by elamin » Sat May 18, 2013 12:19 am
I inherited my mother's house after her death in October 2012. I completed all the necessary legal proceedings and I am the current owner of the house. I had affairs to settle with my place of employment which is located in another country. I traveled at the end of November and returned in May 2013. However, my niece and her family lived on the property until the middle of March of 2013. In addition, my uncle which is my next door neighbor was at the house daily. The house was not completely vacant, it is completely furnished, all utilities are on with bills paid monthly, including phone, dsl and cable. My niece moved from the property mid-March 2013. My uncle found on the morning of April 1 that many lawn and farm equipment items on been stolen the previous night with approximate value of more than 10,000 dollars. He immediately called the police. I contacted the insurance company from outside of the country and informed them I would be back home, but my uncle was there and had notified the police. I submitted an itemized list of the items taken to my insurance company when I returned home. The claims adjuster came out to visit the sight and later called to tell me that he was sorry but my claim had been rejected because of the vacancy clause in my policy. My uncle was at the house daily even before my niece moved. I live in Kentucky and my company is Kentucky Grower's Insurance. Is there anything I can do?
Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 08:55 pm Post Subject:
The vacancy provision in the policy normally requires that the property be unoccupied for 60-90 days, and this would certainly not be the case according to your timeline.
It is a violation of the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act to misrepresent a policy provision to an insured/claimant. Have you read your policy to know what the vacancy provision states?
You should contact the insurance company claims department and speak to a supervisor. Have them tell you under what provision the claim is being denied. You should have received this in writing already. Request a copy of the policy if you don't have one.
If you believe the insurance company is acting improperly, you can ask for a second adjuster to visit the claim. You can also file a complaint with the KY Department of Insurance. But it's best to make sure you know what the policy states before you make a complaint.
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