The car hit one corner. The crash cracked the whole house.
The loss
A vehicle crashed into an Eastpointe home in October 2023. The damage where it hit was obvious. What the crash had done to the rest of the house was not.
We were brought in at the start, before there was any offer.
The first pass
- $182,143 actual cash value for the building ($266,629 replacement cost), after its engineer’s inspection.
- Damage treated as centered on the impact.
The full claim
- An engineer, a builder and a mason on the claim.
- The crash shown to have shifted and cracked the entire perimeter.
- Appraisal.
- The full $244,000 dwelling limit, plus $68,160 for contents.
What we did
The insurance company’s estimate followed the obvious damage. We brought in an engineer, a builder and a mason to look at the whole structure, and they showed the crash had moved and cracked the house all the way around its perimeter, not just where the vehicle hit.
We documented it with DocuSketch, detailed photos and the experts’ reports, and inventoried the contents room by room. The insurance company eventually wrote its repair estimate up to the dwelling limit at replacement cost, but its actual cash value figure stayed well below it. Appraisal settled that.
The outcome
The claim settled in appraisal about seven months after we were engaged. The award on the building came in above the policy limit, so the full dwelling limit was paid.
Identifying details are limited to protect client privacy. Figures are the insurance company's documented position and the final settlement on that claim. Every claim is different, and past results don't predict the outcome of any future claim.
Related
Let's find out where |your claim stands.
Tell us what happened and we'll tell you honestly what your policy covers and what we would do next. It costs nothing to ask.
