Deadlines to Submit Contents and Time to Replace Nebraska Mike Engelmeyer asked 3 weeks ago
Deadlines to Submit Contents and Time to Replace Nebraska

Tornado destroyed our house and most contents April 2024 and are on our fifth contents adjuster. The first contents adjuster said that we have one year to complete the inventory of contents. The fourth adjuster said we have a reasonable time to do this and said two years is reasonable. The fifth adjuster assigned this weekend seems to suggest that what the other adjusters said or did does not bind him. In a declared natural disaster area, are there any consumer protection rules in Nebraska that set a time frame to complete the contents submission? I am concerned that he will come back with a day that has already past and preclude us from submitted the balance of contents (approximately 50%) of the total.

One a similar theme, when it came time to submit receipts to recover depreciation the third adjuster provided an email granting an additional 180 days on top of the contracted 180 day period (for a total of 360 days). The fourth adjuster was good with this until last December whereby she said that any new claims would be limited to 180 days. In other words, the extension granted by her predecessor would no longer apply to new items submitted. Now the fifth adjuster said that no additional time is granted. For the contents that were initially processed last June and July, this leaves us without the ability to recover depreciation since we are now beyond the 180 day time constraint.

Thank you in advance of your insight.

1 Answers
Michael Stoycheff Michael Stoycheff Expert answered 2 weeks ago
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Hi Mike,

I am sorry you are working with so many adjusters and getting conflicting information from your carrier. Firstly, I suggest that (if you haven’t already) you should memorialize your previous conversations (date, time, topic and commitment by the carrier) and provide this in writing to your current adjuster. You should have the adjuster confirm their current position with regards to deadlines for content inventory submissions and depreciation recovery.

Secondly, the adjuster’s comments do not bind the carrier to coverage or lack thereof no matter what an adjuster says. The policy language trumps everything unless specific state statutes apply. In this case Nebraska Statute 20-205 states that claims for property damage must be brought within 5 years of the date of loss. Nebraska Statute 44-357 goes further in stating that insurance providers cannot limit this time frame below 5 years no matter what the policy states. Essentially state law allows for 5 years to submit your claim.

Additionally, I believe the reference to 180 days to submit a claim refers to potential policy provisions to submit a Proof of Loss. The policyholder should request a certified copy of their policy to refer for this provision and policy language. If the provision exists it is usually followed by language that states, the 180-day deadline only occurs after the carrier has made a written demand of request to receive the Proof of Loss. Policyholder can avoid this by submitting a Partial Proof of Loss if additional time is needed to complete an exhaustive inventory.