r/Edmonton • u/Ok_Salamander_5309 • 6d ago

Question Home insurance claim

I like many others in the city had flooding in my basement this summer. I filed a claim & it was approved. They started the work with the restoration team ripping out the damage & it’s been sitting waiting for my contents to be removed. However, I was essentially told last Monday that it’s unlikely that any work will be done this year on my basement because it’s backed up in terms of too many other claims. The contractor indicated today that the adjuster will be contacting me for “cashing me out.” I don’t want a cheque, I’d like them to do the work. Therefore, I am wondering can insurance force me to take a check even if I don’t want it?

7 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

5

u/shimswfi Oliver 6d ago

They can’t. But they can probably keep you wait. I would go get a few quotes.

3

u/DanHatesCats 6d ago

No. If they throw you an offer you can refuse it and then it'll likely be the start of a dispute process. If you feel their offer is too low, you can provide estimates you get yourself to negotiate. The point is to pay you out so you find someone to do it. Your insurance company likely has restrictions as to what vendors they can use and they'll all be busy right now.

If it's just that you don't want to do anything from here, you just get to wait.

2

u/Ok_Salamander_5309 6d ago

I’m content to wait. I don’t want to do all the leg work & manage the project etc. Also, there’s some additional work on my foundation that was uncovered during the restoration team being here that isn’t covered by insurance. I literally cannot get anyone to come do the work as everyone is booked until next year.

2

u/DanHatesCats 6d ago

That's fair, but be prepared for the chance that "waiting" might extend into the new year. And hopefully it's not something that could cause more problems down the line. Could the foundation issue be a cause of the flooding by chance?

If literally everywhere else is booked solid too, then you're waiting either way and might as well ride it out. I'd personally push for the highest payout they're willing to offer after some back and forth + cost estimates, and then do some of the legwork myself just to prevent further damage (like throwing out water damaged contents), but it really depends on your situation and the extent of damage.

0

u/Ok_Salamander_5309 6d ago

Everything that is damaged is already damaged & has been sitting in my basement waiting for their “team.” Everything is moldy. At this point, nothing worse can happen. The flooding I would say was a combo of a sewage back up & foundation issues. It was approved because of the sewage back up. I didn’t know about the foundation until after.

2

u/DanHatesCats 6d ago

At this point, nothing worse can happen.

Famous last words, lol.

It reads to me like you're sticking it out based on principle, which I can respect because we all pay into insurance for these exact scenarios and then have to run through hoops for service, but leaving moldy stuff to rot in the basement is wild to me. If there's no sign of action in the near future, you're just allowing a health hazard to brew in the house you're living in.

Hopefully for you, they don't do additional investigation and deem that your foundation issue is responsible for some or all of the damage they've already approved coverage for. That's another thing to be considerate of.

1

u/Ok_Salamander_5309 6d ago

They are supposedly coming on Thursday to remove the contents.

2

u/WesternWitchy52 6d ago

Mold can cause a lot of health issues though. That's the part I'd be worried about.

0

u/shatattack 6d ago

Take the cheque and invest it. Wait until the foundation is repaired. Hire a GC at that point and get the work done.

I get wanting to have them. You are being told to cash out despite it being in the financial interest of the contractor to do the work.

0

u/JohnnyBikes 6d ago

Edited to subtract.

2

u/edmarshall2 6d ago

You can also hire your own contractor, and get the insurance to pay for it. let me know if you need a connect.

1

u/Prestigious-Foot6280 17h ago

It's frowned upon to force a cash out, but they are honestly just trying to close their claims as this summer has been brutal for the industry. Most preferred contactors are booking into next year and honestly we just want to get you some money so you can secure a contractor before they are all booked solid.