Question about a homeowners insurance claim.....dispute?

Question

We had a hail storm where the north side of our house, which has vinyl siding, was damaged quite a bit and the west side in a few places. The insurance adjuster came out and wants to replace the north side with new siding and wrote in enough $ for labor to take the pieces that aren't broken on the north side and replace the bad pieces on the west side. I've talked to several people who said there was a good chance that the vinyl would crack when we took it off and put it on the other side AND my main concern is the siding is 10 years old. It has faded and the north side is not going to match the other sides. My house is insured with 4 matching sides and they're asking me to patch it together with used parts and it won't match then. What should I do? Also, they are holding 50% of the total they are paying until after we have the work done so it will be money out of our pocket until we get the receipts in. How can they do this and do I have any recourse?

Answer 1

get a writen statement from the siding company stating what they told you and take it to the adjuster

Answer 2

Every Homeowners policy I have seen has a clause that requires "direct physical damage" before an item would be replaced. That's the biggest problem you will face in trying to get all sides replaced even though all sides didn't suffer "direct physical damage."

The depreciation hold back is standard procedure and legal. (I can't comment on whether the 50% is a legit amount or not) You can confirm that through the Insurance Commissioners Office in your state.

I have no clue what state you are in, but for most of the homeowners claims I handle we have the insurance company pay the hold back once we have a known contractor send us a bill telling us the damages have been repaired then the insurance company issues a joint check to the policyholder and contractor. That way the policyholder doesn't have to pay out of pocket (except the deductible).

Good Luck

Answer 3

That is the way the policy is written, if not damaged the carrier owes nothing.  Also they held depreciation back which is legal.  Your contractor should be able to wait for the rest.  If he  cannot then find a contractor who will work with you on this.  If the vinyl cracks it is your problem.  Don't blame the installer unless you are watching when it happens and he is an idiot.  Old vinyl does crack sometimes even when you take your time.

Answer 4

Well, IF the vinyl cracks, you go after the guy that cracked it!!  

Most homeowners policies do NOT pay for four sides matching.  They pay for the damaged side.  AFter all, you can't LOOK at all four sides at the same time.

That 50% is normal.  They want to make sure you're going to get the work done.  It's probably written into your policy.  If you don't want to do it that way, then the insurance company HAS to make the check payable to you and your mortgagee, jointly.  It's just very, very difficult to get the mortgagee to sign off on the check, and give it back to you to cash - they'll want to put it against the principle on your loan.  THIS is the easiest way.  

Any reputable contractor should be willing to wait for the other half.

Answer 5

Sounds like your ins. co. is doing it properly.

They don't owe you to match faded siding.