I had a house fire while on vacation. The fire department got to my home and contained the fire to the top floor and the attic of my home, but the fire department had to bust in my front door and water damage and smoke damage was through out my entire home. Water was through the ceiling of my first floor. I called and reported it to my insurance agent/company while the fire trucks were still at my home (ADT alerted me of the fire). 4 days later my insurance company contacted me and told me I needed to contact ServPro to come to my home to dry my home out (I have never experienced anything like this so I followed their instructions). Now I live in a rather large home on many acres. By the time the adjuster showed up and ServPro my home had been sitting out there unlocked and power cut for 5 days with windows wide open. Fire Marshal stated one more minute and they would not have been able to stop my entire house from going up in flames. So the adjuster tells me its you will be out of your home for at least 10 to 12 months so you need to find a place to rent/lease. Bring me a lease agreement and I will give you a check to cover it. So, I have many hunting hounds on my property that have to be fed and watered daily, I have no running water, no electricity, and I was in a crunch to find something that can accommodate my life style. I find a home about the size of mine–4000sqft, already has dog pens, big metal shed for my tractor and ATVs, landlord agrees to amount to lease it to me for a year but it has to be paid upfront because it is their fall house, and they will take care of all utilities, all maintenance, everything. The amount I will be paying will cover cost of satellite tv, cable tv, cleaning supplies to be kept stocked, dry cleaning to be picked up once a week, etc. So I agree. It takes up to the complete limit of ALE in my policy. I sign the lease, landlord signs the lease, three witnesses sign the lease. I take the lease to the adjuster and he sends me a letter denying me a check for the lease amount because it’s more that what the average home in my area rents for. Any guidance you can give me with this issue. This insurance company has really done me wrong. I have never had a claim. Three weeks before my fire they illegally cancelled my policy. I received a notice in the mail and when I called and asked what was going on they said whoops we made a mistake please send the refund back.
Bobby asked 3 years ago 1 Answers
Dear Bobby,
Your ALE coverage will depend on your policy, so be sure to read your policy carefully to understand your coverage. Generally, you are entitled to a similar home, but not necessarily the average priced home. You can look at listings for properties similar to yours and share the listings with your adjuster. You can also ask your adjuster to share listings, and come up with a fair price for a lease based on mutual agreement of what is paid in your area. Good luck!
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