Our renter policy... homeowner taking advantage.

[babyonboard]

What is the name of your state? KS
We recently had an accident in the home we are renting and our renter's policy is going to cover the damage. The homeowner got an estimate from someone he knows well and our insurance accepted the estimate without having to get other estimates. As the renter, we decided to get our own estimate anyway, but allowed the homeowner to turn in his to the insurance company since he felt comfortable with the contracter and when I first spoke with our insurance company they didn't seem to have a problem with the amount.
They have started work now and come to find out... the homeowner has actually UPGRADED the damaged items (and if you are wondering if the exact same items can be replaced... the answer in absolutely) and is now benefiting from our accident and our insurance company. I thought insurance was to help you restore the damage to how it was before the accident... not upgrade it with better materials. I am so angry and feel like a fool and feel like the homeowner is taking advantage of us and defrauding our insurance company. BTW, our estimate was about $2000 less.
I feel like it is out of our hands now, but what should I do because I don't think this homeowner should be able to get away with this. Should I tell our insurance company?
TIA

 

[alnorth]

At this point, after accepting the estimate and starting work, your insurance company is almost certainly not going to change their mind and reduce the claim. You are correct that they shouldnt pay to "upgrade" the lost items when similar quality is available at a lower price. For the small dollar amount your talking about, its probably not worth it to the insurance company to pin down the claim with absolute accuracy, so they just approved a claim that sounded reasonable to them. You may advise your insurance company if you want, but its their call.

Incidentally, you arent being damaged here. Once it gets above a few hundred bucks, the size of the claim wont matter when it comes to rate increases next year.

 

[moburkes]

Exactly. The $ amount of the claim isn't going to change the fact that there was a claim, or that you will be surcharged at renewal. The amount of the surcharge is going to be the same.