Posted on 08/28/2011 4:38:07 PM PDT by no gnu taxes
A huge pecan tree got blown over during Irene. And it fell on our house. Luckily no one was hurt.
I can't seem to get a straight answer from the insurance company at this point as to exactly what they will cover. Looking at my policy, it only says they will pay up to $500 for tree "removal" if it is blown over during a storm. That's not much even for a small tree, and this tree is gigantic. However, there's going to have to be a large portion of this tree cut away before the damage can even be assessed. They can't tell me if this is part of the home repairs or not.
I'm not equipped to cut this tree up myself, and I need to know what they will pay a tree service before I make agreements.
The other problem is the tree also fell on the power line leading into the house, and knocked it all the way to the ground. I called the electric office and told them that when the power was restored, this was an obvious safety hazard. Their answer just seemed to be to disconnect the power line at the house, but it still seemed connected at the pole. Now, it probably isn't energized, as it would be arcing all over the place. But they aren't going to do anything else until we have that tree chopped up enough to free the power line, and I am reluctant to have anyone go near that line. But until we do that, I guess it's just no electricity.
They had to bring in two cranes to lift the tree and chop it up and then repair the garage roof.
The insurance adjuster was not happy but the tree had all sorts of energy stored as the branches had bent as they fell against the house and it was dangerous to cut it with all that stored energy.
Down here in Florida the insurance companies have pushed through a 10% deductible for Hurricanes. 10% of your homes value.
Storm surge qualifies as flooding, so you’d better have flood insurance.
Have you had the insurance adjuster view the damage in person?
My father was an attorney in South Alabama representing one of those evil insurance companies. After Frederick they had cases of contractors filing damage claims on houses that had barely had product delivered to the job site. Natural disasters seem to bring out the worst in people. It isn’t right and it isn’t fair but there is a reason that insurance companies have evolved into such assholes. Problem is they need to move back to the center.
I've been told that might take as long as a month.
Good luck and prayers for a quick and fair resolution.
Good luck. Make sure you pay after and not before getting work done. The storm area will soon be saturated by crooks who want some money up front and then never come back to do the work.
ARound here. if a tree falls on a power line the power company removes it.
They probably send you a bill, I don’t honestly know has my power lines in my mobile home park are under ground.
The person you are talking to now is probably Joe Schmo off the street working his 4 day gig as an insurance “notice of first loss” phone person. He knows nothing and is not allowed to say what he thinks. You will not get any answers until the adjuster shows up.
Some adjusters hand you a check, others have to process it.
They are instructed to say “Take pictures. If you must for safety concerns do any work before the adjuster comes out, take pictures before and after. Call your personal agent for any questions about your policy or coverages”.
Good advice..
A course to consider would be to photograph everything, ask the power company to restore the private secondary line and restore temporary service — this would take an electrical contractor on your end. The power company line clearance team may cut the tree and not remove it.
Then get a tree removal company to take the remains and call a local contractor to secure the house for later repair — get someone local rather than a traveling crew.
The insurance company should say to do what you need to do to safely prevent further damage. Obviously if that means getting rid of a tree to cover a hole in your house then have it done and battle them later.
If the damage you experienced is typical for your area the power company will not send power to your line until the receptacle at your roof/mains is repaired.
You can deduct what your insurance doesn’t cover from your taxes, depending on how you calculate your loss. Don’t expect your insurance company to tell you everything about what you can recover. You will need to do some research on your own here. If you are in a declared disaster zone, there may be low-cost or no-cost services provided to everyone in the community.
I live in Florida, so your laws may vary, but here’s what I learned:
Made my first mortgage payment April 1st.
April 4th we had bad storms come through and a microburst snapped the top 1/3rd off my neighbor’s red maple and dropped it on my garage roof/across the driveway.
We happened to be awake when it happened because the little dog goes apeshit during storms. Couldn’t see the extent of the damage in the dark, so I went back to bed.
Our cars were trapped in the garage, so I got a ride to work from a co-worker and borrowed my boss’s car to go to Walmart and buy a chainsaw. Cut up the tree branches laying across the driveway/blocking the garage door to free the cars. Was VERY CAREFUL to avoid cutting any of the tree branches that supported what was on the house. Green trees weigh a LOT more than you might think.
That afternoon I got up on my roof and learned there was indeed a puncture in the decking. Called two roofing companies for quotes to ensure it would exceed my deductible.
In Florida if the tree is alive it is considered an ‘act of nature’, and thereby my insurance was responsible. If the tree had been dead it would have been the neighbor’s responsibility (he’s since cut the tree down and planted a new sapling).
One of the roofers who came for the estimate accepted my offer of two hundred dollars to cut the tree off the house. I knew I had no business on the roof with a chainsaw myself, so it was worth the money to obviate the risk. He also installed ‘titanium’ (not sure if that was a brand or the actual metal in the foil) patches over the four punctures to prevent any water damage while we awaited repairs.
The adjuster came two days later and we made sure to place repeated calls to the insurance company to see if he had turned in his report. Both the adjuster and the claims agent pressured me to supply quotes, but I refused, and patiently and firmly reminded them that is their job, not mine.
In the end the adjuster filed a report for over $3,200, netting us $2,200 after the deductible. Because the amount of the claim was over $2,500 we had to have the mortgage company co-sign the check, which meant another week of waiting after the check arrived from the insurance company.
The adjuster’s itemized list included items like dumpster rental, etc. and well exceeded the quotes I had gathered (1,200 and 1,500 respectively).
Had I provided them my own quotes we would have been well out of pocket to cover the chainsaw, the limb removal, and the roof repair after the deductible. As it came out, we didn’t come out of pocket to cover any of it.
A huge pecan tree might be of some interest to a lumber mill in your area. It’s pretty nice wood for furniture etc.
After Ike we had a visit from a FEMA adjuster - a temp imported from Iowa who was helping out. Started talking about our needing to get hurricane proof shingles for the roof. Had a huge palm tree that was listing badly and only a matter of time before it fell taking the fences of three homes with it. Since it hadn’t fallen, he wouldn’t even make a note about its condition on his report.
The men who cut up the tree should be capable of doing that without getting zapped by the downed wire. That is a reasonable expectation. Just tell them what you know about the wire - that the electric company turned it off at the pole but that’s all you know. They should know what that means.
You can get multiple bids on removing the tree but you have to pay up front and then the insurance company will give you what they want to give you when you submit your receipt. Make out a damage claim right away. The walnut wood might be worth something to whoever you hire or to someone who wants to come and get it.
It’s a major pain. Sorry you have to deal with this.
Have cash if you see a Power truck.
Call a “local” contractor to help out. They’ll know a tree service and how to deal with the insurance company. Take steps to use a contractor you are familiar with or has a verifiable history. Beware of wanna be contractors and fly by night storm chasers from a thousand miles away.
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