Michele Shea Geist asked 3 weeks ago Hello. I appreciate your help.
At the direction of our adjuster, I have used ALE Solutions for our temporary housing and some other items. I requested a copy of the invoice. The adjuster is refusing. This was paid out of my benefit. Is this appropriate? Legal?
Jeff Major Expert answered 2 weeks ago Hi Michele,
The relationship between ALE Solutions and carriers can appear to be troublesome but typically is not. ALE Solutions and other housing companies do charge fees to the insurance company for finding and/or administrating housing rentals. You can assume that there are fees paid to the housing company, but should only be concerned when those fees reduce your insurance coverage for housing. For example, if you have a housing limit of 80,000 and you are renting a place for 4,000/mo. you basically have coverage for 20 months of housing rental. In this scenario you should have enough coverage to have your claim settled and enough time to rebuild. If the housing company is charging a fee of 500/mo. and the housing company fees are charged to your coverage, your 80,000 limit would be exhausted in about 17.5 months.
It is most likely that the housing fee is being charged to the insurance companies claim expense which does not limit your coverage.
The questions you should ask are:
What is my housing limit?
What is the balance left under that coverage?
Are the fees for ALE Solutions being paid out of my coverage or the insurance companies claims expense?
Asking these questions should get you answers that help you better understand the fee structure and its impact on your coverage. You can also review UP’s recovery information for Kansas consumers, which you can find here
Best, Jeff