ComplaintsforEast Coast Public Adjusters, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am making a compliant about an insurance claim that we made in 2019 or 2020. The pipe to our kitchen sink broke and flooded the interior of our home. Naturally, when I filed a claim against my homeowner's insurance policy, I used a public adjuster thinking this would result in a faster resolution to our claim.When the Public Adjuster listed all of the damages, in our claim, to my homeowner's insurance company, they claimed that my kitchen cabinets were damaged to the extent that they required replacement. However, this was not true since the only damage suffered to our kitchen cabinets was that a sheet of laminated plastic that had come loose and required to be replaced and re-glued back into place where the old piece had come off.Naturally, the insurance company wanted to make sure that we had made the necessary repairs to my home, which we did, but when they asked to see photographs confirming the replacement of our kitchen cabinets we were completely caught off guard.Because the Public Adjuster made this claim, and that we were not aware that we were required to replace our kitchen cabinets, we have not been able to secure a new homeowner's insurance policy in any market. This has put us into a situation where the mortgage company put "a force placed" insurance policy on our home, which only covers the value of our mortgage balance and not the entire value of the residence. Furthermore, the "force placed insurance" is dramatically more expensive than our original homeowner's insurance policy and we are living on a "fixed income".As a senior citizen we feel we were completely taken advantage of in this matter.

  Business response

  02/22/2023

  The first thing I'd like to say is that we are very sorry that our client, Ms. Commonas is suffering through this situation, however it is of no fault of the Public Adjuster.  The only estimate that is considered when applying for new insurance and is subject for certain repairs to be completed, is that of the insurance company.   The insurance company inspected the property and acknowledged that the kitchen cabinetry was damaged at the time of loss and allocated for this in their estimate attached to this complaint. 

  It should also be noted, that Ms. Commonas' policy at the time of the loss, had a coverage limit of $10,000 for any damage when the *** (Managed Repair Program) is not selected.  *** is when an insurance company sends a preferred contractor to do the repairs for you, versus giving you a check and allowing you to do them yourself.  What that means is that no matter what the insurance company's estimate of damage is for, which in her case was $15,076.14; the maximum money they will pay per the policy provisions, is $10,000.  Ms. Commonas opted for payment instead of ***, and received the full $10,000. 

  When an insurance company pays a homeowner for damages, it is the homeowners obligation to make the repairs that were allocated for in the payment.  When repairs are NOT done to the areas listed in the report, this can pose a problem when trying to obtain any kind of insurance.  It's the insurance company's report that is shared with the mortgage company and used as a checklist for home inspectors, not the public adjuster's report. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩