insurance covered hail damage

[RICH MUISE]

Finally got my wife's car back today after 5 weeks.When we got the appraisal by usaa's hired company they brought in to help with the huge number of claims, I thought the estimate  was a little low at 6400. I had no need to be concerned because I was told if it turned out to be higher, they (usaa)would cover it. It was higher...by more than 4,000, and they did cover it. Can't tell where they repaired it..awesome job.
I asked the owner of the shop if that was common to be that much lower when appraised by the insurance company rather than their staff. Almost always, was his reply.
The reason I had asked him this was it got me to thinking that on hail damage, a high percentage of vehicles never get repaired, so how would a person know if the estimate was low. Most wouldn't. Insurance companies probably save millions of dollars on each disaster by intentionally estimating low, and issuing checks for that amount, knowing 1/2(?) of the people are not going to actually get the cars repaired.
Hail damage to houses is handled differently. The norm is to estimate it, issue a check minus a "recoverable depreciation allowance". When the contractor finishes repairs, such as reroofing, he can bill the insurance company for that recoverable amount. It's only paid if and when the repairs are made, but is paid immediatly when work is completed by the contractor.
To me insurance is kinda like taxes..I'm just not knowledgeable enough. I didn't know about the recoverable  stuff until I talked to a contractor, and at his advise had usaa forward me the complete appraiasal and payment stuff. In our case, we would have been out 7K recoverable just cause I didn't know.
The good news is the contractors will be here next week if all goes well, and I won't have to get up on my roof to build the roof extension over an 8' x 28" porch I added on. YEAH!!!
Kinda off topic, but with the crazy weather we've been having in all parts of the country, I wanted to give you guys a heads up.
Rich

[Ford Blue blood]

Great news Rich!  I've been with USAA for years and couldn't be happier.  Like you there are too many "nuances" to fully understand all I think I need to understand but have found them to be up front and fair minded and have been happy with their service.  Over the years we have had six claims, all other party fault and one theft claim.  They recovered my deductable in all but one case.  No work was required on my part for that recovery either.

I do a shopping of rates every year, USAA rates have never been beat by anyone!

[Ecode70D]

   I'm not exactly 100% sure about all that mumbo jumbo, but it seems like you made out.
   It's obvious that insurance companies can screw you over and one has to be a lawyer to understand that stuff.
  So I think that  I'm happy for you.

[RICH MUISE]

USAA is a good company. I first got on with them in '69 (my first wife was an Air Force Brat).
On the house part, they did say something about an "initial check" I didn't quite follow, should have asked. With that mentioning, I really can't say they were trying to screw me, I was just too ignorant to understand what they were telling me was I could have more money coming. Had I done the repairs myself, it probably never would have come up and I would have been out the extra money.

[RICH MUISE]

On the brighter side...Just a related thought..It is amazing how many good things can come from a weather related disaster. Certainly not to downplay any loss of life, health, or irreplaceble belongings, but an occational disaster sure appears to be great for the ecomomy, sort of a redistribution of wealth from the insurance companies to local businesses if you would. Still, two months after our hail storm, body shops around here are booked into next year, there is construction (roofing/siding/window repair) going on all over, the home centers are really busy. There have got to be tons of people who just pocketed money from the claims, and are spending it on other things. Had to have been a number of cars that got totalled...so that's sure a plus for the car dealers. Probably lots of other things that I'm not thinking about.

[hiball3985]

That may be a good thing in one sense but the money the insurance companies are distributing are mine and everyone else who pays premiums and these disasters just result in increased costs to the rest of us. I'm glad much of the damages are being covered so people don't lose to much and feel bad for the people who don't have the coverage and lose so much.
With the amount of natural disasters around the country in recent years I wonder who will go broke first, the insurance companies or the premium payers 

[57 Ford Kustom]

Hiball, I'll give you 3 guesses who will go broke first, and the first two don't count! Lol, Tim

[hiball3985]

Hiball, I'll give you 3 guesses who will go broke first, and the first two don't count! Lol, Tim

After just paying insurance on four cars and the house I think I can do it in one guess   

[RICH MUISE]

Necessary evils of life I guess.

[hiball3985]

Necessary evils of life I guess.

You have that right, insurance is just one of many.. Not to change the subject but living here in the Land of Loose Nuts ( aka California ), because my ranchero has an open bed I have to have commercial plates, I just paid the renewal for the next 12 months $150, even my 1960 F100 panel has commercial plates, talk about evil...

[Ford Blue blood]

USAA sends me a check every year....amount depends upon how the claims vs premiums...USAA was founded many years ago by a group of Army officers to cover their cars.  They had higher end cars and either there was no coverage or it was inadequet.  For years they restricted entry to only officers and their dependents, several years ago they opened to senior enlisted and dependents, not sure how far down in in the structure they go now.

[RICH MUISE]

As far as I know it's still restricted to at least dependents as a minimum requirement. I first got in with my first wife..her dad was an AF Coln. I stopped checking rates years ago..waste of time. Notice the Nationwide, Geico, etc. TV ads never compare their rates to usaa, just everybody else.
On a little different note.....The roofer's framing crew is suppose to be here tommorrow if everything goes smoothly with permits, etc. I'm really having mixed feelings about this. I've always done everything myself in the past. The only outside help we ever call is a roter rooter guy, just not worth the effort once you pay for a rental on a unit to do it yourself. Anyways, There's nothing about a house I haven't done. I've never been in the business, but I can build a house from the ground up. I even got quite good at interior decorating after working with interior designers for so many years in the art business.
The obvious problem I'm coping with is it's the first time my limits due to age have really come up and slapped me in the face. I could probably get it done given enough time, but ripping into a roof is something that has to progress quickly once it's started, and at 67, I'm just too slow to attempt reframing the roof to add a 8' extention on the front of the house at a quick pace. I think I'd get one sheet of sheathing up there and have to take an hour off! At any rate, I'm sure alot of you guys can relate, it's  just damn depressing!

[hiball3985]

Rich,
I'm in the same boat at 66 and realizing I'm losing some of my independence and I'm having a hard time dealing with it. I've done everything myself, carpenter, plumber, electrician, mechanic, gardener, etc. I noticed it January when I decided to leave the Xmas lights up, the wife didn't like the idea but I told her if I take them down they won't go up again. I couldn't unload a few sheets of plywood from my truck without my sons help. I hired a kid to help with some of the yard work this summer. Pulling the trans and replaced the clutch and a few other minor things while under there in the Ranchero took me four days, I could only work on it a few hours each day. Just something we can't change and have to live with.

[Zapato]

know exactly how yo guys feel, been building a small shed and finished painting the trusses and grabbed one sheet of plywood for the roof and called it quits for the day. Gonna blame the temp (90+) but 5 years ago it wouldn't have factored in. Today been trolling the web way too long when I should be out there working.

Zap-

[hiball3985]

Don't forget to ask for senior discounts  sometimes they don't tell you. I got 10% off at the local builders supply for asking.. I better head for the garage before it becomes an oven.