Hi, I have kind of an unusual situation, and I’d like to know how best to approach it. My insurance company drafted an initial estimate for repairs that was, let’s say, $50,000. My contractor then drafted an estimate for repairs that was double the initial estimate – let’s say $100,000. The insurance company approved the contractor’s dollar amount and sent me a revised estimate. However, this revised estimate simply says “per contract” instead of listing a number for many of the line items. Furthermore, the items are not listed the same way they are in the contractor’s estimate.
For example, the contractor’s estimate says something like “tear out/rebuild kitchen cabinets – $20,000,” while the insurance estimate says “kitchen counters – per contract, kitchen cabinets – per contract,” etc. It lists multiple, slightly different items. As a result, I can’t even tell exactly what is covered or what the amount is for many of the items.
This has become especially relevant because I need to be able to calculate the total amounts. The insurance company recently claimed that everything had been paid, despite still owing me tens of thousands of dollars on this claim. It took me over an hour on the phone with them to straighten it out, and now I don’t trust their bookkeeping.
Is there a way to determine what the “per contract” amounts actually are? Is this standard practice for the final version of an estimate? Who can I speak with or escalate this issue to?
