by christyhicks » Sat Mar 10, 2012 06:38 pm
i live in my motorhome full time, so it contains almost all of my possessions from clothing to electronics, dishes, etc. An auto repair facility accidently burnt my motorhome completely down, so now I have no spare clothing, a way to cook meals, or even a place to live. It is an older motorohome and there are no less than ten similar rv's listed for sale across the country, but all are listed for 2-3 times what a friend found for the Blue Book value, and I can find none for sale anywhere close to what he was told would be Blue Book, so am I forced to accept less than what it would take to buy the exact same unit? (i have recently replaced the tires, furnace, shower door, fridge, toilet, etc, so it is top notch condition.)
What should I be prepared to expect from the owner's business insurance company? At this point, they are not far enough along to be able to do anything (this happened Thursday evening). I'm staying in a motel and have to purchase everything from aspirin to shampoo out of my own funds.
What should the insurance company cover....will they want a list of every single item of clothing, wash cloth, fork, earring, etc? Should they cover my living expenses until a settlement is reached? What if they offer me less than I would need to replace the rig and my belongings? How soon should they be in communication with me concerning what they will or will not cover? Thank you.
What should I be prepared to expect from the owner's business insurance company? At this point, they are not far enough along to be able to do anything (this happened Thursday evening). I'm staying in a motel and have to purchase everything from aspirin to shampoo out of my own funds.
What should the insurance company cover....will they want a list of every single item of clothing, wash cloth, fork, earring, etc? Should they cover my living expenses until a settlement is reached? What if they offer me less than I would need to replace the rig and my belongings? How soon should they be in communication with me concerning what they will or will not cover? Thank you.
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 04:45 pm Post Subject:
Well, unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse....turns out that the shop had the cheapest "garage policy", which only covers the rig itself, not any of my contents.....basically, I can use my own insurance to cover $1,000 of my contents, and no one will pay for all of the rest of my personal belongings. My insurance has emergency coverage for up to $ 750.00 of living expenses, and they will have to sue for reimbursement from the garage policy, who won't even cover any of my living expenses! So, crazy as it sounds, someone can destroy my rig and all of my worldy possessions, (since I live fulltime in it), and I guess my only option is to stay in this location and sue them. How crazy is that?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 06:38 pm Post Subject:
People think they only way someone will ever pay for something is if they sue. Have you asked the garage is they are willing to pay for what they owe that their insurance won't cover? If they won't, then you can file suit... they will lose and you can attach your judgment and earn post judgement interest. That is, I see no reason why a shop with assets would not settle with you directly prior to filing suit.
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 07:55 pm Post Subject:
Well, of course I gave them the opportunity, but they pretty much just blew me off. . . and get this, the person who "sold" them their insurance policy is one of the owner's wife. . . so it's not like they can claim they didn't know they didn't have decent coverage. I think they probably assume that since I only spend three months down here each Winter, I won't bother to file suit. It's pretty sad really, that, after burning down my "home" i.e. motorhome and all my possessions, leaving me homeless and barely a few items of clothing, they are going to leave me hanging without even reimbursing my living expenses until the insurance settles at least the claim on the motorhome itself. Pretty sad.
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