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The idea of "depreciation" being a factor in this situation seems off to me.
The insurance company's client damaged the house. She is responsible for all repairs needed to restore the house to its original condition. Do not forget any damage to lawn or landscaping.
She is also responsible for any deductibles required by her policy.
Hard to tell form the photo, but it doesn't look all that bad (at least the car did not end up inside the house).
Any damage on inside where the car hit? Is the house on a slab, or is there a basement under it?
If it makes you feel better I can tell you that Farmers was amoung the top companies in claims from hurricanes. This isn't like they make a adjustemnt then its over if other things are found. I wouldn;t rely on city inspectors on insurance cliams. The only time you might be liable for some of repairs is if the original structure was not upto code required to make repairs to meet code. Doesn't look like a problem here from pictures.
Hard to tell form the photo, but it doesn't look all that bad (at least the car did not end up inside the house).
Any damage on inside where the car hit? Is the house on a slab, or is there a basement under it?
The second picture shows the inside damage to sheet rock.
There's no way you should have to pay a dime when someone else ran into your house. Start out with, I don't want to have to go to court, but.... your client is at fault. Hopefully they'll settle for the full amount because they aren't going to want to hear a judge's ruling about it. But if you have to get a lawyer, then do so.
I guess you're lucky she has insurance, or you'd probably be out of luck.
Dennis, you asked how much to repair your home. As long as I understood what you said, that the city engineer said your house was sound, this is really a do-it-yourselfer, but to put in a gutter, a few lengths of siding, a little insulation inside and some drywall, sealant for various cracks, this will all cost you less than $200. I DO think what the insurance people were saying was not "depreciation" but PERHAPS "deductible," which is the amount the insured pays themselves before insurance pays for the rest.
And even tho you've heard it a lot, you really must look into having house insurance, and, as someone else said, the higher your deductible, the lower your insurance rate. It is an absolute must when you have a huge tree fall across your roof and into your kitchen that rips thru electric and plumbing, or when you have a fire that eats up everything you've ever owned including clothes and a place to stay, or whatever disaster that can take your whole life away for real. Consider giving up something you're spending now if things are tight, like cable or no more eating out, just WHATEVER it takes.
i don't see where not having insurance plays a role its not like my house jumped in front of her car
oh did i mention she also totaled out a parked car of my neighbor before she hit my house she even got a really shiny pair of bracelets to wear after she couldn't pass a sobriety test
and the insurance agent already told me they were taking 100% liability
Right on as It should be! having been in the auto body repair business for 34 yrs before retiring , thats what the liability part of the insurance policy is for. Now if it was the policy holder who was filing a claim on their own policy then I can see where they might want to try and take deprecation , but in your case it is 100% their responsibility to make it like new no matter how old the home is . As to the cost of repairs ? just let me say from my experience as a rental property mgr. in the past , $200.00 will get me out to look at the damages and maybe I trip to the store , them comes the cost of the actual repair. I don't know of any repairer that works for $200.00 a day, let alone repair what the photo shows both outside and the inside, maybe more like $1,000.00- $1,500.00 and after inspections maybe more.
Last edited by Fighter 1; 04-07-2012 at 11:47 AM..
i dont see where not having insurance plays a role its not like my house jumped in front of her car
oh did i mention she also totaled out a parked car of my neighbor befor she hit my house she even got a really shiny pair of bracelets to wear after she couldn't pass a sobriety test
and the insurance agent already told me they were taking 100% liability
Here is how insurance works, you take out a policy, pay your premiums for coverage. As your house (or car) gets older, the stuff on your house is worth less-roof, siding, etc. Say your siding was put on 20 years ago for $10,000, the value of that siding has gone down each year and now, 20 years later, that siding is worth $1000. Since that siding is now worth $1000, the insurance company pays you $1000 because the point of insurance is to put you back where you were before the incident happened. So, in this case, your check for $1000 puts you back, financially, where you started. Or maybe it's easier to understand with a car, you buy a new car for $20,000 and drive it for 10 years. That car is now worth $3000. Someone totals your car while it is parked in front of your house, you will get a check for $3000, not $20,000.
For homeowners insurance, you have the option of buying a replacement cost rider which means that instead of the $1000 in the example above, you get $5000 because that is how much it costs to replace the damaged siding, for example. The reverse works as well though too. Say 5 years ago you bought a new flat screen TV for $1000, but that same tv now is sold for $400. Say your TV was damaged in a fire, you get a check for $400, not the $1000 you paid for the tv. This only happens IF you have the replacement cost rider on your policy. If you don't have that rider, you get the depreciated cost of the TV, which probably is $100 at this point.
Now, in your case, if you had homeowner's insurance, the liable company would have had to pay you to the standards of YOUR policy so, because you don't have insurance, they only have to pay you the depreciated cost of your damage, which is all they have to do, by law. If you had insurance with a replacement cost rider, they would have had to pay to replace the siding.
The idea of "depreciation" being a factor in this situation seems off to me.
The insurance company's client damaged the house. She is responsible for all repairs needed to restore the house to its original condition. Do not forget any damage to lawn or landscaping.
She is also responsible for any deductibles required by her policy.
The homeowner should not pay a penny.
See my previous post for an explanation why the homeowner will probably have to pay some to repair his house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dennis1121
wish i knew as he told me about the liability then in the next sentence he started on the adjuster and the depreciation and that i would have to pay a portion thats when he lost me i never heard of such a thing if it would have been my car she hit and it wasn't totaled they would pay 100% to have it fixed
The portion you will have to pay if you want it fixed is the depreciated value of the siding, etc. See my previous post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by subject2change
There's no way you should have to pay a dime when someone else ran into your house. Start out with, I don't want to have to go to court, but.... your client is at fault. Hopefully they'll settle for the full amount because they aren't going to want to hear a judge's ruling about it. But if you have to get a lawyer, then do so.
I guess you're lucky she has insurance, or you'd probably be out of luck.
Yes way, there is, by law, many reasons why he should have to pay and it starts with him not having his own policies.
For a liability, when a company is assuming 100% fault, the injured party does not have a deductible.
Now, he could try, in civil court, to get the rest of the damages not covered by her insurance paid for out of her pocket. That is a possibility if he chooses to pursue that avenue and if she has any money to pay.
I agree with Barking Spider that the damage does not appear to be very bad. Obviously some siding repair is needed as well as drywall repair.
The insurance adjuster for at at-fault driver probably feels he has you over a barrel and that you will accept whatever cash amount he comes up with to settle. What's the alternative? If you hire an attorney that will only dig into what your recovery would be and you can go backwards in terms of dollar recovery for the damages. I am sure that adjuster will mention that.
My estimate for repairs..approx. $2K and maybe as high as $3K depending upon what contractors charge in your area.
Last edited by Southside Shrek; 04-07-2012 at 04:00 PM..
Reason: add
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