Insurance Question(s)

[Sophia Sinclair]

Need advice on how to deal with an insurance claim on my house!

I recently experienced water damage and my broker recommended a company approved by my insurance company. I knew they did the front end or clean up aspect of things, but wasn't aware that they also subcontract the back end of things (e.g. drywall and floor repair). I met with their floor person who wouldn't or couldn't produce a company name or business card. They told me to ask the company that has the go ahead with the insurance company and they couldn't produce a card for them either. When asked how many years they've been in business I got the now standard reply, "Don't worry, they're good."

My flooring company told me their company would undercut him and when I asked the company with the insurance company's approval how much the difference was between the two quotes, they pointed out that my company isn't replacing the sub floor in the one back room. Again no answer to my question. The reason I asked is because I don't mind taking the cash payout and paying the difference in price out of my own pocket if it's minimal as I know and trust my company because I've used them before.

My other concern is who do I go to should there be any problems with the work currently or in the future? The insurance approved company assured me that they stand behind their work, but their other location, used in a past claim, is no longer in business and this is disconcerting to me.

Does anyone have experience with insurance claims? What rights do I have as the home owner? Will the insurance adjuster inform me of the difference in price or do I have to make the decision to either go through the insurance company using their company/companies or take a cash payout using my own blind?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Sophia Sinclair

 

[Insidious Von]

You have a problem and there are no clear answers.

Kathleen Wynne gave insurance companies the power of thumbscrews, they are essentially above the law. She's turned the industry into a giant octopus, good luck getting answers.

I suggest you start here: Good luck.

http://www.ibc.ca/on/

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

Thank You! I will call them today. Hopefully they'll give me answers as they're a non invested third party.

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

IBC told me I have to stop dealing with Puroclean and start dealing with my insurance adjuster because they will tell me the difference in price, allowing me to make an informed decision.

 

[Insidious Von]

Bullshit!

PuroClean are the industry experts in water restoration and biohazard control. An insurance adjuster WILL cut corners on you. It's up to you to decide how much compromise you can tolerate.

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

Puroclean is the company that's not answering my questions as to how many years experience their subcontracted flooring guy has, etc.

 

[blackjackshelac]

Tell your insurance adjuster to handle it period, its not your problem, you want it fixed by anyone that is approved and can genuinely warranty the work and will be there to fix it later. That’s it that’s all

 

[einar]

Sophia, we consumers often get into such a muddle as yours when it comes to insurance. As you are finding, it's an insider's game within the insurance and contractor world: insurers prefer to deal with the same contractors over and over, basically the ones they play golf with. Generally the work will be fine, since the goal of the insurance company is to get rid of your water damage file promptly and without customer anger.

I do believe you can insist on hiring whomever you want, and paying the difference if there is any. BUT... you will have to be firm with the insurance adjuster, and it may seem an uphill battle that is not worth the fight.

Your broker should be able to explain all your options to you, before you speak further with the adjuster. The adjuster probably won't want to explain options to you, and likely feels that customers are annoyances in her or her life.

If you trust your flooring company, your goal should be to work with them in this repair, and make the insurance company figure out how to do this. Perhaps you will indeed take a cash settlement, and then do as you wish. Good luck, and keep us posted. I am sure there are people on TERB far more knowledgeable than I am.

 

[sempel]

I have some experience in the auto collision industry so I hope some of the things I say apply.

Insurance companies have certain preferred companies to do repairs. Behind the scenes, the insurance company is getting a discount and the company is getting the volume so it's win-win. The insurance companies send you to these places because the work is guaranteed so if anything goes wrong, it's warrantied.

Now, this all said, you have the right to have your vehicle fixed at any shop. The insurance company sends one of their people to look at your car, assess the damage, create a repair plan, and they pay you/the shop the appropriate amount and walks away. Some people give that money to the shop and get full repairs, some just keep it, and some make a deal with the shop to get some of the money back. But that work isn't guaranteed and the process takes longer to complete.

Now let's talk about home repairs since I know people that work at a company that handles any type of damage. You deal with people from the company, the company has some workers on payroll and some companies it subcontracts work to. The same is true with cars - the repair shop subcontracts some pieces to other companies/individuals.

Unfortunately with construction, there's a lot of people, some which are fully licensed, some not. Problem is though that I've seen shoddy work from fully licensed groups and amazing work from guys who are probably paid under the table and are not licensed. It's sadly a mixed bag.

The important thing at the end of the day is the job being done right and the work is guaranteed. You need to have a conversation with your insurance company and find out about this. One of your concerns should be that all workers have proper licensing but more importantly, proper insurance.

 

[malata]

take the money and find your own reputable handyman

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

I'm trying to find a good drywaller to have them come look at the damage and give me a quote, so any recommendations are appreciated. I'll call my broker Monday.

 

[ineedausername]

I'm trying to find a good drywaller to have them come look at the damage and give me a quote, so any recommendations are appreciated. I'll call my broker Monday.

www.baeumlerapproved.ca

 

[powerten]

Such a hassle. Remember, if you don’t like the amount offered by the insurance company get 2 or 3 independent estimates. They can’t argue with marketplace rates. Also you can take them to small claims court.

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

www.baeumlerapproved.ca

It only gave me 3 results. 1 in Oakville, 1 in Mississauga and 1 in Woodbridge.

 

[Bobzilla]

I just went through this recently with water damage due to a leaking hot water heater. The insurance company's preferred contractor provided me with an estimate of the repairs. I also called another contractor (Puro Clean, by coincidence) to give me their estimate. Puro Clean's came in at 2k higher. That being said, the preferred contractor was pretty slimy, I thought. I decided to change the paint colour, and because insurance only covers 2 coats, I asked them to give me an estimate for 1 coat of paint or primer & just pay it out of pocket. It came back at $820, even though when I checked their original estimate, the amount for painting 2 coats was $740. When I pointed this out to them, they just kept refusing to answer it.

In my case, the adjuster was very helpful, always answered me in a timely fashion & pointed out my options. If you want to PM me with specific questions, feel free.

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

The adjuster has finally given me an amount based on Puroclean's estimate/quote. Please note that the water damage happened July 8.

He asked me to resubmit my flooring estimate/quote because it somehow didn't get saved to my file. He also asked for clarification regarding my drywaller's estimate/quote, giving me the impression that they really favour their company/ies over any other(s). It's looking like I'll be out of pocket over and above the deductible if I go with my known and chosen contractors.

ineedausername, I thought you should know that the one company from Oakville given to me by baeumler cancelled due to van trouble. The one I sourced from Google is asking a ridiculous price and the one I got from the BBB is the most professional and reasonable, so I'm going with them. If they do a good job I'll get a second quote from them for my back porch, which is rotting due to old treated boards and in need of repair. I have to replace the railings, lightly powerwash the deck and paint the whole thing.

Houses are money pits!

 

[einar]

The adjuster has finally given me an amount based on Puroclean's estimate/quote. Please note that the water damage happened July 8.

He asked me to resubmit my flooring estimate/quote because it somehow didn't get saved to my file. He also asked for clarification regarding my drywaller's estimate/quote, giving me the impression that they really favour their company/ies over any other(s). It's looking like I'll be out of pocket over and above the deductible if I go with my known and chosen contractors.

Yes, they favor their own companies, but stay strong, Sophia, and do it with whom you select. If you are a little out of pocket, that's ok. But I assume the insurance company will end up paying a substantial portion of this work beyond your deductible. If not, you might reconsider and simply decide to withdraw the insurance claim altogether. Because doubtless your insurance rates will rise due to this claim. But the rates won't rise if you withdraw it.

I'm suddenly remembering I had a fairly major water damage (burst pipe) issue of about $4000 a few years back, and decided not to pursue the insurance angle - even after they came out and gave me their estimate - because they were candid that this would indeed raise my rates. Even as a first claim from a good longtime customer. They were not encouraging me to walk away from them and do it on my own - far from it - but that became my decision.

Every home owner or car owner has to decide their own price point on insurance claims. Good luck.

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

I just received a second amount that appears to be slightly bigger. Now I get to spend the weekend trying to make sense of it all (i.e. what's going to whom) and asking for clarification from the adjuster on Monday if need be.

Looks like I'm in the home stretch!

 

[Sophia Sinclair]

Good News!

I got full payout using my contractors. Not all insurance companies are bad. Also, thank you to the member that offered me the contact information for an insurance lawyer, but it's not necessary anymore.

 

[essguy_]

Glad it all worked out.

I've had experience with flooding once - during that freak storm a few years ago (think it was 2014) that flooded a lot of basements in my neighbourhood. One problem when there is storm related damage is that the insurance companies are flooded (literally) with calls. My company took several days before they could even send an adjuster, then the adjuster was quite honest and told me that it would be several days before they could send a cleanup crew and might be months before the damage could be repaired. So they gave me the option to do it myself - which I took. I did a combination of clearing stuff myself and hiring subs and took pictures and kept receipts for everything. When it came time to settle I sent all of this, along with an estimate of my time and out of pocket and the adjuster actually gave me several thousand dollars MORE than I submitted because she said I was underestimating my own time involved in managing this.