by Guest » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:03 pm
My apartment got gutted during Hurricane Ike. Luckily, I had renters insurance :)
My apartment management was able to find another apartment for me after 2 weeks. For the 2 week duration, I stayed at a friends place since most hotels in Houston were completely sold out following the Hurricane.
My question is - will the loss of use coverage in my insurance pay my friend for the time that I was at his place?
Can I get a receipt from my friend showing that I stayed at his place and a charge of say $30 per day?
I would like to pay my friend if my insurance will reimburse me.
My apartment management was able to find another apartment for me after 2 weeks. For the 2 week duration, I stayed at a friends place since most hotels in Houston were completely sold out following the Hurricane.
My question is - will the loss of use coverage in my insurance pay my friend for the time that I was at his place?
Can I get a receipt from my friend showing that I stayed at his place and a charge of say $30 per day?
I would like to pay my friend if my insurance will reimburse me.
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 03:00 pm Post Subject: Loss of use for renters insurance - post Ike
Thanks for the help everyone.
I requested my Nationwide adjuster to reimburse my friend for 14 days stay but my adjuster did not pay for my stay at my friends place. He called his boss to clarify the policy and told me that in Texas, he cannot reimburse me for staying at someone's place.
It has to be a hotel bill :(
Athough, I told him that it was far cheaper and convenient for me to stay at friends place.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 06:59 am Post Subject:
Hey mm_ike, what I could gather from internet regarding loss of use payment in Texas, it seems that in Texas you can collect upto 20% of the coverage amount as living expenses if you're forced to evacuate the house. Unfortunately it hasn't mentioned anything regarding staying in hotels can only qualify for the compensations.
I'd suggest you to read the policy document carefully in order to understand the clause of loss of use. The standard homeowners policy offers coverage for staying away from home regardless its being the hotel, rented apartment or relative's and friend's home. However, if you have non-standardized Texas policy you may not receive all the standard coverage offered by the homeowners' plans.
~Jeremy
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 02:45 pm Post Subject: thanks
Thank you all for your useful replies and expert opinions. I talked to my insurance adjuster and after talking to his boss, he gladly reimbursed my friend for staying at their place after Hurricane Ike in Houston.
I am so happy that I had renters insurance. I've been telling all of my friends to get renters insurance as a safety for those unfortunate times in life.
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 02:50 pm Post Subject:
Excellent news! I knew if you just talked to them, they would see the logic and take care of things.
It's all about communication. Talk to your agent, ask questions.
Knowledge is power.
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 01:31 am Post Subject:
That really is good news mm ike. It sometimes takes something bad to happen for us to relize just how import having insurance really is. Thankfully you already had this covered by having renters insurance. I think it is great that you are passing the word around to your friends about the importance of insurance. They will probaly thank you for this someday.
Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 08:26 pm Post Subject:
Hi. I'm new here and I have a question. If this isn't the proper venue for asking, please excuse me.
My mother lives in Houston. She is medically compromised in that she is required to be on oxygen 24 hours a day for severe COPD. When Ike hit, she lost power like everyone else. Thankfully, she had very minimal damage to her property - fence blew down, tree limbs downed, etc. But no damage to her house. But because her oxygen machine is electric, she could not stay there until her power was restored. She has loss of use in her homeowners policy, but the adjuster said it would only cover her living expenses if her house was damaged to the point of being unlivable. I understand that rationale but in her case, the lack of electricity made her home unlivable for 2 weeks because she requires oxygen. Is this something she can dispute?
Thanks for your time.
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 08:04 am Post Subject:
Man if I was the adjuster on this one, I would have fought for ALE coverage for this one. Would I be wrong, sure.... but I would have still fought for it.
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 09:43 am Post Subject:
I think the best way to know your options is by reading the policy document. You need to read the definition of ‘loss of use’ along with the exclusions. Have you received the denial in written? If its not in their letter head, the claim is still open for negotiation.
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 09:48 am Post Subject:
Das, I too think on the humanitarian ground the insurance company should acknowledge the additional living expenses claim on this. What would you suggest to the poster in this regard? Does she have any chance? If so, how would she proceed?
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 01:10 am Post Subject:
I know that in most policies that I have read, there has to be sudden and accidental direct physical loss to the dwelling for ALE to kick in, or damage to neighboring property that is a covered peril. Both would have to make the home uninhabitable. The key word that companies stick to is “direct physical damage”. In this case there seems to be no direct physical damage, but it can’t hurt to push the issue.
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