Any Advice for me battling Home Owners Insurance

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

Do tell, what is premium coverage/insurance. Is it different than what you get through Geico/State Farm?
Do you still go through them but just pay more?

a reply to: JAGStorm

Are you still in Florida? I'd recommend using Roof Claim or UCSPA or another similar service.

Could be a bit added cost, but typically a better outcome. Our neighbor got his roof replaced after Dorian (which essentially did nothing here but erode the beaches). New plywood, upgrade to dimensional shingles from 3-tab, and gutters all around (he didn't have gutters before).

originally posted by: Stupidsecrets
You don't have the same coverage as me.

Look at you, assuming.

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

... I have premium insurance. ...

LOL! That's like saying you have a "premium loan-shark"

I have one too. His name is Rocco, of Rocco's Premium Insurance and Bail Bonds.

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

This is good advice. You really get what you pay for with insurance. We've been with the same company, on three homes in two states for over a decade.

We had one claim on the house, rural northern Michigan, was fixed and paid out within a month. Only reason it took so long was because the incident happened the day before deer season started, so all the contractors were on vacation.

Worth mentioning, our rates have never spontaneously gone up (knock on wood) and were unaffected by the one claim even.

We are currently doing a roof replacement with State Farm for storm damage. House next door and across the street were damaged too. We hired the most reputable roofers available in our town (neighbors hired them too - they are doing all 3 houses).

Our roofer met with the insurance appraiser and together they walked our roof and identified the damage and got our appraisal validated and processed ASAP. State Farm paid us the first half within a week and then the balance once the contract was signed with the roofer.

Roofer should be able to walk you through getting insurance to cover roof damaged by a storm. They will work directly with your insurance company. Roof and gutter damage should be covered (minus the cost of your insurance deductible).

Water damage inside the house….that might be a different issue. If you have a pipe broken due to freezing - insurance will typically cover the cost of replacing the section of the pipe that broke; however, if there is water damage to floors and drywall that damage might or might not be covered depending on how your policy is written.

a reply to: JAGStorm

As a Certified Fraud Examiner and 20 plus years experience working for an American insurance company, your claim will be paid. Tell the truth, don't lie.

Always keep all conversations and emails. Secretly record all conversations on your phone from the second they arrive, including any interviews.

Also read through your policy. Very important. Most people fail to read their policies...it will answer most questions.

If your claim is denied, pm me.



a reply to: JAGStorm

originally posted by: DeathSlayer
As a Certified Fraud Examiner and 20 plus years experience working for an American insurance company, your claim will be paid. Tell the truth, don't lie.

Always keep all conversations and emails. Secretly record all conversations on your phone from the second they arrive, including any interviews.

Also read through your policy. Very important. Most people fail to read their policies...it will answer most questions.

If your claim is denied, pm me.



a reply to: JAGStorm

In a week I will have the agent, a roofer, the restoration company, and adjuster all come out at the same time!!
Is that normal for them all to come together? It appears they know each other.

I did have the restoration company come out today for the initial looksy. They found slight mold along the baseboard. They found slight water stain in an exposed part of the attic. No water/moisture reading at all, dry as a bone. They said it probably went straight from the roof/attic to the floorboard and puddled there. Drywall was cut halfway up the wall, dry as a bone with no mold.

I’m going to re-read my policy…hmmm

Also thank you for the tips

originally posted by: cmdrkeenkid
a reply to: JAGStorm

Are you still in Florida? I'd recommend using Roof Claim or UCSPA or another similar service.

Could be a bit added cost, but typically a better outcome. Our neighbor got his roof replaced after Dorian (which essentially did nothing here but erode the beaches). New plywood, upgrade to dimensional shingles from 3-tab, and gutters all around (he didn't have gutters before).

No I’m in Wisconsin now. When I lived in Florida I always purchased Flood insurance even if it was not needed. It was a whole process through FEMA but it was actually super cheap, like 200 a year.

Normally insurance companies use independent companies that are not affiliated with the insurance company.

A good claims handler can manage to have everyone involved to arrive on the same day. It is very likely all concerned have worked together...meaning they all will give the advantage to the insurance company. Keep your eye on the insurance adjuster. Stay in his back pocket and record everything.

Do not sign anything unless it's your ok to have the work completed and make sure they explain exactly what they are going to do. ONLY DO THIS AFTER APPROVAL OF INSURANCE COMPANY THAT THEY ARE PAYING FOR ALL DAMAGES.

Some companies try to get your commitment before insurance company agrees to pay. Never do this. Wait for the approval.

Also check for any deductible...this will be what you have to pay.

a reply to: JAGStorm

a reply to: DeathSlayer

That was extremely helpful, thanks so much!!

a reply to: JAGStorm

Your post was unclear on how long you knew the roof was leaking. So I'll say to try not to give any indication that you knew about the leak for any extended period of time. Act like you immediately acted on it. And when it comes to rooves, they go by the age of the roof to determine the payout.

That's all I have, as I have also never filed an insurance claim on a house.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: network dude

I hope she does get paid. I had heard that before when I had some small damage from leaky roof. Which is why I suggested she ask someone who knows. Not a random ATS person.

ATS hasn’t failed me yet!

I asked advice on a coffee maker - got the best one ever
I asked advice on a mattress - got the best one ever

I’ve never had a claim before and have not heard good things about home insurance companies. Maybe there won’t be a fight at all, and that would be great. If there is I’d Iike to know ahead of time experiences people might have had. I also don’t necessarily want to blast in on FB.

Which mattress lol? I've heard good things about Purple. We just bought a hybrid a year or two ago and it's ok.

Have to expect insurance will try to deny as much as possible. Keep fighting it.
I just finished my basement in fall of 2018, and in Feb of 2020 a 30cent piece of plastic broke on the water line to the toilet in the basement. Water ran all night without us knowing. Did over $20k in damage.
They fought us on some things but we kept going back with them and we got it taken care of.

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: JAGStorm

Your post was unclear on how long you knew the roof was leaking. So I'll say to try not to give any indication that you knew about the leak for any extended period of time. Act like you immediately acted on it. And when it comes to rooves, they go by the age of the roof to determine the payout.

That's all I have, as I have also never filed an insurance claim on a house.

We didn’t know the roof was leaking until the carpet was pulled.
Our roof is about 12 years old but we actually had a roofer out last year and said it looked great.

a reply to: HawkeyeNation

Mattress was from Costco (I think) and is a Hybrid. There is a secret, the foundation has to be VERY firm.
I found with these hybrids you can’t just have a slat here or there. Makes the biggest difference in the world.

The coffee maker is a Bunn Velocity. Great simple coffee maker that makes it hot!

a reply to: JAGStorm

12 years is not very old at all for a roof. The house I'm living in had a 40 year old roof when I bought it. The insurance agent told me they would only pay like 10% to replace it should I make a claim for the roof. I've since had the roof replaced, and that also caused my insurance to drop by nearly $500 for the year.

EDIT: I also have a Bunn Velocity. I think it was something I read here that made me buy it. I don't regret getting it.

The damage needs to be caused by something, like a wind storm or something to be covered. If it is from lack of maintenance it can be denied for coverage. If you had all the stuff patched or the roof was in decent shape to begin with they usually cover if something happens, but not if nobody went up to patch the roof when it was leaking. You can always say you had no evidence it was leaking, which happens when attic insulation is wet and soaked, but you are supposed to maintain the property to be covered unless you have a special rider.

I did contracting and denials of claims happened to quite a few people I estimated for because it was leaking for a long time. I did write some estimates saying that the leak was not noticable to the homeowner, stuff in attic kept it from being known, and the people did get the money. But then after it was repaired their insurance companies sent an inspector out and saw more bad stuff and cancelled their insurance.

a reply to: JAGStorm

We were able to buy it from our agent directly. Maybe things changed or he did all the work for us, because I never did any FEMA paperwork that I remember. We're not in a flood zone either, but only a quarter mile away from the St Lucie River and where a declared zone is.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: network dude

ATS hasn’t failed me yet!

I asked advice on a coffee maker - got the best one ever
I asked advice on a mattress - got the best one ever

I found this site whilst researching an occult topic, got excellent info; was pulled in by the political topics and found, compared to other online places, good discussions and info; and then went roaming around and learned about everything from butterfly razors to the best portable cooking stove to get through an emergency.

As to the OP, my area went through a major fire recently, and although my insurance hadn't heard about it when I first contacted them, the guy I was talking to looked it up as we were talking. In concurrence with another member's experience, after that he was very helpful, and the claims came through quickly and higher than I expected.

After the claim was settled, the guy said something like, "Let us know if there's anything else." Standard, yes, but in the weeks to come, as I talked with other neighbors, I was surprised at the things they had claimed and gotten covered, things I hadn't even considered. When I called back to the helpful dude and mentioned a few of the same things, though, he wasn't as eager this time.
It does of course depend on the disaster, and your insurance, but I'd say err on the high side of the claim. And have lots of photos. Due to Covid, in my area no one even came out to the house; it was all done satellite camera or whatever.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Agent was out today and said everything will be covered!!

I guess the freak storm we had hit the whole area.

He said they were going to make it as easy as possible for us.

Is it really this easy, I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe hearing too many denials from friends.