Posted: 9/6/2014 10:56:33 PM EDT
| So I had a tree in my yard, it was at least 40' tall and it broke about 10' up and hit the neighbors house put a bowling ball size hole in the roof, took out a window, the fence and then trashed their landscaping, oh yeah and it snapped a tree that was living beside it in half on its ways down. Damn cedar elms. The tree was rotting on the inside due to a hole that had formed and water seeped in and killed it, otherwise it looked perfectly healthy. my insurance co says they'll only cover the cost of 1/2 the value of the fence based on it's depreciated value (not replacement costs) and $500 per tree for removal costs, which is crazy because the trees cost me $3k to have chopped up and hauled off. My question is this: has anybody had experience with these kind of claims? Can I get them to pay more than they stated after I pay the deductible? It seems like I have to negotiate with them which I have not ever had to do with an INS co before. Needing pointers here. Thanks in advance. |
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A lot of this will depend on the policy that you have, and they can differ a lot from one company to another. (I spent last July and this July shopping insurance coverages, and I've looked at a ton of policies.) For the trees, most of the policies don't cover much in the way of tree removal. $500 is around what most of the policies that I looked at covered. For the fence, your policy could either be replacement cost or actual cash value, but not both. Replacement cost increases your premium payment, so most generic policies only offer actual cash value because most people only look at the premium number when they buy insurance. Another factor that sometimes influences fence replacement coverage is whether or not the fence connects to your house. If it doesn't connect to the house, some policies won't cover it. Read your policy really well before getting on the phone. I absolutely hate and despise talking on the phone to customer-non-service, so I do as much as I can before I break down and call. (Also, I'm sad that you had it hauled away. Firewood...   ) |
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Fences:
Wood fences are normally actual cash value for replacement. - i.e. replacement cost minus depreciation based on age. Another problem with fences is ownership. Did you put pay to have the fence put up? (meaning it is solely owned by you?) or was it there when the house was built? (perhaps meaning it is co-owned with your neighbor) Your insurance is only going to cover your interest in the fence. You did not mention if the fence can be repaired, or if it needs to be replaced. If only some sections the fence are damaged, its possible you can get the repairs covered with no depreciation. This depends on whether there is betterment involved with the repairs. - i.e. is the fence in better condition now than before the damage. Trees: Technically, trees are not covered for wind damage. What is covered is removal of that portion of the tree which has damaged coverage A property. -i.e. the part that is on your fence or the house. Your policy should pay the reasonable expenses to remove the tree from covered property. - it pays for this because you have to remove the tree to be able to fix the fence (covered property). The $500.00 mentioned sounds like the limit allowed to remove the tree from your property. -i.e. to haul it off. The part of the tree that is still standing is not covered under the policy for removal. - so they will not pay for that One tip is get the company that removed the tree to separate out what they charged to remove the tree from the fence and to haul it off. If the haul-off exceeds the $500.00 limit, you may get your insurance company to absorb the excess amount from your deductible. Is the insurance company handling this over the phone? or is an adjuster coming out? |
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Quoted: Fences: Wood fences are normally actual cash value for replacement. - i.e. replacement cost minus depreciation based on age. Another problem with fences is ownership. Did you put pay to have the fence put up? (meaning it is solely owned by you?) or was it there when the house was built? (perhaps meaning it is co-owned with your neighbor) Your insurance is only going to cover your interest in the fence. You did not mention if the fence can be repaired, or if it needs to be replaced. If only some sections the fence are damaged, its possible you can get the repairs covered with no depreciation. This depends on whether there is betterment involved with the repairs. - i.e. is the fence in better condition now than before the damage. Trees: Technically, trees are not covered for wind damage. What is covered is removal of that portion of the tree which has damaged coverage A property. -i.e. the part that is on your fence or the house. Your policy should pay the reasonable expenses to remove the tree from covered property. - it pays for this because you have to remove the tree to be able to fix the fence (covered property). The $500.00 mentioned sounds like the limit allowed to remove the tree from your property. -i.e. to haul it off. The part of the tree that is still standing is not covered under the policy for removal. - so they will not pay for that One tip is get the company that removed the tree to separate out what they charged to remove the tree from the fence and to haul it off. If the haul-off exceeds the $500.00 limit, you may get your insurance company to absorb the excess amount from your deductible. Is the insurance company handling this over the phone? or is an adjuster coming out? wshbrngr sums it up pretty well. Most policies are standard when it comes to trees removal and the amount they will pay. Fences are almost always valued on an ACV basis. Even when the policy has replacement costs on the policy, fences usually are ACV. Did the neighbor pay for any of the fence between you? If you can somehow prove you incurred the entire expense of the fence maybe adjuster can allow more via 100% ownership. You can always request another adjuster, the next one may be more lenient, or they may not. Just depends. How many trees did you have cut down and hauled away? $3000 is lot for tree removal 2-3 trees IMO |
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Quoted:
wshbrngr sums it up pretty well. Most policies are standard when it comes to trees removal and the amount they will pay. Fences are almost always valued on an ACV basis. Even when the policy has replacement costs on the policy, fences usually are ACV. Did the neighbor pay for any of the fence between you? If you can somehow prove you incurred the entire expense of the fence maybe adjuster can allow more via 100% ownership. You can always request another adjuster, the next one may be more lenient, or they may not. Just depends. How many trees did you have cut down and hauled away? $3000 is lot for tree removal 2-3 trees IMO Quoted:
Quoted:
Fences: Wood fences are normally actual cash value for replacement. - i.e. replacement cost minus depreciation based on age. Another problem with fences is ownership. Did you put pay to have the fence put up? (meaning it is solely owned by you?) or was it there when the house was built? (perhaps meaning it is co-owned with your neighbor) Your insurance is only going to cover your interest in the fence. You did not mention if the fence can be repaired, or if it needs to be replaced. If only some sections the fence are damaged, its possible you can get the repairs covered with no depreciation. This depends on whether there is betterment involved with the repairs. - i.e. is the fence in better condition now than before the damage. Trees: Technically, trees are not covered for wind damage. What is covered is removal of that portion of the tree which has damaged coverage A property. -i.e. the part that is on your fence or the house. Your policy should pay the reasonable expenses to remove the tree from covered property. - it pays for this because you have to remove the tree to be able to fix the fence (covered property). The $500.00 mentioned sounds like the limit allowed to remove the tree from your property. -i.e. to haul it off. The part of the tree that is still standing is not covered under the policy for removal. - so they will not pay for that One tip is get the company that removed the tree to separate out what they charged to remove the tree from the fence and to haul it off. If the haul-off exceeds the $500.00 limit, you may get your insurance company to absorb the excess amount from your deductible. Is the insurance company handling this over the phone? or is an adjuster coming out? wshbrngr sums it up pretty well. Most policies are standard when it comes to trees removal and the amount they will pay. Fences are almost always valued on an ACV basis. Even when the policy has replacement costs on the policy, fences usually are ACV. Did the neighbor pay for any of the fence between you? If you can somehow prove you incurred the entire expense of the fence maybe adjuster can allow more via 100% ownership. You can always request another adjuster, the next one may be more lenient, or they may not. Just depends. How many trees did you have cut down and hauled away? $3000 is lot for tree removal 2-3 trees IMO In Texas, wood fences are normally ACV, others (chain link, vinyl) are usually replacement cost. and from his limited description, I am thinking he had the entire tree removed and it sounds like there are access issues, or they needed some extra equipment to get it down without hitting anything. - that would increase the costs, depending what they had to do. |
