Public adjusters in Livonia, Michigan.
Livonia's population nearly quadrupled in the 1950s, and more than half its homes were built between 1950 and 1969. On June 5, 2024, an EF-1 tornado cut a 5.5-mile path across the city, uprooting trees and bringing at least one through a roof. Sixty-year-old drain lines, older framing and mature trees all shape what a repair here costs.
AdjustFair works only for the policyholder, from our Ferndale office, about 13 miles to the east. We read the policy, document the full loss, price the repair the way a contractor would have to build it, and put that number in front of the insurance company with the proof behind it.
Where claims here get underpaid.
Most serious Livonia claims follow one of three patterns, and each has a familiar way of coming in short.
- Water in the basement. After a May 2011 storm, Livonia's mayor counted about a thousand flooded basements, and the city itself says most backups trace to private service lines and home plumbing rather than the public sewer. That matters to the policy: a backup sublimit is often applied to water that came from a failure in the home's own line, which the policy can treat differently.
- Trees through the roof. The June 2024 tornado snapped and uprooted trees from near Schoolcraft and Eckles to 7 Mile and Middlebelt. When a trunk comes through a roof, the obvious damage gets paid and the rest gets argued, because the insurance company often declines to open ceilings and walls where cracked rafters and soaked insulation sit.
- Fire and smoke in mid-century homes. In houses built in the 1950s and 1960s, smoke moves through wall cavities, attics and ductwork well beyond the room that burned. Estimates written room by room tend to stop at the char line, and the cleaning, sealing and HVAC work the rest of the house needs is where the money goes missing.
We arrived at the inspection with the estimate already written.
A house fire in Detroit. We were engaged before the insurance company inspected, and turned up to that inspection holding a finished itemized estimate.
Questions we get here.
Is a tree through my Livonia roof covered?
Usually, when the tree damages the house. Policies typically pay to repair what it broke and to remove it from the structure, though tree removal often has its own limit. What gets missed is hidden damage in framing, ceilings and wiring. Photograph everything before the tree is cut up, and have the ceilings opened before you accept a payment.
What should I do if my Livonia basement backs up?
Document it before anything goes to the curb, and get the plumber's findings in writing. If you believe the public sewer failed, Livonia requires a written claim within 45 days under Michigan's PA 222. Your homeowners claim is separate, and whether it pays under a backup limit or the main coverage depends on where the water came from.
How long does it take to get someone out to Livonia?
Livonia is about 13 miles from our Ferndale office, a routine trip for our adjusters. Call the number on this page and you will reach someone who can explain what to do over the next few days and arrange a time for an adjuster to walk the property with you.
Nearby
See every city we cover from our Metro Detroit office in Ferndale.
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.
