipe.  My garage was on the basement level and I came down to a large water bubble one day.  Turns out I again had a small leak somewhere in a pipe going to my master bathroom sink that was right above it.  Even after replacing the pipe, the contractor couldn't find the hole in the pipe.  That repair got some new flooring in the laundry room, and sheet rock repair.  So not as bad. 

3. I had lightning strike while I was out.  And I'd left a bathroom exhaust fan on and it appears to have hit it directly.  I came home to that fan in my toilet, knocked it out of the ceiling.  It busted the sheet rock going down to the switch on the wall.  Fried a lot of electronics.  Fridge, dish washer, garage door openers, several TVs, Game consoles, DVD player, Xfinity box (it actually fused the DVD and xfinity box together when a capacitor or something went and got hot enough to weld the cases together), and maybe a couple of other things. 

4. Then had a sump pump in the basement overflow and again, ruin all the flooring in the basement.  I tried to handle that one myself for fear of them dropping my coverage, but the cost was going to be too much and I called the insurance company.  They paid for remediation again, and all new flooring. 

I say all of that to add that not once did I have an adjuster come to the house.  This was all through USAA and I sent pictures for the claims and they also have "preferred" vendors and contractors that they work with who basically stand in as the adjusters.  They trust them to do what's needed.  And in my opinion, in all instances they probably did a bit more than what was actually "needed", but as it was explained to me with the flooring.  If it is part of what was damaged it gets replaced.  Or if they couldn't match it exactly (which may be the case with your cabinets). 

My rates eventually went up, which sucks, but it could have been WAY worse for me.  Of those 4 claims, they probably covered $40K or more of damages and work.  For the lightning strike, they actually allowed me an "allowance" to replace the damaged items like TVs.  So say they allowed me $500 to replace one, and I replaced it with a $300 TV, they gave me the $200 difference.

[Shadrach]

Get an estimate from a contractor you trust who does restoration work so you will have an idea of what the work should cost.  I don't know where you live but I'm sure there are restoration contractors in the area who specialize in repairs like what you need.  They have some amazing technology to deal with smoke damage.  They know what the policy covers and have lots of experience working with insurance companies.  Don't rely on the adjuster to tell you how much the repairs will cost.  The policy is supposed to put you back in the position you were in before the claim happened.  If your upper cabinets are undamaged, they are probably not going to replace them.  I would think the ceiling would have to be scraped clean and then skimmed and repainted or have new popcorn sprayed on if you want that.  You didn't have a completely new kitchen before the claim so I would be surprised if they paid for a total new kitchen.

I'd wait until I saw what Travelers is going to do before hiring a private adjuster.  If the claim was much larger, say the fire burned a fair percentage of the house, I might go ahead with a private adjuster but a small claim like you have really doesn't lend itself to a private adjuster being able to help a whole lot.  Private adjusters can't create coverage where none exists in the policy and I can tell you Travelers will not like you hiring a private adjuster and will probably non renew your policy and that will open up a whole new can of worms.  I would make hiring a private adjuster a last resort thing.  Fire and smoke are pretty black and white perils in a homeowner policy.  You won't have to worry about Travelers saying there is no coverage.  Your challenge is going to be making sure the repairs are done correctly and that is where a good restoration contractor can really help.

Finally, unfortunately, your agent isn't going to be able to do much.  The days of the agent calling the adjuster or the company and having any pull as far as claim payments or coverage are long gone.  The agent isn't even contacted by the company regarding claims outside of a report on the company's system showing a claim has been filed and what has been reserved and paid.  Insurance companies do not want agents involved in claims at all if possible.  After Helene, all of our companies gave us dedicated email addresses and toll free numbers to give to insureds who wanted to file claims.  The insurance companies want to deal directly with the insured.

Hey JC, how do they handle paying for a temporary dwelling while they're cleaning and repairing my home? Do they pay my lessor, or do they pay me?  

TIA

[DawgNatty]

Thanks guys.  Solid advise as usual. I'm waiting out Traveler's and their recommended contractors and go over the deets. I'll probably have some bids done after they give me a written estimate of what they feel needs to be done.

Thanks again.

Hopefully your agent isn’t the one across from Creature comforts.   They suck ass

[Shadrach]

Thanks guys.  Solid advise as usual. I'm waiting out Traveler's and their recommended contractors and go over the deets. I'll probably have some bids done after they give me a written estimate of what they feel needs to be done.

Thanks again.

Hopefully your agent isn’t the one across from Creature comforts.   They suck ass

Lol. No, I live over in Woodstick.  Like JC wrote above, these carriers don't GAF about the agent anymore.  Maybe on the commercial P&C side, but not homeowners.

[JC-DAWG83]

Get an estimate from a contractor you trust who does restoration work so you will have an idea of what the work should cost.  I don't know where you live but I'm sure there are restoration contractors in the area who specialize in repairs like what you need.  They have some amazing technology to deal with smoke damage.  They know what the policy covers and have lots of experience working with insurance companies.  Don't rely on the adjuster to tell you how much the repairs will cost.  The policy is supposed to put you back in the position you were in before the claim happened.  If your upper cabinets are undamaged, they are probably not going to replace them.  I would think the ceiling would have to be scraped clean and then skimmed and repainted or have new popcorn sprayed on if you want that.  You didn't have a completely new kitchen before the claim so I would be surprised if they paid for a total new kitchen.

I'd wait until I saw what Travelers is going to do before hiring a private adjuster.  If the claim was much larger, say the fire burned a fair percentage of the house, I might go ahead with a private adjuster but a small claim like you have really doesn't lend itself to a private adjuster being able to help a whole lot.  Private adjusters can't create coverage where none exists in the policy and I can tell you Travelers will not like you hiring a private adjuster and will probably non renew your policy and that will open up a whole new can of worms.  I would make hiring a private adjuster a last resort thing.  Fire and smoke are pretty black and white perils in a homeowner policy.  You won't have to worry about Travelers saying there is no coverage.  Your challenge is going to be making sure the repairs are done correctly and that is where a good restoration contractor can really help.

Finally, unfortunately, your agent isn't going to be able to do much.  The days of the agent calling the adjuster or the company and having any pull as far as claim payments or coverage are long gone.  The agent isn't even contacted by the company regarding claims outside of a report on the company's system showing a claim has been filed and what has been reserved and paid.  Insurance companies do not want agents involved in claims at all if possible.  After Helene, all of our companies gave us dedicated email addresses and toll free numbers to give to insureds who wanted to file claims.  The insurance companies want to deal directly with the insured.

Hey JC, how do they handle paying for a temporary dwelling while they're cleaning and repairing my home? Do they pay my lessor, or do they pay me?  

TIA

I honestly have no personal experience with loss of use payments.  The adjuster can answer that for you.  I know after the hurricane we had insureds who had money transferred into their accounts by Venmo almost immediately so I know companies will pay before the insured actually pays.  I guess a lot will depend on where you are renting a place.  I doubt a landlord or apartment complex will let you move in and then wait on insurance money.  I'm sure a hotel would let you move in with a credit card.  You might have an argument about whether or not your home is habitable.  People live in houses undergoing kitchen remodels all the time.

[Shadrach]

Get an estimate from a contractor you trust who does restoration work so you will have an idea of what the work should cost.  I don't know where you live but I'm sure there are restoration contractors in the area who specialize in repairs like what you need.  They have some amazing technology to deal with smoke damage.  They know what the policy covers and have lots of experience working with insurance companies.  Don't rely on the adjuster to tell you how much the repairs will cost.  The policy is supposed to put you back in the position you were in before the claim happened.  If your upper cabinets are undamaged, they are probably not going to replace them.  I would think the ceiling would have to be scraped clean and then skimmed and repainted or have new popcorn sprayed on if you want that.  You didn't have a completely new kitchen before the claim so I would be surprised if they paid for a total new kitchen.

I'd wait until I saw what Travelers is going to do before hiring a private adjuster.  If the claim was much larger, say the fire burned a fair percentage of the house, I might go ahead with a private adjuster but a small claim like you have really doesn't lend itself to a private adjuster being able to help a whole lot.  Private adjusters can't create coverage where none exists in the policy and I can tell you Travelers will not like you hiring a private adjuster and will probably non renew your policy and that will open up a whole new can of worms.  I would make hiring a private adjuster a last resort thing.  Fire and smoke are pretty black and white perils in a homeowner policy.  You won't have to worry about Travelers saying there is no coverage.  Your challenge is going to be making sure the repairs are done correctly and that is where a good restoration contractor can really help.

Finally, unfortunately, your agent isn't going to be able to do much.  The days of the agent calling the adjuster or the company and having any pull as far as claim payments or coverage are long gone.  The agent isn't even contacted by the company regarding claims outside of a report on the company's system showing a claim has been filed and what has been reserved and paid.  Insurance companies do not want agents involved in claims at all if possible.  After Helene, all of our companies gave us dedicated email addresses and toll free numbers to give to insureds who wanted to file claims.  The insurance companies want to deal directly with the insured.

Hey JC, how do they handle paying for a temporary dwelling while they're cleaning and repairing my home? Do they pay my lessor, or do they pay me?  

TIA

I honestly have no personal experience with loss of use payments.  The adjuster can answer that for you.  I know after the hurricane we had insureds who had money transferred into their accounts by Venmo almost immediately so I know companies will pay before the insured actually pays.  I guess a lot will depend on where you are renting a place.  I doubt a landlord or apartment complex will let you move in and then wait on insurance money.  I'm sure a hotel would let you move in with a credit card.  You might have an argument about whether or not your home is habitable.  People live in houses undergoing kitchen remodels all the time.

Thanks. The issue is they want everything out of the home to refinish the hardwood floors, clean the carpets. paint all the walls in the home.  I think they will scrape off the ceilings and seal and paint.  The kitchen fix is easy.  Everything else isnt. Unfun.

[JC-DAWG83]

Get an estimate from a contractor you trust who does restoration work so you will have an idea of what the work should cost.  I don't know where you live but I'm sure there are restoration contractors in the area who specialize in repairs like what you need.  They have some amazing technology to deal with smoke damage.  They know what the policy covers and have lots of experience working with insurance companies.  Don't rely on the adjuster to tell you how much the repairs will cost.  The policy is supposed to put you back in the position you were in before the claim happened.  If your upper cabinets are undamaged, they are probably not going to replace them.  I would think the ceiling would have to be scraped clean and then skimmed and repainted or have new popcorn sprayed on if you want that.  You didn't have a completely new kitchen before the claim so I would be surprised if they paid for a total new kitchen.

I'd wait until I saw what Travelers is going to do before hiring a private adjuster.  If the claim was much larger, say the fire burned a fair percentage of the house, I might go ahead with a private adjuster but a small claim like you have really doesn't lend itself to a private adjuster being able to help a whole lot.  Private adjusters can't create coverage where none exists in the policy and I can tell you Travelers will not like you hiring a private adjuster and will probably non renew your policy and that will open up a whole new can of worms.  I would make hiring a private adjuster a last resort thing.  Fire and smoke are pretty black and white perils in a homeowner policy.  You won't have to worry about Travelers saying there is no coverage.  Your challenge is going to be making sure the repairs are done correctly and that is where a good restoration contractor can really help.

Finally, unfortunately, your agent isn't going to be able to do much.  The days of the agent calling the adjuster or the company and having any pull as far as claim payments or coverage are long gone.  The agent isn't even contacted by the company regarding claims outside of a report on the company's system showing a claim has been filed and what has been reserved and paid.  Insurance companies do not want agents involved in claims at all if possible.  After Helene, all of our companies gave us dedicated email addresses and toll free numbers to give to insureds who wanted to file claims.  The insurance companies want to deal directly with the insured.

Hey JC, how do they handle paying for a temporary dwelling while they're cleaning and repairing my home? Do they pay my lessor, or do they pay me?  

TIA

I honestly have no personal experience with loss of use payments.  The adjuster can answer that for you.  I know after the hurricane we had insureds who had money transferred into their accounts by Venmo almost immediately so I know companies will pay before the insured actually pays.  I guess a lot will depend on where you are renting a place.  I doubt a landlord or apartment complex will let you move in and then wait on insurance money.  I'm sure a hotel would let you move in with a credit card.  You might have an argument about whether or not your home is habitable.  People live in houses undergoing kitchen remodels all the time.

Thanks. The issue is they want everything out of the home to refinish the hardwood floors, clean the carpets. paint all the walls in the home.  I think they will scrape off the ceilings and seal and paint.  The kitchen fix is easy.  Everything else isnt. Unfun.

I thought the damage was confined to the kitchen only.  Definitely call the adjuster and explain that you have to move out.  He should go ahead and forward you some money to rent another place.  

Smoke damage is a mess and a big pain.

[Shadrach]

Get an estimate from a contractor you trust who does restoration work so you will have an idea of what the work should cost.  I don't know where you live but I'm sure there are restoration contractors in the area who specialize in repairs like what you need.  They have some amazing technology to deal with smoke damage.  They know what the policy covers and have lots of experience working with insurance companies.  Don't rely on the adjuster to tell you how much the repairs will cost.  The policy is supposed to put you back in the position you were in before the claim happened.  If your upper cabinets are undamaged, they are probably not going to replace them.  I would think the ceiling would have to be scraped clean and then skimmed and repainted or have new popcorn sprayed on if you want that.  You didn't have a completely new kitchen before the claim so I would be surprised if they paid for a total new kitchen.

I'd wait until I saw what Travelers is going to do before hiring a private adjuster.  If the claim was much larger, say the fire burned a fair percentage of the house, I might go ahead with a private adjuster but a small claim like you have really doesn't lend itself to a private adjuster being able to help a whole lot.  Private adjusters can't create coverage where none exists in the policy and I can tell you Travelers will not like you hiring a private adjuster and will probably non renew your policy and that will open up a whole new can of worms.  I would make hiring a private adjuster a last resort thing.  Fire and smoke are pretty black and white perils in a homeowner policy.  You won't have to worry about Travelers saying there is no coverage.  Your challenge is going to be making sure the repairs are done correctly and that is where a good restoration contractor can really help.

Finally, unfortunately, your agent isn't going to be able to do much.  The days of the agent calling the adjuster or the company and having any pull as far as claim payments or coverage are long gone.  The agent isn't even contacted by the company regarding claims outside of a report on the company's system showing a claim has been filed and what has been reserved and paid.  Insurance companies do not want agents involved in claims at all if possible.  After Helene, all of our companies gave us dedicated email addresses and toll free numbers to give to insureds who wanted to file claims.  The insurance companies want to deal directly with the insured.

Hey JC, how do they handle paying for a temporary dwelling while they're cleaning and repairing my home? Do they pay my lessor, or do they pay me?  

TIA

I honestly have no personal experience with loss of use payments.  The adjuster can answer that for you.  I know after the hurricane we had insureds who had money transferred into their accounts by Venmo almost immediately so I know companies will pay before the insured actually pays.  I guess a lot will depend on where you are renting a place.  I doubt a landlord or apartment complex will let you move in and then wait on insurance money.  I'm sure a hotel would let you move in with a credit card.  You might have an argument about whether or not your home is habitable.  People live in houses undergoing kitchen remodels all the time.

Thanks. The issue is they want everything out of the home to refinish the hardwood floors, clean the carpets. paint all the walls in the home.  I think they will scrape off the ceilings and seal and paint.  The kitchen fix is easy.  Everything else isnt. Unfun.

I thought the damage was confined to the kitchen only.  Definitely call the adjuster and explain that you have to move out.  He should go ahead and forward you some money to rent another place.  

Smoke damage is a mess and a big pain.

Yeah, the fire/water damage is contained to the kitchen, but the smoke from all the burning plastic and insulation was incredible.  You couldn't see inside the home.  Smoke was everywhere including the upstairs.  Just an enormous pain. The home smells like a fire pit.  Bummed.

[JC-DAWG83]

Hey JC, how do they handle paying for a temporary dwelling while they're cleaning and repairing my home? Do they pay my lessor, or do they pay me?  

TIA

I honestly have no personal experience with loss of use payments.  The adjuster can answer that for you.  I know after the hurricane we had insureds who had money transferred into their accounts by Venmo almost immediately so I know companies will pay before the insured actually pays.  I guess a lot will depend on where you are renting a place.  I doubt a landlord or apartment complex will let you move in and then wait on insurance money.  I'm sure a hotel would let you move in with a credit card.  You might have an argument about whether or not your home is habitable.  People live in houses undergoing kitchen remodels all the time.

Thanks. The issue is they want everything out of the home to refinish the hardwood floors, clean the carpets. paint all the walls in the home.  I think they will scrape off the ceilings and seal and paint.  The kitchen fix is easy.  Everything else isnt. Unfun.

I thought the damage was confined to the kitchen only.  Definitely call the adjuster and explain that you have to move out.  He should go ahead and forward you some money to rent another place.  

Smoke damage is a mess and a big pain.

Yeah, the fire/water damage is contained to the kitchen, but the smoke from all the burning plastic and insulation was incredible.  You couldn't see inside the home.  Smoke was everywhere including the upstairs.  Just an enormous pain. The home smells like a fire pit.  Bummed.

Getting that smell out of furniture, clothes, pretty much everything in the house is a challenge.  One of the restoration contractors here has some sort of sealed "room" where they can put stuff and turn on some sort of ionization machine that supposedly gets the smoke out of everything.