Homeowners claim

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kgressler
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Location: St Louis MO

Homeowners claim

Post by kgressler »

So I was hit with a nasty hail storm last week and had damage to both my car and home. Had my home looked at by a roofing contractor and then my insurance adjuster. Roof is totaled as well as gutters/downspouts. They issued me a check for the amount to fix the damage minus my deductible and the recoverable depreciation.
The work itself probably won't start for a few weeks or probably months since there are some many damaged homes in the area. Should i just hold on to the check and not cash it till its time to do the work or would it be best to deposit it and put it on my savings account with GS online and earn the little interest a few thousand buck would earn me?
Arent check usually only good for 90 days from when they are issued?
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C4NT
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by C4NT »

I've heard that the old "void after 90 days" line doesn't really have any actual power, meaning banks will still cash it without a problem. But I've never tried it.

I would be more worried about losing a $X,000 check. I would just cash it and use it appropriately.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by ResearchMed »

Unless you disagree with the amount of the reimbursement check, why wouldn't you deposit the money?

RM
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Topic Author
kgressler
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Location: St Louis MO

Re: Homeowners claim

Post by kgressler »

ResearchMed wrote:Unless you disagree with the amount of the reimbursement check, why wouldn't you deposit the money?

RM
Good question. I dont have an answer for that. I've never had a claim with my home or auto insurance before so I wasnt sure what the proper way to handle the money was. I mean I guess it's my money so I can do whatever I want with it. Obviously I am going to use it to fix my home just wasnt sure if I should hold onto the check till it was time to start work then cash it and pay my contractor or what.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by ResearchMed »

kgressler wrote:
ResearchMed wrote:Unless you disagree with the amount of the reimbursement check, why wouldn't you deposit the money?

RM
Good question. I dont have an answer for that. I've never had a claim with my home or auto insurance before so I wasnt sure what the proper way to handle the money was. I mean I guess it's my money so I can do whatever I want with it. Obviously I am going to use it to fix my home just wasnt sure if I should hold onto the check till it was time to start work then cash it and pay my contractor or what.
Some insurers will only give upfront a part of the claim amount, or will parcel the money out as the work is done, or holds the last few percent until proof of completion (e.g., receipts), or even pay the vendor directly.

Over the decades, we've had assorted claims (car, home, valuable items) that have been handled quite differently, including sometims by the same insurer.

The critical thing is to read anything written about terms associated with cashing or collecting the insurance reimbursement, if there is anything like that.

Assuming there aren't any "gotchas", that money is now yours.

If you have a mortgage, that could complicate things, because if you didn't actually spend the money on the repairs, the value of the property securing the mortgage might drop too much.
(In this case, sometimes the check is made out to the owner *and* the mortgage company. That complicates things a bit, obviously.)
It doesn't sound like this is your situation.

RM
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corysold
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by corysold »

Just be certain that cashing the check doesn't somehow close the matter.

Last time we had a claim from a lightning strike, we had the initial claim put in. Only after work was started were some more issues discovered, so they had to readjust the amount. Make sure that is still available to you.
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kgressler
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by kgressler »

corysold wrote: Last time we had a claim from a lightning strike, we had the initial claim put in. Only after work was started were some more issues discovered, so they had to readjust the amount. Make sure that is still available to you.
This what the recoverable depreciation money is for correct? Since my roof was 7-8 years old they prorated the payout and there was a few thousand dollar that's considered recoverable depreciation then if the work exceeds the cash value that they paid to me I can tap into the recoverable depreciation then any money after that is out of pocket.
Dek17
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by Dek17 »

We had this happen a few years ago. Deposit the check into your savings account so it's safe and sound. You can move the cash around to pay the roofer later via a check form of payment if that's your choice.
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

kgressler wrote:
corysold wrote: Last time we had a claim from a lightning strike, we had the initial claim put in. Only after work was started were some more issues discovered, so they had to readjust the amount. Make sure that is still available to you.
This what the recoverable depreciation money is for correct? Since my roof was 7-8 years old they prorated the payout and there was a few thousand dollar that's considered recoverable depreciation then if the work exceeds the cash value that they paid to me I can tap into the recoverable depreciation then any money after that is out of pocket.
No, recoverable depreciation is to ensure that you actually do the work. In the case of additional damage, the contractor that you hire will normally work with the insurance company to cover that.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by ResearchMed »

Earl Lemongrab wrote:
kgressler wrote:
corysold wrote: Last time we had a claim from a lightning strike, we had the initial claim put in. Only after work was started were some more issues discovered, so they had to readjust the amount. Make sure that is still available to you.
This what the recoverable depreciation money is for correct? Since my roof was 7-8 years old they prorated the payout and there was a few thousand dollar that's considered recoverable depreciation then if the work exceeds the cash value that they paid to me I can tap into the recoverable depreciation then any money after that is out of pocket.
No, recoverable depreciation is to ensure that you actually do the work. In the case of additional damage, the contractor that you hire will normally work with the insurance company to cover that.
This was my understanding also, but I don't quite understand why only a portion of the reimbursement is held back.
Why isn't it all handled that way?

RM
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Homeowners claim

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

ResearchMed wrote:This was my understanding also, but I don't quite understand why only a portion of the reimbursement is held back.
Why isn't it all handled that way?
That's the way it was explained to me after the big hailstorm years ago, if you decide to just take the check and not do the work then you don't get full replacement value for the structure (assuming you had that coverage). Note that if you have a mortgage, the loan company will often be on that check and they'll make you do the work to protect their interest.
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