Should insurance replace all of my carpet?

[themearas]

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

Hi there! I am new here and have a question about my insurance claim. I had a small fire in my master bedroom closet. My home is about 18 years old and all of the carpet on that level is original to the house and is in one piece. The guy from the smoke remediation co. came out and said that it would all have to be replaced b/c it is all one piece and there is no way to get it to match up plus you cannot do seams in a doorway. Then the insurance adjuster came out and said that the insurance would "probably not" replace all of the carpet. He said probably just the closet will be replaced b/c it is a minor fire. What can I do to sway them to replace it all? I really do not want mis-matched carpet nor do I want a seam in the doorway. I thought insurance was supposed to replace it to the standard that it was previously? Please help!!!! Your help is greatly appreciated!!!:What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[FlyingRon]

They're not obligated to deal with the "matching" issue. If however, there's no way to replace it without doing a larger area than that damaged by the fire, then you can make that argument. In my case, I was able to talk them into doing the hallway, but I was on my own for the stairs and other areas that had previously been the same installation of carpet.

 

[justalayman]

I'm surprised they are doing anything for the carpet. 18 year old carpet is beyond the life expectation of carpet and as such, it's depreciated value would be nothing.

all of the carpet on that level is original to the house and is in one piece.

It's only one piece because it has been seamed. Carpet is typically 12 feet wide so if you have an area that is over 12 feet wide, there is likely a seem in it.

seams in doorways: very common especially since that is where you would change the flooring style when going from room to room.

to mismatched carpet; You're talking about the carpet in a closet. After 18 years, it likely doesn't match the rest of the carpet anyway due to it not being exposed to the UV light and traffic that the rest of the carpet has been exposed to. It likely looks a lot better than the rest of the carpet on that floor already (well, at least before the fire).

I thought insurance was supposed to replace it to the standard that it was previously?

so, you would be happy if they installed 18 yo carpet on the entire floor?

 

[Banned_Princess]

I pretty much agree, your lucky they will replace any of the carpet. They are absolutely not going to replace it all.

You should think about just finishing just the closet floor, or take this chance to add the insurance check, with some of your own money and get your bedroom floor done.

 

[ecmst12]

Well hopefully OP has replacement cost coverage, not depreciated value coverage. But I completely agree that no one will care whether the carpet in your CLOSET matches the rest if the room - and neither should you.

 

[moburkes]

Yes, OP needs to have replacement cost for the contents first. Second, seams are in the doorway everywhere. That comment was pretty stupid. Third, if OP has an HO5 policy, there's a chance they might replace the whole carpet - or at least replace it to the seams in the middle of the living room floor LOL.

 

[themearas]

Wow-so at least I know now that you guys know NOTHING and are absolutely no help. Well except for the first person who posted a reply--he/she was actually helpful. My insurance co. just approved replacement of the entire upstairs per the restoration co.'s recommendation as it was all one piece.

See ya Sucka's!!!

 

[moburkes]

Wow-so at least I know now that you guys know NOTHING and are absolutely no help. Well except for the first person who posted a reply--he/she was actually helpful. My insurance co. just approved replacement of the entire upstairs per the restoration co.'s recommendation as it was all one piece.

See ya Sucka's!!!

Damn. And to think I was licensed all those years for nothing. Always satisfied customers. Never mislead them. Their claims were paid exactly as they should have been.

Did yo ueven check to see if you had an HO5 policy? Otherwise, your adjuster was just being nice. On an HO3 there is NOTHING in there which states they are required to replace all of your carpet. NOTHING. Read it. You don't need to take my word for it. Your contract doesn't require it. Maybe they want to keep a good relationship with you if you've been a customer for awhile. In any case, nothing I write was untrue. Not one thing.

 

[racer72]

Wow-so at least I know now that you guys know NOTHING and are absolutely no help. Well except for the first person who posted a reply--he/she was actually helpful. My insurance co. just approved replacement of the entire upstairs per the restoration co.'s recommendation as it was all one piece.

See ya Sucka's!!!

I'm calling BS on the OP. How many insurance companies change their mind on things between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning?

 

[You Are Guilty]

I don't know about you guys, but my insurance company always makes these types of decisions on a Sunday also. Doing it during normal business hours is for "suckas".

 

[ecmst12]

OP could have gotten a call first thing monday morning. I still think it's silly to make a big stink about matching carpet in a closet with that in the rest of the room, but that's not legal advice. If your insurance company is paying more then they are required to, you are quite lucky. But instead of appreciating your good fortune, you decide to post a snotty response to the people who tried to help you. So...don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[CLJM]

Just my two cents.

A few years ago, my mother encountered a problem with a small fire in her upstairs bedroom from a fireplace spark on the carpet. At the time, the carpeting was probably 8 years old, or so. The insurance covered complete replacement through-out the entire upstairs due to the fact that it was all matching. ( this would include 4 bedrooms) I surmise that OP is using the term "one piece", but actually was meaning "all matching" (all the same carpeting). Carpeting does not come in one piece for an entire level of a house-----and, as others have pointed out, there are actuallly several seams needed; certainly at the doorways and most probably within the rooms themselves.

For a side note: I certainly would care about my carpet matching, no matter whether in the closet, or not.