We purchased homeowner’s insurance but never expect to use it. That is until a hurricane came to town and caused some damage.
Being condo owners, our Association has their own insurance and has contracted SouthernCAT to start repairs. However, that does not cover some of our unit’s damage during the storm. Luckily, we’re in good hands.
One day after Hurricane Ian, we phoned in our claim to Allstate. With very poor internet service and no electricity, it was hard to send over everything they requested. However, once we did get everything to them, things moved quickly!
They sent out an adjuster on a Saturday morning, to assess the structural damage to things like our floors and baseboards. He had his report written up in less than 24 hours, and within 48 hours we had money in our checking account. (They use QuickPay where they deposit money using your debit card number).
How was structural damage calculated and paid?
Their damage assessment was based on Replacement Cost Value (RCV) and Actual Cash Value (ACV).
The ACV estimate reflects the RCV less the amount of any depreciation.
Depreciation is the decrease in the value of an item due to the item’s condition, which considers age, life expectancy, usage, type of item, and market factors.
Our policy allows us to recover this depreciation upon repair or replacement of the covered damages within six months. We just need to prove that the work was actually done.
What‘s ‘Additional Living Expenses’ (ALE)
They are reasonable expenses (such as temporary housing payments, restaurant bills, etc.) necessary to maintain your usual standard of living, which are incurred because your property loss made the residence premises unlivable.
You are still responsible for “normal expenses,” such as groceries, your house
payment, pet expenses, etc. These are not covered by Additional Living Expenses.
Our policy provides payment for Additional Living Expenses for the duration of the shortest of the following three scenarios:
- The time period required, using due diligence, to repair or replace the property
- The time period our customer requires to permanently relocate elsewhere.
- 24 Months or $51,000.00
We’ve already booked our first three weeks at Airbnbs in Tampa and Sarasota, and it only took 5-6 days to get reimbursed from Allstate for these expenses.
We hope to return closer to home once some of the contractors head back up north. Until then, its