Commercial Claim

[crouchdash]

Good Morning,

I own a business, about a year ago during a major construction project hired by the city (replacing underground storm and sewer drains) the company made a mistake resulting in my basement being flooded. There was over 5 feet of water. The company has claimed responsibility, redid the sewer work, had the basement cleaned, etc. We had a lot of equipment and parts in the basement that were ruined and I inquired to who was going to pay for it. After stonewalling me for almost a year I was finally contacted by what seems to be a broker who requested more info. I sent them an itemized list and values along with a bunch of pictures. I valued the loss at 42,000 and truly did not inflate anything. I recently received a letter offering 18k. I was never given a claim number nor seen an adjuster so I feel they are trying to settle without a claim. This is a multi million dollar construction project. Any advice how to proceed? If they offered something close to what I said I probably would take it to be done with this year long headache. Hire an Independent adjuster? Lawyer? Demand a claim number?

 

[davelew86]

@crouchdash Why didn't you file with your own insurer? You probably would have been treated better, especially if you have Replacement Cost coverage instead of the Actual Cash Value that a third party insurer is going to offer. That could be the reason for the difference (although probably not all of it).

At this point, you need to understand their math. It's possible that they're right (although I doubt it). The size and scope of the project is irrelevant to your loss, and you're owed an answer in writing about what they're going to do for this part. You may or may not have a reason to file a complaint with the insurance regulators in your part of the world.