by mrose36801 » Fri Apr 30, 2010 08:52 pm
My home burned down november 20, 2009. My husband and I were on a free vacation, that we had to take then, or lose the whole trip. We have cooperated fully with insurance company. I gave them all of the phone records, tax records and our vacation records that they asked for. We sat for an EUO on March 30, 2010. We still havent heard anything from them. The only reason they are harrassing us, is because of my past. I have 2 previous fires in the past 10 years and a home burglary. My husband is an exmarine and this was his first home. I told the insurance investigator, what happened each previous time and that I was not at fault on any of it. As I told them, I may be the most unlucky person alive, but I am not an arsonist. (I have been raped twice, beaten and strangled near to death, robbed at gun point, my 2 oldest children were kidnapped by my exhusband and my third child died.) I am pregnant now and was so at the time of the fire. This has caused me extreme stress and the doctor has had to put me on shots to keep the baby from coming early. I have contacted the Alabama Department of insurance, but have not heard back from them. We have even told our EUO lawyer, to just tell them to replace the house, so my baby will have a home. They dont even have to worry about my personal property. Still nothing. Also, forgot to mention, at the time of the fire, we had about $5000 a month coming in, with only $1200 a month in bills, so they can see we had no financial motive. I dont know what else to do. I feel like they are about to just deny it, since they are doing all of this. Should I go ahead and get a trial lawyer and just take them on to court? What should I do?
Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 06:35 am Post Subject:
I'm really shocked to know of what you're going through!
Still, I'd like to know a bit more about the causes of such fires. Also, please share the reasons why your home got burned in the past. It might take some time if your claim request has been passed on to a claims investigator.
Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 01:22 pm Post Subject:
First off, you are the most unlucky person in the world...sorry about that...geeze what a row you've had to hoe..
They HAVE to investigate a loss like this given your priors...There were red flags all over your claim, (on vacation, prior fire losses etc.). I'm not sure why it took them till the end of March to complete the EUO, but perhaps that was a scheduling issue
You say you contacted your states dept of ins. when and did you file a complaint at that time or just ask a question or two?
If they are going to deny you they have to do so in writing with the reason for the denial plainly indentified. What caused the fire? How long prior to the fire had you purchased this home? What did they say they were 'looking for' or what were the problems with the claim, (other than the obvious prior fires/theft)?
Yesterday was a month since your EUO. I'd give them a call monday and ask where they are on their investigation...If they cannot tell you then (and you have provided ALL the requested information), then I would contact your dept of ins and file a formal complaint.
Should I go ahead and get a trial lawyer and just take them on to court?
For what? you don't have a reason ... yet anyway...Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 01:34 pm Post Subject:
The first fire was in a 1964 mobile home with no underpinning. The fire marshall said it was animals chewing on the wires underneath the mobile home. The second one, have no clue. It happened at a time, that I owned an all black night club, and me being white, that pissed alot of people off. After the debris was cleaned up, the words "Nigger lover" were found on my drive way. Though they could not determine if it was there before or after the fire. This last one, was in an old mill house. The fire inspector told me that he suspects the wiring, because it had that old cloth covered wire in it dating back to the 1920's, but for right now he was listing it as undetermined. It is in investigations now. Which as soon as I found out about the fire, I knew it would be, given my past despite not having been involved in any of it. I certainly do not ask for all of the tradgedy I get. As far as the vacation goes, this was something I got almost 2 years prior, and we were about to lose it, if we did not take it by the end of 2009. The date we took it, was the only date available before the time ran out on it. I did file a complaint with the department of insurance, about 3 weeks ago. I have not heard back from them yet. Can the insurance company deny us, just based on my past? My son is due on June 23rd, all we have been wanting is to get the mess settled before then so we wouldnt have to worry with it after he is born. Is it even worth us trying to make an offer for settlement before then? Like I said we have money, we can replace our personal property, we just need a home. Would that be something most insurance companies might consider? To just replace the home and we save them about $50,000, by doing everything else ourselves? I appreciate what ever help y'all can give me.
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 07:30 pm Post Subject:
Can the insurance company deny us, just based on my past?
No, not unless you lied on the application for insurance and didn't disclose these prior losses if there were questions about them. .Is it even worth us trying to make an offer for settlement before then? Like I said we have money, we can replace our personal property, we just need a home. Would that be something most insurance companies might consider? To just replace the home and we save them about $50,000, by doing everything else ourselves?
No they either owe the entire claim and will pay it or nothing. Personally when people try to cut a giant chunk out of their claim, that's kind of a red flag too. I know you didn't mean it that way...and I know you didn't ask for all of this trouble. You have to 'try' to see if from their position, ie they don't know you from Adam, they get a total fire loss on someone with prior burns, and just happen to be out of town when it occurs...could be some other things too I don't know. But they 'have' to investigate these types of losses, and unfortunately they don't generally resolve themselves quickly.I'd contact your states DOI again, and ask how long they have to respond to your complaint (your carrier). Also other than your prior(s) did they give you any indication what the problems with the claim are?
I appreciate what ever help y'all can give me.
I'm sorry I'm not much more help. Let us know a couple of other things...When did you purchase this home? When did you take out the insurance? Was this the first and only policy on this home? When you did your EUO did they say when you should expect to hear more from them? Did or do they say they have ALL the information they need (now after the EUO), to complete their investigation? or Have they requested additional information?Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 06:40 pm Post Subject: Similar House Fire
Our home burned down in October of 2009 and it is now the end of June and no approval/denial!! We have been through the ringer of emotions. Our EUO was in February and it actually went really well, all of our finances were up to speed but they just keep requesting more financial docs each month and then we had to wait another month after each request. The red flags for us was that I am on unemployment and my husband was the only one in the house. Our village is starting to get annoyed with US because the house is just sitting there! Finally the insurance company has given us a 30 day semi-commitment for an approval/denial. To top it off I just recently found out we are pregnant too. I am thankful that it wasn't in the beginning of this whole mess because I think we would have lost the baby. It has been the most stressful 8 months of my entire life. I cannot believe these insurance companies get away with making insured wait this long for an answer. I mean even if it was a denial we would already be 6 to 7 months in the process of fighting for home and belongings back. We have just been in the most excruciating hold-position with is pure daily torture!
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 09:23 pm Post Subject:
I agree this is b.s....have you filed a complaint with your states dept of insurance? If not, do it NOW..most have complaint forms on line on their website..
There is NO reason I can imagine, that a denial or payment could not have been made within 3months, assuming you provided all info requested and cooperated. And by the way...yours are NOT redflags...
File that complaint, NOW...if they agree to pay it you might want to talk to an attorney about a bad faith claim, assuming you have been out money all of this time, I'd be your ALE limit is already exausted (assuming they pay the claim)..
What are they telling you is taking so long?
To top it off I just recently found out we are pregnant too.
That's TERRIFIC! :D CONGRATULATIONS! I know it's hard, but don't let the bad things in life taint this miracle...is this your first?Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:35 pm Post Subject:
They have just taken many avenues to try to find something we are late on or in trouble with financially. They hired a forensic accountant and that has been the latest hold up. We did get lawyers involved too because they made us feel like they KNEW we had something to do with it. Asking me "Why was my husband home alone when he was with you all day long until about 90 minutes before the fire occurred?" (my husband works nights and wanted to sleep for a few hours, which is partly why we got out of the house). So I have been told once lawyers get involved the process really slows down. Maybe that is why they basically interrogated us so that we would get lawyers and they could slow down payment? I do feel that the investigation was very suspect and the way they spoke with us was not according to the book.
Thanks for the congrats, this is our third and final child that we planned to have this year sometime but wanted to put it off until we were settled...God obviously had other plans:)
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:51 pm Post Subject:
So I have been told once lawyers get involved the process really slows down
This is true most of the time regardless of the the claim..can you say 'billable hour' ? haha, just kidding about that, but it really does slow the process most of the time. In your case, though, it doesn't appear this should've ever come to this.Maybe that is why they basically interrogated us so that we would get lawyers and they could slow down payment?
no, believe it or not, adjusters HATE this type of claim..we would just as soon pay it on day one and have it over with, (adjuster montra, "the ONLY good claim is a closed claim" :wink: ), so they wouldn't have wanted to slow it down...could partially be your particular carriers way of handling total burns...hard to say, but there was 'something' that threw up a red flag or two, that caused them to start digging...trouble is from your post doesn't appear that have found anything...You have NEVER had a prior fire/theft claim?I do feel that the investigation was very suspect and the way they spoke with us was not according to the book.
From the limited information I have I would have to agree with you...Thanks for the congrats, this is our third and final child that we planned to have this year sometime but wanted to put it off until we were settled...God obviously had other plans:)
Any one that doesn't think the Good Lord has a sense of humor, just doesn't know Him :wink:Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:52 am Post Subject:
no, believe it or not, adjusters HATE this type of claim..
I second this. It only complicates things further, not saying that in some cases hiring one is important-but it's been my experiance that when one is involved, the claim takes twice as long to pay out. I have an auto accident claim I am working on right now. The company who hired me, has an insured who is being repped, and she is the at-fault driver. :roll:
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:32 pm Post Subject:
No, we have never had a prior theft claim, prior fire claim, nothing odd at all. Recently we have been hearing more chatter of it wrapping up real soon but each day is one too many. To top it off, today I get a call on June 30th that July 15th we need to be out of the current home that our insurance is renting. The landlord goes to AZ from Nov to Mar and wants to rent it out to people that can stay the entire winter so that they would not have to travel back here to re-rent it in the winter. Nobody, not one single person, the landlord, the expense company or my insurance made us aware of this until now! They said they were in negotiations to keep us here at this house but the landlord can't budge. I still think we should have been notified that this was an issue and they were working on it. Now the expense company has to find a new house and we have to pack up and change homes again. The funny thing is my insurance company is one of the most reputable insurance companies, if not thee most reputable insurance company. It has just been a slap in the face since week one.
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