Insurance Complaints

In December, 2010 we had an upstairs toilet overflow and run for over 3 hours. It flooded the master bathroom, and then made it’s way downstairs where it destroyed our kitchen, and finally into the finished basement where the ceiling collapsed and pooled 3 inches of water.

After a cleanup service gutted the kitchen, ripped up carpeting and had drying equipment running for a week, we began to file our claims with Selective (with whom we have a $1M homeowners policy). We got estimates from two reputable contractors who both assessed the damage repair at between $65-75,000.

After a visit from Selective’s adjuster and their contractor, however, I was informed that their estimate for damage was only $28,000! I received a 9 page breakdown from this “independent” contractor that was filled with errors, ridiculous estimates for labor time and replacement costs for materials that haven’t been seen that low since the 1980s. After a meeting between all parties, my contractor proceeded to point out the numerous errors in the Selective estimate. Even after the contractor brought out several corrections that needed to be made (including the fact that the estimate overlooked work that needed to be done), I received a “final offer” from Selective of just over $41,000, still far short of the cost of replacement and restoration.

All this time, they continued to ask for more and more proof of costs that my contractor had estimated, without ever proving where or how I would be able to buy materials or get laborers to work for the costs of Selective’s estimate. We had informed them that we had been to 6 different kitchen builders and the lowest estimate we found for equal quality kitchen cabinets had been $20,000, with a highest estimate of $34,000 which even we dismissed as too high. However, Selective insists that their assessed replacement costs for our custom cabinets is $8500, because that is what their contractor’s computer program says they cost. Notice they have no actual physical establishment where these cabinets can be purchased, and this is the quote they are sticking with.

After more stalling, I finally got my contractor to send them a line-by-line refutation of their estimate, which they promised to review. After not hearing anything from them again for over 3 weeks of delay, I was informed that they had invoked the appraisal clause and now have to find another independent appraiser and go through at least another 20-35 days of fighting to get my house restoration complete.

This has been nothing but 8 months of stalling, ridiculous lowball estimates, telling me I should buy replacements for personal items lost on eBay to save money, and stonewalling and providing estimates without any backup proof- and all the while making my contractor constantly revise and detail every aspect of his estimate.

WARNING: crossword clue – 9 letter word for “selective” — NIGHTMARE

Submitted By: SMB

Location: Wyckoff, NJ