So update from my other topic..adjuster came today and inspected the damage, ended up writing me a check. He said the estimate is based on the entire room in case they cannot match the wood flooring of the damage wood. But my entire apartment is one continuous area. If the wood flooring doesn't match why do they not pay for the entire apartment wood floors to be redone instead of just the affected... [more]
So update from my other topic..adjuster came today and inspected the damage, ended up writing me a check. He said the estimate is based on the entire room in case they cannot match the wood flooring of the damage wood. But my entire apartment is one continuous area. If the wood flooring doesn't match why do they not pay for the entire apartment wood floors to be redone instead of just the affected room? Now I would have, in theory, two rooms with mismatching wood floor but the flooring is still continuous. Do they have to pay for it all if it comes to it? Keep in mind at the end of the day this is all caused by my upstairs neighbor and he is responsible.
Also, is this common for insurance companies? I have Liberty Mutual. What if this check is not enough to cover the floor and ceiling repairs from the water damage? Do they have to cover the additional cost so as to make me whole? And this goes for the $1,000 deductible as well. I want to make sure I am not getting ripped off in any way, especially because this was my neighbor's fault not mine.
Finally, my last question/concern is how difficult is it to even match wood floor and have only the selected 4x4 area fixed? I am attaching a couple of picture links so you can see what my wood floor is.
Top picture is the damaged area, bottom picture is undamaged area for reference.
http://imgur.com/a/OkO9K
Thanks!
[less]
Response by tribby
over 8 years ago
Posts: 36
Member since: Oct 2011
Sorry you have to go through this! It's a terrible process especially if your insurance company wants to nickel and dime you.
From my experience, they would need to pay to match the entire apartment especially if the damage is in an open kitchen/living room area. It's very hard to do a good match especially if your floor has been stained before (even if you find the exact stain, the undamaged part has changed color through the years, making the repair stand out, especially with new coats of poly on top, it will outshine the rest of the floors).
You should not accept the adjuster's check - their job is to give you the least money possible. Usually I go with the best insurance company to avoid drawn out battle (Chubb is excellent in this regard) but my neighbors had State Farm and they got reimbursed for their contractor's bill.
Also check your insurance policy to see if they would waive the deductible if the claim exceeds certain threshold.
Good luck!
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by JSM31
over 8 years ago
Posts: 34
Member since: May 2017
A couple of questions for you:
1) Did you obtain an estimate for repairs? Any claim that I have filed has been well documented. Sometimes you need to argue with the adjusters and have evidence to support your position.
2) Did you sign a release when the check was given to you?
3) The damage does not look that serious from the pictures. Have you considered talking to a flooring company to see if they can give you some suggestions?
4) I have not had good experiences with your insurance company. Put in a claim against a contractor who had said insurance company. Took forever to get my claim settled. Do yourself a favor and get better insurance.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Slay
over 8 years ago
Posts: 29
Member since: Aug 2016
Hm, well I accepted it and wrote him a follow up email about if depositing the check is acceptance of a final amount. Here is what he said:
You can definitely go ahead and deposit the settlement check as it is Not an acceptance of final payment. Liberty Mutual will match the scope of a projects repairs, not the contractors pricing. Meaning, if our estimate doesn’t include a repair or other unforeseen issues arise, we can always add to your estimate and issue a supplement check.
Regarding the deductible and the owner of 12A: I referred your claim to our subrogation team – they’ve already begun the process of contacting the owner of 12A that caused damages to your unit as well as contacting their insurance company. The Liberty Mutual Subrogation Team takes over the claim at this point wherein they will be going after Unit 12A and their insurance carrier to recover the repair damages and deductible. They will be in contact with you moving forward concerning the next steps.
So basically a contractor is probably going to tell me that the entire apartment needs to be refloored I am assuming, then does my insurance company have to say okay and match it or can they say no? Keep in mind again
that this is 100% the fault of the owner above me so his insurance company will be the one paying in the end bc my Liberty Mutual will go after them.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by tribby
over 8 years ago
Posts: 36
Member since: Oct 2011
My read is you will need to get this adjuster to agree beforehand that the whole apartment flooring needs to be refinished to match. Without that step you'll be fighting them later on re: "scope of the project" - plus they told you indirectly they will not reimburse for your contractor's bills, just for what they think should be for the scope of repairs. It doesn't matter whether this is the fault of the owner above - in the end you'll be only dealing with your insurance company so you should work it out with your adjuster.
Best of luck!
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Slay
over 8 years ago
Posts: 29
Member since: Aug 2016
yeah i understand that i need the pre approval from my company. but also because this is someone else's fault why in the world would i ever have to pay for a dime when repairing the damage they caused? that seems legally incorrect
'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Sorry you have to go through this! It's a terrible process especially if your insurance company wants to nickel and dime you.
From my experience, they would need to pay to match the entire apartment especially if the damage is in an open kitchen/living room area. It's very hard to do a good match especially if your floor has been stained before (even if you find the exact stain, the undamaged part has changed color through the years, making the repair stand out, especially with new coats of poly on top, it will outshine the rest of the floors).
You should not accept the adjuster's check - their job is to give you the least money possible. Usually I go with the best insurance company to avoid drawn out battle (Chubb is excellent in this regard) but my neighbors had State Farm and they got reimbursed for their contractor's bill.
Also check your insurance policy to see if they would waive the deductible if the claim exceeds certain threshold.
Good luck!
A couple of questions for you:
1) Did you obtain an estimate for repairs? Any claim that I have filed has been well documented. Sometimes you need to argue with the adjusters and have evidence to support your position.
2) Did you sign a release when the check was given to you?
3) The damage does not look that serious from the pictures. Have you considered talking to a flooring company to see if they can give you some suggestions?
4) I have not had good experiences with your insurance company. Put in a claim against a contractor who had said insurance company. Took forever to get my claim settled. Do yourself a favor and get better insurance.
Hm, well I accepted it and wrote him a follow up email about if depositing the check is acceptance of a final amount. Here is what he said:
You can definitely go ahead and deposit the settlement check as it is Not an acceptance of final payment. Liberty Mutual will match the scope of a projects repairs, not the contractors pricing. Meaning, if our estimate doesn’t include a repair or other unforeseen issues arise, we can always add to your estimate and issue a supplement check.
Regarding the deductible and the owner of 12A: I referred your claim to our subrogation team – they’ve already begun the process of contacting the owner of 12A that caused damages to your unit as well as contacting their insurance company. The Liberty Mutual Subrogation Team takes over the claim at this point wherein they will be going after Unit 12A and their insurance carrier to recover the repair damages and deductible. They will be in contact with you moving forward concerning the next steps.
So basically a contractor is probably going to tell me that the entire apartment needs to be refloored I am assuming, then does my insurance company have to say okay and match it or can they say no? Keep in mind again
that this is 100% the fault of the owner above me so his insurance company will be the one paying in the end bc my Liberty Mutual will go after them.
My read is you will need to get this adjuster to agree beforehand that the whole apartment flooring needs to be refinished to match. Without that step you'll be fighting them later on re: "scope of the project" - plus they told you indirectly they will not reimburse for your contractor's bills, just for what they think should be for the scope of repairs. It doesn't matter whether this is the fault of the owner above - in the end you'll be only dealing with your insurance company so you should work it out with your adjuster.
Best of luck!
yeah i understand that i need the pre approval from my company. but also because this is someone else's fault why in the world would i ever have to pay for a dime when repairing the damage they caused? that seems legally incorrect