Question about homeowners insurance.

[akitamommy]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking this forum for a while, but this is my first time actually posting. I have a few questions about home owners insurance.

We live in a mobile home and within the past few months we've had outlets and lights ALL go out along on side of the house. The other side is completely fine. I'm thinking this may have been caused by water that came in through a window in the bedroom. This also damaged my bedroom wall. Do you think ins will cover the electrical issues?

Another thing, we had some really strong winds here today and it completely flipped my portable metal building. It is all smashed up and of no use now. Will it possibly cover this?

Thanks in advance!

[zebra15]

A couple things: what is your deductable?  Those are 2 seperate incidents and you will probably need to pay the deductable twice. 

What you can do is call the agent and ask them your questions and see what they say. The ins will probably send out an adjuster to inspect the damage and go from there.

[sunnysandiegan]

Just be careful in the wording you and they use. Ask questions BEFORE you agree to open a claim.

One claim is okay.

Oftentimes, though, two claims in a short period of time (definition of which is different among carriers) will trigger unpleasant effects. Raising your rates or canceling you can and has happened to many people.

In our case, we had a major flood on May 1, 2009. There was no choice but to call and get things moving ASAP. In the midst of the cleanup and restoration, we noticed water damage  that was clearly not related to the original flood. I called and chatted with the agent.

Thank goodness I asked the all-important questions: What happens next? Will two claims this close together potentially cause any issues with our coverage? And, thank goodness, the agent was honest with me. Yes, we would have to pay the deductible again and, in our case, it was more than the quotes I got for plumbers to come investigate (and they wanted a bloody fortune for this type of job!).

In the end, though, I climbed on a ladder myself and cut the wall open with a drywall saw I borrowed from my dad's house while he was out of town. Then, I talked to a bunch of people I know who eventually led me to some really good ideas on what to check and how. When my dad came home, he and my DH and I did some diagnostic tests and found the problem ourselves (took longer than a professional, but was free). It turned out to be a $2 part that needed replacing!!! We already had drywall missing from all over the downstairs due to the flood, so another two relatively small pieces were nothing.

Then, we had another flood.... and a few gas leaks... and another water leak was discovered. When the claims adjuster was out here following up on the original (and only) claim, she told me this was exceedingly common. She also confided it was a really good thing I didn't file any additional claims. In order to afford all these repairs, we ended up using a contractor (friend of friend) to be the liaison between us and the insurance company for the repairs and we contracted him to do some of the repairs and we did the rest on our own. Insurance is a big racket!!!!!

Bottom line, we came up ahead financially and our house got several upgrades along the way. Our insurance policy is still the same price now that it was before all that (two renewals later).

Best wishes!