...* USA - Hurricane Matthews - welcome guidance on Insurance claim criteria

[BBL]

Hello TRF
Barely able to launch internet... sustained major wind/tree damage to home property due to Matthew. Roof tarped several places after fallen trees removed from roof, deck, siding. Exterior and interior restorations required. Possibly $100,000; maybe more.
Have insurance.
Deductible $10,000+++
Adjuster been here but returning to measure roof, etc.
Hints on best possible outcome with insurance support are welcome.
Thank you,
BBL

[Dr.Brian]

The best thing you can do now is contact some repair guys to get in line. The delays after one of these storms/events can be unbearable due to the backlog. When my part of San Diego was destroyed by wild fires burning up the canyons several years ago, there were people out of their homes for over a year. Almost 300 homes burned in my community, some areas lost the entire neighborhood. When my buddy saw the inevitable he called his architect and a couple of their recommended rebuild experts. He was one of the first in line. We got lucky and it didn't burn up into the canyon we lived on. We were also out of town so we would have lost everything, including the irreplaceables that you would never leave behind. Our dogs had to be evacuated to a local shelter.
Good luck with the repairs. It sounds like you did ok though.

[keschete]

We have been through this. It isn't pleasant. I had about 14k in damage for Gustav and arranged to be 1st on the roof list by paying cash. I basically told the adjuster that I was getting the roof and if he wasn't there I would have lots of pictures. Well he showed up, said I didn't need a whole roof, depreciated everything down to my 10K deductible and we paid to get a new roof and my husband fixed the fence. We stayed home during the hurricane and mitigated our loss by tarping inside the attic as the storm went on, otherwise I would have had water damage throughout because of wet insulation.

I would expect less than you need. Kick, scream, fight the insurance. Pictures of everything! They will depreciate everything and you will likely be dealing with a contracted Catastrophe adjuster who may not actually work directly for your insurance company. His job is to cut the insurance companies losses. You can also file supplemental claims along the way if you find more damage than originally estimated.

[locutus49]

My wife's mother had catastrophic damage to her condo (flooded by the unit above), and my wife had to fight Liberty Mutual tooth and nail for every single object and structure that was supposedly covered. It was a nightmare.

The insurance companies' job is to pay you as little as possible, and they count on people giving up the fight.

Originally Posted by keschete

We have been through this. It isn't pleasant. I had about 14k in damage for Gustav and arranged to be 1st on the roof list by paying cash. I basically told the adjuster that I was getting the roof and if he wasn't there I would have lots of pictures. Well he showed up, said I didn't need a whole roof, depreciated everything down to my 10K deductible and we paid to get a new roof and my husband fixed the fence. We stayed home during the hurricane and mitigated our loss by tarping inside the attic as the storm went on, otherwise I would have had water damage throughout because of wet insulation.

I would expect less than you need. Kick, scream, fight the insurance. Pictures of everything! They will depreciate everything and you will likely be dealing with a contracted Catastrophe adjuster who may not actually work directly for your insurance company. His job is to cut the insurance companies losses. You can also file supplemental claims along the way if you find more damage than originally estimated.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by keschete

We have been through this. It isn't pleasant. I had about 14k in damage for Gustav and arranged to be 1st on the roof list by paying cash. I basically told the adjuster that I was getting the roof and if he wasn't there I would have lots of pictures. Well he showed up, said I didn't need a whole roof, depreciated everything down to my 10K deductible and we paid to get a new roof and my husband fixed the fence. We stayed home during the hurricane and mitigated our loss by tarping inside the attic as the storm went on, otherwise I would have had water damage throughout because of wet insulation.

I would expect less than you need. Kick, scream, fight the insurance. Pictures of everything! They will depreciate everything and you will likely be dealing with a contracted Catastrophe adjuster who may not actually work directly for your insurance company. His job is to cut the insurance companies losses. You can also file supplemental claims along the way if you find more damage than originally estimated.

I had massive hail damage from a huge storm in western Nebraska 15 years ago. A lot of people were impacted. The roof was shredded and the windows were all broken. Farmers insurance rejected the claim because the description of flashing around the dormers didn't match their paperwork, and called it an unsafe modification.

It was all BS and Farmers trying not to pay anything. I had to pay for repairs while my lawyer sorted out Farmers. Farmers eventually paid barely enough to cover the materials, I was out of pocket over half the cost of repairs.

[mailman]

I'd look/ask around for a Claim Solution company. One that will go to bat for the you against the insurance company and do the repairs you need.

[BBL]

THANK YOU EVERYBODY!
I really appreciate every one of you replying to my pitiful request for help. My first very major, major weather related loss. I, too, have had hail damage years ago that destroyed 2 sides and roof, windows of the house, and it was a fight to the end for insurance replacement, as several of you indicated.

I did not evacuate for Matthew. The memory of assaults on the house and then the gigantic pines hitting the house, is hopefully a hurricane nightmare I will never experience again. The biggest pine that caused the widespread destruction weighed about 10 tons according to the crew/crane working to remove it. For the life of me, I do not understand how the house did not slice in half.

Just lost my beloved spouse 50 days ago, so this is almost unbearable. But shall survive, with God's will.

Blessings to all who responded and who care.
DM