i recently, well, 5 months ago recently, filed a claim with my insurance company.
the reason, my house is over 40 years old and has cast iron dranage pipes and galvanized water pipes. they are corroded to the point sewage and water are impeded.
the insurance companys first response was denial. they stayed on the subject of the pipes and are not responsible for normal wear and tear, and they are correct.
there are some majic words you have to utter to get their attention.
i didnt ask, i told them, they are responsible to damage to my house to access the pipes. info i had gotten from another person with the same problem. they relented, and sent out an adjuster.
well, when the adjuster was finnished, i had to laugh. the price he came up with to dig up all the pipes in my house, then repair all the damage was less than half of what any respectable contractor would want. so i got a couple contractor estamates. they wouldnt budge.
so, off to professional help. my choices? a laywer and sue for breach of contract, and or bad faith or an independant adjuster who knows the majic language to use to get them to ponie up the money.
either one will cost about 30 percent of what ever is paid, the lawsuit will tie up the process for 1 to 2 years however.
so i choose the independant adjuster. i hire a snake to talk to the snakes.
in the end, the insurance company will pay 100 percent of the claim. i, however, will only get about 70 percent of the claim, the adjuster will get the rest. using licenced contractors, something i insist on, i will end up paying about 10 to 15 percent of the cost out of my pocket. the only way to pay nothing is to use unlicenced help, or do it myself.
so, im ok with paying a bit. i can afford it.
i get the check, and my bank is listed as a payee as well as myself. bo biggie, right? wrong. they keep the check and put it in an escrow account and give me a third. i get another third when the entire job is at 50 percent complete and the rest when it is 100 percent complete.
well, being the plumber bill will take up the entire first third and leave nothing for the contractor, the money is locked up at the bank collecting interest for them FOREVER.
so, being a person of means, i take out a loan on my house and pay for the work myself, and use the escrow money to pay off the loan as it is ponied up by the bank.
my point?
you hear all these headlines about insurance companies dealing with fraud, and how the evil policy holders try to ***** them forcing them to make laws to protect themselves, but you NEVER hear the other side of the story.
if i was making an average income, there is no way in hell the work would be completed with the system the insurance comnpany usses. people taking the money and not making repairs? how about people never getting enough money to make the repairs to begine with and walking away from their house with the insurance company check for half of their loss?
who protects the people from the insurance comapnies?
the republican government that allows insurance comapnies to seperate flood damage caused by a hurricane from the wind damage that left thousands of people in florida and new orleans without any coverage when their house was destroyed?
laywers who pocked a good 30 to 40 percent of YOUR money?
independant adjusters who do the same?
the problems we have with insurance companies are caused by their own practices. independant adjusters are a direct result of their practices. layers who specialize in sueing insurance companies are a direct result of their practice.
and yet, the government allows them to pass laws that ***** PEOPLE in the name of big bussiness. no one is holding the insurance industry accountable to the people.
solution? a government insurance company. put the bastards out of bussiness all together, or force them to deal fairly with the people they insure. it would eliminate most insurance realted lawsuits, wipe out the indelpendant adjuster trade, and make sure consumer and bank property is protected. probably drive down rates significantly also.
currently, im only a few weeks away from finnishing my problem, and only because i can afford to pay for it myself.
the other 80 percent of you....are screwed.
my advise? if you have an insurance claim on anything but an auto, hire a professional from the start. it will save you a couple months of jumping through pointless hoops twice.
and for those of you who scam insurance companies? if your going to steal, steal from a thief.
my insurance company is Florida Select. the insurance comapny regulated by the state of Florida as the insurance company of last resort. a gang of thives regulated by hired thugs.
we REALLY need another tea party in this country. our government has run amuk. we are a bunch of sheep being watched over by a pack of wolves, being slowly culled for their dinning delights.
there is no fixing it. we have to start over.