Posted on 07/27/2010 8:30:58 PM PDT by mplsconservative
siding back on the. When the crew was here, they noticed a lower ding on the siding and asked me if I wanted to have it caulked. I said yes (husband wasn't home) and it was no big deal as it's hidden behind the AC unit and behind a shrub. No one ever sees that area. Well, the insurance adjuster did.
To boil it down, he said they would only pay to reside the front and back of the house as the caulk job showed we will accept some damage. The problem is our siding is likely discontinued. It will have to come out of pocket to re-side the north and south side of our home to make it match.
The contractor says it's BS. Of course, I realize he wants to make a profit, but this just seems like getting dinged by the insurance company. Ideas, opinions anyone? I need advice. The insurance company is AAA.
Thanks. I just want “normal” again, if that makes sense. :)
AAA first sgreed to full replacement residing and then to front and back only. So the siding is available and not the problem.
In my experience, it’s not unusual at all, even for reputable insurance companies to low ball their first offer. I’ve had them cave simply when I said no to their first offer.
On my last claim, big hail had wrecked a very expensive wood shake roof. They did some kind of song and dance about there not being enough dings per square foot or some such, and I made them come back and pointed out other damaged parts of the roof they had failed to consider. They relented, but were still trying to low ball me on other issues, and I refused their first couple of offers. Bottom line, they caved and did everything they should have in the first place, and I got a new $30,000 replacement roof, though I chose to go with steel for the replacement, rather than wood shakes again. And this was from State Farm, one of the more reputable companies.
Thank you for your reply, nmh. I am not trying to “get” anything out of this damage.
I will take your advice and call them in the morning.
The siding availability is the problem.
Many adjusters really do try to get the amount as low as possible. I had some fairly minor damage to my cars bumper, fender etc.
The adjuster found the lowest price in his town for each of the jobs done separately. He then added them up. I went by a local auto body shop and asked what he thought. He said the adjuster was way off. He said no shop would have done it for that. I called the guy who hit me’s insurance company and to my surprise they let me get a local shop to get an estimate. They then paid for it.
Must chime in and scream dito.
Hire a local for the work and things will work out better.
Exactly. We don't have the funds to pay for residing the north and south sides to make it match, around 6 grand. So one little caulked hole negates the reside?
I have a good friend who had hail damage to a window and siding on one side of their house this spring.
The insurance company agreed to replace the window and all the siding on the damaged side, even though the siding damage was only confined to a few pieces and the window. The replaced siding was not an exact match, but she said it was close enough and since it was only on one whole side of the house, it wasn’t that noticeable.
That is the problem exactly. The insurance agent said if we were accepting caulk as a fix five years ago, that we would accept just repairing the front and back of our home. The north and south side to make it match had to come out of our pocket. Stinks!
I’m glad your friend came out A-okay. We had HUGE hail. My home and gardens were toast.
It looked like fall in July. People, were raking leaves, huge piles of leaves.
I've been an auto damage appraiser for over 20 years, I've never heard of that kind of slease. That guy was a real dirt bag. It costs what it costs to properly repair a car, anyone who pulls that kind of nonsense should be run out of the industry, they give those of us who do it right a bad rap.
Contact your state’s consumer protection office at the Department of Insurance. They should be able to explain your options and offer help.
This happened to us. Our siding was discontinued (aluminum) and the insurer wanted to use vinyl on two sides of the house. I said no way and they finally gave in. I compared it to having a car with one door painted a different color.
A neighbor did go ahead and get vinyl on one side only of his house. If you look you can tell, but most people don’t examine siding that carefully, except maybe when buying!
Don’t allow the insurance agent to purposefully decrease the value of your home.
Try to find out who made your vinyl siding. Just about any kind of siding has some type of warranty. The warranty may not cover the cost of labor, but might give you replacement siding at no cost to you.
I will take your advice and call them in the morning.
I know you're not and apologize if I implied anything like that. Please let us know how you make out. I hope any advice given here, helps you!
Best of luck with your dilemma. I do work occasionally for AAA in our state and I was looking again at their guidelines. It does indicate that a full replacement should be considered for unavailable siding.
I would go back to the adjuster and request that he take a siding sample. The fact that you know to ask should cause him to rethink his position.
If he balks, you can always get proactive in checking the siding. They will send the sample to a company called ITEL. You can go to their website, itelinc.com and request an order form and do it yourself.
Again, worst case scenario is that you reach an impasse and ask to go to appraisal. You will spend a few hundred dollars to pay the cost of the mediator, but that is much better than $6k for siding. Also, claims rarely get to that stage as they are usually resolved before that is necessary.
My husband has been dealing with AAA, and our case has been referred to four different people. Nice way to shuffle the deck, cretins. Latest guy tried to tell us we had to pay for the two sides that wouldn't match the other two sides. When he asked which state we were in (Minnesota) he said he guesses we are in for a total reside.
Frickin' nuts! My issues - Get on it. We are not that far away from snow season. I do not want a compromised roof a month from now. Geesh! The Minnesota Insurance Board only takes complaints "in writing."
Get outta here!
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