Good Neigbor? Not So Much

[rustysgurl]

Our dishwasher decided to flood our kitchen in September, soaking cabinets, subfloor and basement ceiling. A remediation company came and removed the floor, cabinets, countertops and ceiling and all we were left with were the appliances. We've managed to cobble flooring and a used counter-height table so we can cook after a fashion. The average wait time for cabinets is 3-5 months and getting on a contractor's schedule is proving problematic. They all cite labor issues. Ok, we can deal with that. We won't be hosting (nor cooking) the annual Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, which is disappointing, but I can get past that.

What I can't get past is how our "good neighbor" insurance is handling this. Their estimator came out and gave us a pathetically-low replacement quote (a little over 10k, from which they subtracted our deductible and depreciation). Obviously, none of the contractors we've had out believe the work can be done for that small amount. I'm still waiting for their written estimates, but in the meantime, our adjuster reminded me to be sure and show the insurance company's estimate to anyone who comes out so that the contractors will be "reasonable" and there won't be a need for any "reconciliation." He said it was "my job" to ensure the contractors weren't "so expensive."

To say I'm frustrated is an understatement. It's probably going to be January (at the earliest) before we have a kitchen again, and the insurance adjuster is being less-than-reasonable. If anyone has gone through this before I would appreciate some tips, pointers or maybe great alcoholic beverage recipes to get me through it.

[ret5hd]

1. You might start putting out feelers for a lawyer.

$10k for the situation you are describing seems pathetically low.

[zuul]

2. I'm sorry you have to deal with this and I don't have any helpful tips.

I'm going through the same thing after lots of damage due to Hurrican Ida. There are so many contractors to deal with and my claim with the insurance company is stuck somewhere in no man's land. I was supposed to hear from them 3 weeks ago. Nothing so far.

I ordered a new garage door a few weeks ago but it won't be delivered until early December, at the earliest. I haven't even been able to start on the rest of the damage:

Roof has to be replaced.
Siding has to be replaced on south, east and north facades.
All downstairs windows have to be replaced.
70% of fencing has to be replaced, as well as one gate.
Interior drywall has to be repaired in master bedroom and bathroom, guest bedroom and bathroom, and inside the garage.

I'm hearing there a long delays in getting roofing and other materials. I'll be lucky to get everything replaced within a year at this rate, so I share your frustration.

[Phoenix61]

3. Find a lawyer who specializes in dealing with

insurance companies. I know that seems drastic but $10,000 for a new kitchen is delusional.

[iscooterliberally]

4. We hired a public adjuster after our house got hit with a hurricane.

This was a long time ago in south Florida. The insurance company's adjuster told us we had to re-install our kitchen cabinets. They all got wet and there was no way we were doing that. The insurance company sent us a $12K check and that just wasn't going to cover all the damage. Our public adjuster got us about $40K and we had to pay them 10% of the money. They tripled our money and we were able to get everything repaired and restored. I would look into hiring a public adjuster first. Check the laws in your state to see what they can charge. Hopefully it's not over 10%. In Florida that's the max they can charge you and you don't have to pay until you get paid first. Good luck!

[marybourg]

7. This.

^^^^^^^

[The Jungle 1]

12. Even just the threat that you will hire a public adjuster.

[wyn borkins]

5. Water Damage Can Be Costly

It has been my (recent) experience that home repair contractors and tradesfolk do not develop their pricing based upon insurance company estimates, but typically upon real-world costs and current hourly rates. If I were you, I would (already) begin my (severe) push-back upon your 'so-called' insurance company adjustor silliness, while waiting for those repair estimates.

[QED]

6. I'm sorry you're going through this.

I know what a pain it is...been there.

When it happened to me I had a multitude of other stuff to deal with.

A broken hand from an embarrassing trip over my big feet at work.

10 dogs, 7 of which were fosters who couldn't leave my house because the two puppies had parvo. I had to give them sub cutaneous fluids every day and try to get them to eat.

Nearly all my stuff removed to storage because the flood destroyed all but the bedrooms.

The flooring and sub floor in the kitchen were removed. I had a 3 inch wide board in front of the sink to stand on.

And big fans going 24/7 to dry it out.

I often drive home in tears worrying that if find dead puppies from the parvo. They survived.

Not something I'd want to relive!

[MissB]

8. I'm currently in the process of planning a kitchen remodel

I don’t have a huge room - basically 12’x11’.

I’m choosing higher end cabinets, and that cost alone is $30k. That doesn’t include the installation, which I expect to be $10k (they are inset cabinets, which are more challenging to install). The counter is quartz, and that cost for material plus installation is $10k. I expect the flooring to add another 5-6k (hardwood to match existing).

I’d march down to Home Depot and get an actual quote for flooring, cabinetry and counters- including installation. And then I’d repeat it for Lowe’s. And you likely have an independent all-inclusive contractors mart that does all three of those that you can get a quote for. Don’t go fancy- go with basically what you had - if you had laminate counters, get quotes for those.

And then throw them back at the insurance company.

That’s seriously lowball.

[Thunderbeast]

9. For what it's worth...

I have had excellent experiences on FOUR homeowner claims and one minor auto claim with those folks standing on the New York dock with a statue of some lady carrying a torch in the background.

[SWBTATTReg]

10. Good Neighbors? I have a strong feeling who your insurance carrier is, you have my upmost ...

sorrow that you have to find out what your insurance company is like when the chips are down.

I too, if the carrier is who I think it is, dealt w/ them and I'm so glad that I dumped them, and moved on to a another insurance provider. Just think how many people they rip off, if lets say they underpay 10 people and their $20,000 claims (pay them each $10K only), as a result, they get $100K cash still in their pocket (and perhaps more as you say, w/ depreciation, deductible, etc.). And as a bonus, I saved over 1/2 of my annual insurance premium paid to them too. Over 1/2!

Perhaps you might contract a subcontractor who'll come in and take care of all of this hassle and negotiation for you, and they'll get a fee for all of their help, it'd be worth it I suspect.

[Xoan]

11. Run it by your agent.

He gets paid from your premiums and probably won't want to lose your business.

Adjusters don't care.

[The Jungle 1]

13. Always buy replacement value home owners ins.

[LakeArenal]

15. Yes yes yes. This is the best tip of all

[sarisataka]

14. You may want to check with your agent

The "Good Neighbor's" policies are usually replacement cost (no depreciation) unless you specifically ask for a lower premium that would account for depreciation (usually called actual cash value)

Many adjusters these days are independent contractors working for multiple companies- though the will identify themselves as the XYZ Insurance adjuster.

It is not a bad idea to show a contractor what the insurance company says it should cost. The reconciliation is when the contractor disagrees with the estimate and will show the insurance company why they should pay more. It may make the adjuster look bad if something major was missed.

You "job" is to select a contractor to do the work. The contractor's job is to do the work at a fair rate. The insurance company's job is to put you back to the condition you were in prior to the loss.