I have lost everything to a home fire .

[EOTH2011]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NH


Three weeks ago My manufactured home caught fire and we lost everything , we were lucky that it happened during the day when nobody was there. That same day I did contact my Insurance Company and filed a claim. The next day (friday) we recieved a phone call from an adjuster saying they would be there on the following Monday, We had the building secured, and left everything as the Fire Department left it.

Monday showed up and the Adjuster did show, He seemed new to us , but then again the whole procedure is new to us. But I did mention to my husband that this man seemed new , as he stated he had never seen a fire do as much damage as what he was witnessing. Ive seen worse in the Manufactured Home Community that I live in , But ok.

Two days later we recieved a call from our Insurance Co reviewing some information , and they stated they were sending us some money for living expenses a couple thousand to start with , to date we havent seen it , she also stated that it would be a couple of weeks before we heard back from them and this Tommorrow will be two weeks.


Going back to that First Week, On thursday night we recieved a call from another adjuster saying he was comming out on Friday to do an inspection , which he did , was there and gone in about twenty minutes,


SO thats the background.

I am currently in a hotel room with my family and small dog and dont know if I am supposed to find an apartment , and not having much luck doing so , no one wants to rent short term ,

How long does this process normally take ,

And shouldnt I have recieved mail , or at least that check they talked about before now?

What about the debri field still left on my land?


ALot of questions on my mind,

 

[FlyingRon]

You should call back the insurer, especially if they promised you something that hasn't happened.
Also make sure they know how to get mail to wherever you are now.

You should bring up the issue of getting the site cleaned up/secured. That's usually something they'll take care of separate from paying you to replace your home and covered contents.

 

[csi7]

Also request an advocate from a local services agency to help you while you recover from this loss.

 

[EOTH2011]

Also request an advocate from a local services agency to help you while you recover from this loss.

I dont mean to sound stupid, Advocate?

We had been told to look into a NH Public Adjuster , from what I understand , they take a commission , which is not out of the question , but was waiting for any type of information back , before making that leap.

Is an Advocate the same idea?

 

[EOTH2011]

Also, I just recieved a call from the responding fire department, and they asked for Insurance Information , and Tax information , apparently they were supposed to get that on the day it happened, however when we went to the station after, the fire fighter we talked to said they remanded the house back to us. SO we figured they were all set.

This is all confusing to say the least.

 

[ecmst12]

I think a public adjuster would be a very good thing for you. And definitely call your adjuster at the insurance company to tell them you haven't received the check he promised you.

 

[EOTH2011]

Update, So I recieved a call from Ins Co last week and they had been waiting for FD papers, so we did get them and fax them over, and also ended up getting a check for the 2 grand , they misunderstood, NOW we get a phone call today that they didnt like the adjuster they sent over the monday after the fire , and are sending another one over . we wont hear back from them til at least friday now. i am on week 4 in the hotel

 

[mmmagique]

Update, So I recieved a call from Ins Co last week and they had been waiting for FD papers, so we did get them and fax them over, and also ended up getting a check for the 2 grand , they misunderstood, NOW we get a phone call today that they didnt like the adjuster they sent over the monday after the fire , and are sending another one over . we wont hear back from them til at least friday now. i am on week 4 in the hotel

They didn't "like" the adjuster? Does your contract say they have to like him/her? Do you know who the first adjuster was? If so, I'd contact them and see what they said. It sounds to me like your insurance company is adjuster shopping. (looking to find the one that says what they want to hear.)

 

[cbg]

I used to work for a hotel and we would occasionally have "long term stays" when people had suffered a fire, a tree falling on their roof, or some such calamity.

I don't want to alarm you, but the shortest stay of that sort that I remember was three months.

I don't know how fast your insurance company can put things together, or how much availability there is for short term housing where you are. But I suspect you should just relax and accept that you are likely in for a long hotel stay.

 

[EOTH2011]

They didn't "like" the adjuster? Does your contract say they have to like him/her? Do you know who the first adjuster was? If so, I'd contact them and see what they said. It sounds to me like your insurance company is adjuster shopping. (looking to find the one that says what they want to hear.)

They stated he was sloppy. I didnt tell them I thought he was an idiot when he showed up and asked me if the place was totaled , I turned around and asked him , Isnt that why your here?

Or -

When he asked why it stated it was three bedroom and he could only find one, and I had to point out , the walls were gone.

 

[EOTH2011]

I used to work for a hotel and we would occasionally have "long term stays" when people had suffered a fire, a tree falling on their roof, or some such calamity.

I don't want to alarm you, but the shortest stay of that sort that I remember was three months.

I don't know how fast your insurance company can put things together, or how much availability there is for short term housing where you are. But I suspect you should just relax and accept that you are likely in for a long hotel stay.

Id relax a little better if it wasnt A) Comming out of my pocket right now.
B) New England.

 

[EOTH2011]

Id relax a little better if it wasnt A) Comming out of my pocket right now.
B) New England.

Explanation for Dummies please anyone:

NH RSA CHAPTER 407,SECTION 11

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Congratulations on maintaining a logical perspective during your time of calamity. It shows true character.

 

[EOTH2011]

Congratulations on maintaining a logical perspective during your time of calamity. It shows true character.

Thank you , I think , I am just trying to learn as much as I can . I am a Rookie.

 

[justalayman]

Explanation for Dummies please anyone:

NH RSA CHAPTER 407,SECTION 11

this one?

407:11 Policy Value

Last revised 1959 § 1 Comment

I. If a building insured for a specified amount, whether under a separate policy or under a policy also covering other buildings, is totally destroyed by fire or lightning without criminal fault on the part of the insured or his assignee, the sum for which such building is insured shall be taken to be the value of the insured’s interest therein unless overinsurance thereon was fraudulently obtained.

II. If an insured building is only partially destroyed by fire or lightning, the insured shall be entitled to the actual loss sustained not exceeding the sum insured.

III. Nothing contained in paragraphs I and II of this section shall be construed as prohibiting the use of coinsurance, or agreed amount.

IV. When a building is insured not for a specified amount but under a blanket form with one amount covering 2 or more buildings or one or more buildings and personal property, the provisions of paragraph I of this section shall not apply.

I: if there is a specified amount stated for coverage of the building, if you are not criminally liable (basically intentionally set the fire), and the building it totaled, the value of the building is considered to be the value of the policy. in other words; you didn't set the fire, the building is not repairable; you get the stated coverage amount of the building coverage regardless of whether the building is actually worth more or less UNLESS you fraudulently obtained the over the true value numbers. In other words, if I have a building actually worth $50k and I obtain documents stating it is really worth $100k and name that number as the value, I don't get that $100k because I deceived the insurer into stating the value as $100k.

II: if the building it not totalled, you get the actual loss up to the amount of the policy limits (for building coverage)

III: applies if there is another policy involved. Is there? If not, rather not get into that one.

IV: if the policy does not state a value to the structure AND it covers at least 2 buildings OR 1 or more building PLUS personal property, sections I and II don't apply. Basically, in I and II the building has a stated value and the payout for building damage is limited by that sum. For IV, there is no stated value to the building but simply a policy limit. That limit is the limiting factor of the payout.

examples:

in I, the building is valued at $100k in the policy declaration. You may or may not have other coverage for personal property, liability, etc. If the building it totalled, you get $100,000 for the building, period

in II, same thing with the numbers. Your payout is actual damages to the building up to the $100,000 sum

IV: the building is not given a value so, if your policy is $250,000 and it covers the building and personal property, regardless where the damage is calculated from (building loss or personal property), you can get up to $250,000. That means if the house now costs $150,000 to replace, in I and II you would get only $100,000 (or in II, the damages up to $100,000). With IV, you will get the $150,000. Additionally, you can also have up to $100,000 additional for damage to another building or personal property (depending what your policy actually covers). Or, if you only have $5000 damage to the building, you would have up to $245,000 available to claim for damage to a second building or personal property (depending on what your policy covers)

make any sense? If not, ask.