[USER]

Any advice for dealing with a major homeowners insurance claim? We had a ginormous tree crash into our house in a recent storm and completely demolish two of our bedrooms (thankfully, we were out of town).

This is our first time dealing with such a large claim/issue, and there’s damage throughout much of our house (water damage, structural damage, etc.)

We’ll likely be out of our house for months while they do the work. Any advice from those that have experience with this?

(Also open to ideas on how to maximize things like accumulating hotel points since we’ll be staying in a hotel for awhile!)

[Jennifer]

#1 priority for me would be prevent mold damage….. hire an expert in mold specifically who can make sure the work is done right to prevent mold damage from the initial rain, or additional mold damage from ongoing water exposure.

If there’s a wet area that gets overlooked and moldy, and you fix right over it, it will make people sick and the house will be worthless in the end.

[Kristy]

I own a restoration company. Your insurance company will pay for ALE (additional living expenses) which include hotel/short term apartment so you don’t have to use your points.

If you’re in a hotel, you should get a food allowance as well.

Get a reputable restoration company! Ask around, check out reviews – you DO NOT have to use a company on the “insurance company vendor list”!!!

There are a lot of restoration companies that will take MONTHS for large losses because they like to take on a lot of jobs and only work sporadically on each one.

[Endri]

One more reason why I don’t want to buy a home. Happy with my apartment. It also happened to one of the owners of my company, albeit the damage was less.

Their insurance went up like crazy after.

[Wiswell]

Your insurance policy should cover your alternative housing. You do not need to live in a hotel room.

Most policies will cover your rental for a similar rental to what you’re living in.

[Svetlana]

I feel very sorry for you. Based on my experience with two tree damages, this can fairly qualify as a major life stress event.

Be prepared to wait and be patient: everything would take 2-3 times longer than you expect.

Plan on not being able to come back to your house within a year.

The insurance would have to pay for a similar size of housing for you, so don’t go to an extended stay hotel where you won’t be comfortable to live for months

In addition to the advice above, I highly recommend starting looking for a therapist ASAP.

In my experience the most difficult part was to find an honest and experienced contractor who is willing to work with home insurances.

Those who agree, may not work with every insurance (there is a “black” list that includes Allstate and a couple of other large companies who consulted with McKinsey).

So, start looking for a contractor asap (I wouldn’t use contractors the insurance provide, unless the repairs are very simple, which is apparently not your case)

Good luck!

[Adam]

I would suggest a well educated contractor or a public adjuster straight out the gate.

The name of the game is to:
Secure family livelihood.(policy may cover airbnb/hotel type costs)
Immediately shop for tree removal/tarping everything.

Safely itemized/picture all damaged belongings.

PA/Engineer on standby(research,call)
The first thing homeowners forget about is that WE have to prove our loss, force the carrier to disprove your claim or pay per policy limits/exclusion.

If you are overloaded emotionally, it’ll be worth a Public Adjuster. Policy dependent. State dependent. This is not legal advice.

I’m very sorry you’re going through this!

I hope this can get to rebuild stage asap. You all have this!!

[Andi]

Do you know what your coverage says about ALE coverage? Some policies, it’s a fixed amount, and others pay based on a percentage of the claim formula.

You’ll run out of coverage staying in hotels quickly.

Make sure you get a complete scope of work to be performed, and don’t be afraid to push back to make sure they’re repairing to equal quality when you’re done.

As far as your contents go, you need to be very specific with what you lost. Brand, condition, etc.

I had a house fire in 2020 when a fire started at my neighbor’s townhouse and spread to mine and 2 others. After repairs were done, I decided to sell and move.

I didn’t realize getting insurance for my next home would be so difficult.

Even though the HOA insurance paid for the rebuild and the fire didn’t start because of me, insurance companies kept rejecting me.

It stays on your record for 5 years.

Be careful!

[Deborah]

Oh my! Haven’t been through this, but here’s what I would do:
I would consider the following steps:

1) TONS of pictures and videos

2) tree removal company- best if they have an arborist to ensure the tree wasn’t already damaged (so your insurance can’t argue you “should have” had the tree removed before this)

3) roofing company to tarp the gap. They will likely need some bracing across the gap like plywood for the tarps, but still enable additional rain to run off.

4) contact flood damage specialists to help get in dryers and prevent mold damage

5) figure out how you will track your expenses. You’ll need to stay on top of this for insurance reimbursement. Get invoices for everything.

The tree appears to have landed on (and possibly compromised) the ceiling/floor between the floors.

Don’t be surprised if the insurance company declares the house a total loss.

The structural engineers report will be essential in determining this.

With the roofing, framing, electrical, hvac, plumbing, drywall, water damage remediation, contents, etc, I would ballpark at least $250k+ (LCOL area) plus your temporary housing, your time off work to manage the project, so it all depends how the repair costs are to the rebuilding costs and process.

Haven’t been through this, but that’s how I would approach it. Hopefully you have a good insurance company. Even so, you may have to really fight to get made whole again.

Good luck!

[Sunny]

Take pictures of everything Even your belongings. Hopefully you paid for replacement value. Otherwise, expect to shell out of pocket anywhere from 20-30%.

Get 3 quotes.

Get insurance company to send out company to at least cover up the area from more rain damage.

[Stephanie]

If you’re staying at a chain hotel, depending on the chain, it might make sense to get a new credit card…

Hilton’s AmEx can give you Diamond status (I think the card is like $500-600) but if it’s a Hilton with an executive lounge that could be worth it.

If not, their lower card could give gold which I think would give free breakfast.

But it really depends on the hotel you’d be staying at and what the hotel includes or which amenities are there.

[Jayne]

We had a tree fall on our house; no damage to interior but new roof and siding. In hindsight sight, I wish I would have set up an email address for this.

There will be so many correspondence from various people it would have been nice to not have it intermingled in our family email.

[Paul]

I had a tree come down on my house two years ago. Not nearly as much damage though.

I wound up with a public adjuster. I was with him while he did his work.

He worked hard to itemize every conceivable bit of damage and later told me that he is paid based on the size of the claim.

His incentives are aligned with me rather than the insurance company.

[Joyce]

My sister actually found an airBnB in their town instead of staying in a hotel.

Cheaper for the insurance company and more stable (with full kitchen) for the family.

[Kelly]

It’s a full time
Job to get reimbursed. I would see if it’s worth paying an attorney tbh to deal with the insurance trying

To cut corners. I have close friends this happened to and it
Was at least 3 years getting it settled with rounds and rounds of stressful calls

Rotated between adjusters etc.

[Author]

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