can insurance companys tell you what contractors to use?

Looking for help here , to explain my bad luck here it is back in 98 we had a new metal roof put on the house just plain jane galvinized roofing well this last april we had a tornado come through and had damage done to the 4 stall grage the house roof and about 8 windows along with some trees in our yard ok we got estimates from 4 local contractors and turned them in to the insurance company house roof is that was damaged (onl;y one side of roof) is apoxx,

1800 sq feet and garage is 2700 total . since they are only doing have the house roof with replacement cost they only want to pay for matierals , i checked the cost with lowes ,menards and home depot all adverage about the same menards total for all materials and dielivery was right at 3890.00 for everything ,lowes was 3930.00,and home depot was right at 4000.00 not including tax on any of them all 4 contractors put a estimate right at 8300.00 to 8500.00 for the house and 2300. all for the garage. this was all done april of 2006 since then the roof has been leaking and windows have been leafing since and doing more damage , carpet drapes big screen tv ceiling tiles not to menion what unseen damage is done to rafters in side the walls window headers or anything else

we have been calling the agent almost every day trying to get this done finally got aletter from them telling us this one forgot to tell the other one that it needed looked at so both agents thought it was done now we have more damage and getting a screwin

we just want our house fixed and done right , we had already committed to one contractor and wanted to get started right way but he finally back out after the insurance company declined his open bid help please anyone wolfman44

Reply to
wolfman44
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No, they cannot tell you which contractor to use. What they can do is offer you "X" dollars, which they will claim (accurately or not) is an adequate amount of money to cover the repairs for which they are responsible. That amount may or may not be sufficient to hire the contractor you would like to use. The question you really face is whether the amount they offer is adequate to hire a competent contractor, who might be less expensive than your favorite contractor but is still capable of performing the work to a reasonable standard.. If the insurance doesn't offer enough money to hire a mid-priced contractor, you should call your state insurance commissioner.

Reply to
Kyle Boatright

Hi, Name of insurance company? Your agent? Maybe time to talk to your laywer?

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi, Isn't there such thing as current value replacement? Whatever it costs they have to pay for it minus deductible. When my sun room got bombed by hail storm, I had two estimate done, insurance adjuster came out and inspected the damage and we were told to have it fixed by contractor of our choice. I told one, it's his job if deductible is waved, he did. We got new roof with better improved material, did not cost us anything.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

I had a similar situation, with idiot adjusters ETC. A storm with straight line winds @ 100 mph dropped a cottonwood on our workshop (40 X60) destroying the metal roof, and dropping several other trees tearing down our fence freeing the live stock. A child adjuster came by and suggested we cover the shop roof with plastic (roll eyes). We messed with them for about 2 weeks while rain pored on our equipment including an engine partly torn apart. We did a little research and found the number for the home office and gave them a call which got us a senior adjuster on site. Then the contractor hassles began, but in the end it is better than it was, but we ate a lot of damage to contents.

Reply to
Eric in North TX

As a contractor that does a lot of insurance work, I can give you my experiences. The insurance company cannot tell you which company to use, but they can require that the one you use has all of their insurance up to date and all required licenses for the jurisdiction. They must get permits when required, and fulfill all inspection requirements.

You mention that they turned down companies with "open" estimates. I have always been required to submit line item estimates for approval. The insurance company reviews the estimate, submits any refusals or changes and I have the choice of arguing with them or accepting the changes. I argue and win quite often. Finally, when an agreeable total is reached, the insurance company will release the job to me. During the course of the job, when/if unanticipated work comes up, I will file an addendum to the insurance company. This also has to be negotiated and approved by the insurance company. When I am finished, I must submit lien releases to get paid.

Use anyone you want, but it is in your best interests to hire a contractor that is experienced in dealing with insurance companies. It can save you money, or get more work done than they originally agreed to pay for. The contractor will not be surprised by the paperwork involved, either. The paperwork alone can be quite time consuming. I build it into my costs.

Reply to
Robert Allison

Tony Hwang posted for all of us...

That is insurance fraud! So why don't you STFU with your stupid stories that mean nothing to anyone except your little fantasy world.

Reply to
Tekkie®

Eric in North TX posted for all of us...

You failed to mitigate damages; should have said to adjuster "Get the plastic guy out"

Reply to
Tekkie®

=?iso-8859-15?Q?Tekkie=AE?= wrote in news:mo2dnaVB0MFw9YXYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Stay away from State Farm. They suck. My mother-in-law paid into State Farm for 30 years (home and auto policies) and never had ONE claim. Storm comes, blows away some of the shingles on her tiny house and the plywood gets wet. I've heard that some ins. co's will cut you a check for a new roof or at least part of it because of storm damage to roofs. Granted most of the damage is from time itself and not so much from the storms/weather. The asshole adjuster says: "hire someone to replace the shingles; should only cost a few hundred, less than your deductable, have a nice day!" I think after paying tens of thousands of dollars into an insurance company, they should have cut her a $1500 check (all it'd be to reshingle her house). Assholes.

Reply to
grappletech

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