This all started with a puddle on the floor. My husband and I filed a claim with our homeowners insurance company about the water damage that was done to the wall. I have been blogging about each and every step in the claims process. Today, we got a fourth letter from the insurer. Here is what it said.
As I said, it started with a puddle on the floor. Since then, I have been blogging my way through the whole process that started when my husband and I filed a claim with our homeowners insurance company. Since then, the insurance company connected us with a repair company, who came over to look at the wall. We had three letters arrive, describing parts of the claims process.
We had a claims investigator come over and take a close look at the wall, the outside of the house, and the roof. He said our roof was fine. He noticed a small amount of wear and tear, but it didn’t seem to be the cause of the puddle on the floor. He calculated the cost of the repair work to the wall, and the repainting of the room, subtracted out our deductible, and wrote us a check for the remaining amount.
The check went into the bank. My husband called the repair company, but they said they needed something from the insurer before they could do the work. So, he called the insurer, who said that they don’t need to send anything to the repair company. We chose a different company instead, and are currently in the process of making arrangements for them to make the repairs.
Today, we got a fourth letter from the homeowners insurance company. It is a follow up from when the claims investigator was here. It says: “The following items that were settled at actual cash value were paneling and insulation”. We pretty much already knew that, but, it is still good to have it in writing.
The letter says that we can obtain additional estimates for the repair if we want to. We don’t feel a need to do that. The letter also reminds us of a provision in our policy. That provision reads:
“Suit Against Us. No action shall be brought against us unless there has been compliance with the policy provisions. The action must be started within one year after the date of loss or damage.”
It goes on to say that: “The one year period referred to begins to run as of the date of this letter”.
We have no intention of suing our insurer. They are telling us this information because the California Fair Claims Practices Regulations state that we must be notified of these things as it applies to our claim. This was the first page of the letter. I will go over the rest in an upcoming blog.
Image by Alec Perkins on Flickr