Home Owners Claim. Which Agent is the Smartest??

[lifeagent007]

Hey guys I was hoping I could get some advice regarding a claim I have filed with Grange insurance. I had a sewer/drain backup in my home that started in the bathroom but spilled out into the hall, across to another bedroom, soaked through drywall into a 2nd bedroom. It damaged tons of clothes, and other personal items most mine and some of the gf's. roughly half of the carpet was soaked.

I do have a sewer/drain backup rider on this policy

My questions are...

-How is Grange as a company regarding claims?
-Do they resolve quickly and fairly or do they drag their feet and lowball offers?

-Will they replace all the carpet or only the half that was soaked?

-I now have mold growing where the drywall was soaked with the sewer water even though the emergency team put in a dehumidifier and fans blowing through the affected area. only days after the seepage, will they cover the mold remediation because it was caused by the backup?

-My drop down ceiling also collapsed a few hours after the emergency clean up crew/plumber came to my house. I think it may have been humid/moist air. It could have also been a plumber/clean up crew poking around because my water pipes were just above. Or a combination of the both.

I don't want to make 2 separate claims so should i just forget the drop down ceiling and worry about the obvious water damage or should i talk to the appraiser about the ceiling as well?

I'm sorry about the lengthy post but i'm so stressed thinking about when the appraiser comes.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated


Thank you in advance

Lifeagent007

 

[hesse]

Most W/S coverage is a sublimit. What do you have for coverage on the W/S backup?

 

[djs]

I haven't dealt with Grange so I can't answer that part, but....

The good news is you don't have mold, you have mildew. You can wipe it off with soap and water. If you have mold, its caused by something else, it doesn't happen this fast from water though.

Sewer / drain backup? Don't use this term with the carrier, let them make this determination. An overflowing toilet is not usually sewer drain backup. Sewer backup is when the city sewer system is backing up into your house and it represents something of a catastrophic failure somewhere.

Drop down ceiling - if you can connect the dots on why this fell due to some water on the floor, then include it. If it was falling already, then just buy the panels and put them in and don't worry about it. Talk to the appraiser about it, he'll let you know what to do. Don't file a second claim though, you will pay more in the long run for the ceiling than just replacing it.

Dan

 

[lifeagent007]

Most W/S coverage is a sublimit. What do you have for coverage on the W/S backup?

I have a 25K limit.

And it backed up from a drain not the toilet. ( I Don't know if that makes a difference)(what should I call that if not sewer/drain backup?)


Also I have had a mold guy come and look and confirm its mold.

I don't know if my case is the exception? Is there any reason you guys would think that from Thursday till Monday is not enough time to grow mold? The drywall was submerged in poop water for 24-36 hours.
(I'm no expert obviously)

And yes I will not be making a second claim but if the dropdown is included in the same claim that's what I'm hoping for.

Thanks guys for the help

 

[djs]

Call it a clogged drain till someone tells you otherwise.

Mildew is a form of mold, but its usually not a problem. Problem is, if you have standing water for any length of time, it can turn into a form of mold that can cause problems.

Mold isn't always covered, so you need to be careful of this.

Do you know what caused the drain to backup? If it really is sewer backup, then by all means, just call it that. On the other hand, if its a clogged drain and one drain flooded into another, avoid calling it sewer backup.

If it was soaking for over 24 hours, has someone cut the bottom of the drywall to let the 2x4's inside dryout? Not sure if its always needed, but it can help with future problems if the water was deep enough.

Dan

 

[maxherr]

As someone else said, you probably don't have mold, despite what the "mold expert" reported to you. Whose best interest does he have in mind?

If you now have visible mold following this event, you had mold prior to it. And if that is so, it probably will not be covered. Most HO and Renter's policies began excluding mold nearly 10 years ago. But, like everything else, when it comes to insurance, you have a contract and you need to read it, in order to know what your coverage is and what exclusions there are.

I am an expert at reading insurance contracts, but I don't have a copy of yours so I cannot guess what will or will not be covered by your insurance company. But, with some level of confidence, I can say that you are not likely to get your whole home/apartment recarpeted courtesy of your insurance company.

Why not? Because the whole carpet was not damaged. You are entitled to repair or replacement of certain damaged items with items of like kind and quality. You may or may not be able to match the existing carpet with new, and it would be your choice (and your expense) to replace the undamaged portions with new carpet so that everything matches.

As for how to word your claim -- sewer back up or clogged drain -- that's really a call for the insurance company to make. What was done to mitigate the cause of the water problem? Did you have a drain line snaked out, or did someone have to hydrojet the main sewer line? That's really the answer to the question.

As long as you have the coverage, it really doesn't matter. It's different than something negligent like overflowing the bathtub or the kitchen sink which would be covered under a different portion of the policy.

But unless you live in a multi-story dwelling, and the water descended from level two to level one, I'm at a loss to understand how "It damaged tons of clothes, and other personal items most mine and some of the gf's." Were the clothes stored on the floor? Just how much water/sewage are we talking about? That part of your claim assertion seems a bit over the top to me.

And unless your "gf" is a named insured on your policy, her losses will not be covered, so don't even think about making a claim for those things under your own name, or for the tons of clothes you claim were damaged (that assertion needs to be carefully evaluated), because that's insurance fraud, and you could go to prison for something stupid like that.

Insurance will cover legitimate losses. Insurance does not exist to put you in better condition than you would have been in on your own. This is a BIG difference that some convicted felons have learned.