RV Fire while in for service

[wa8yxm]

Reading about "Thermal Event" and "Process Disruption" PR Spin Doctors will go to great lengths to not use the proper description won't they.. ENcourage I'm sure by some of our news outlets that also deny the truth.

At least my last accident.. Insurance called me to open a claim and I closed it. I have 1000 deductable and repars (now complete) well. let's just say I got change back from a $100 bill.. but then I did the work, what little there was of it. Major damage was the Refrigerator outside access door. It got crumbled a bit.. I taped it at the scene (Gorilla tape) and repalced it when I got close enough to a Store I knew had repladements. One can of spray paint (Best spray job I've ever done) and it looks good. Color is a bit off but a good match (In fact I used left over spray to touch up an awning arm and it was an exact match) for the awning arms so it does not look out of place.. That and a marker light were the only things damaged beyond repair. I upgraded to marker to LED

[Fourdiazs]

Update. The walk around with all parties is happening this month on the 24th. The problem with our insurance paying us out is that we do not have an agreed value on the RV. It does pay off the loan, but unfortunately does not leave us with as much money as we feel we should be getting. Our fault I guess for not getting the policy written better? The good part of our insurance is that they appraised the RV for more than we bought it for, and it includes taxes, license fees etc. I guess that's done by a company most insurance companies use for appraisals. That was handed over to Cummins. That's where the bad part comes in because there was a "cap" in the coverage. Husband is meeting a lawyer on Monday to see what options we might have.
On the plus side, we are keeping our road trip plans for the summer because we bought another motorhome, and it's only 3 years old, and our insurance is now with Progressive, and written with replacement coverage etc.
We still feel that our RV was in perfect working order and it was in mint condition, and we took excellent care of it.

[edgray]

Originally Posted by Fourdiazs

Update. The walk around with all parties is happening this month on the 24th. The problem with our insurance paying us out is that we do not have an agreed value on the RV. It does pay off the loan, but unfortunately does not leave us with as much money as we feel we should be getting. Our fault I guess for not getting the policy written better? The good part of our insurance is that they appraised the RV for more than we bought it for, and it includes taxes, license fees etc. I guess that's done by a company most insurance companies use for appraisals. That was handed over to Cummins. That's where the bad part comes in because there was a "cap" in the coverage. Husband is meeting a lawyer on Monday to see what options we might have.....

I'm very confused by the two statements I put in bold. If they are appraising your unit for more than you paid for it, how are you not taking that deal?

[PbdBlue]

Originally Posted by edgray

I'm very confused by the two statements I put in bold. If they are appraising your unit for more than you paid for it, how are you not taking that deal?

Me too. So let me get this straight. You're expecting to make a profit off the insurance claim? Or are you saying the MH appraised for more but there's a cap on your insurance coverage hence they are not offering the appraised value.

[Davidrvr]

Hire your own appraiser!!! Pay the deductible and get your check.. let them argue it out.. then when the insurance is paid back you will receive your deductible back.. happened 3 times with my insurance.. walk your appraiser through the coach as it was before the fire. Best money I ever spent

[Rossi6998]

Something to keep in mind. Once you get a lawyer involved, you have lost any control you may have and everyone will now deal directly with that lawyer. If the lawyer is responsive, that's good. However, IMHO, most lawyers put a value (estimated payout) on each case. If they expect a big profit, they are more likely to work harder on the case. If the anticipated/expected payout will be minimal, you will get minimal effort from them. Personally, I would get a lawyer as a last resort and try to deal with your insurance company first. If you feel the offer from your insurance company is unrealistic, than get a lawyer.

Good luck!

[Newmar2856]

If you need a copy of the fire investigators report I’m sure you can get/purchase a copy. If they say no, then file a public records request.

[Fourdiazs]

Originally Posted by PbdBlue

Me too. So let me get this straight. You're expecting to make a profit off the insurance claim? Or are you saying the MH appraised for more but there's a cap on your insurance coverage hence they are not offering the appraised value.

Yes that's exactly it. They have a cap on our insurance. So it really doesn't matter what our insurance pays. The quote they gave to us was to show how they value it and told us to forward that to Cummins

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by Fourdiazs

Yes that's exactly it. They have a cap on our insurance. So it really doesn't matter what our insurance pays. The quote they gave to us was to show how they value it and told us to forward that to Cummins

If YOUR insurance company did the appraisal, but will pay less than the appraised value because of the cap, you can always file with your insurance, accept their payout, then file with Cummins for the remainder. Just make sure that you don't give away to you insurance company ALL rights to go after Cummins . .

Example: Your coach is "appraised" by your insurance company at $1,000 (amount used just for ease of figuring), they have a cap of $800 on payout. Accept the $800 from your insurance company, then file with Cummins for the remaining $200.

By using YOUR insurance companies appraisal, if Cummins disputes the amount, they can argue with your insurance company about the validity of the appraisal. Either way, good for you for getting another RV and not letting the situation run your life!

[Lloyd in S.C.]

I agree, let the insurance companies fight it out.

Your time is probably best spent preparing data on your coaches value. Any pictures, qualified witnesses that can support the condition will help you find value. Also searches for coaches on the market that help establish value. Do not forget your contents? Just went through this.

One last thing, was your salesman switch off? Fridge off? Etc? Might help support that likelyhood of origin in your coach was reduced.

L.

L.

[Fourdiazs]

Originally Posted by Lloyd in S.C.

I agree, let the insurance companies fight it out.

Your time is probably best spent preparing data on your coaches value. Any pictures, qualified witnesses that can support the condition will help you find value. Also searches for coaches on the market that help establish value. Do not forget your contents? Just went through this.

One last thing, was your salesman switch off? Fridge off? Etc? Might help support that likelyhood of origin in your coach was reduced.

L.

L.

We thankfully purchase most everything from Amazon. So we provided them with almost every receipt from the 4 years that we owned the RV. Especially for all the new stuff that was added :(
We also had a lot of pictures so that helped. So we have provided everything possibly on our end.

[Lloyd in S.C.]

Excellent! We purchased ours used, 2 years before. The dealer was kind enough to provide us a appraisal.

Good luck!

[Forkyfork]

My diesel coach mechanic has a policy if you want him to work on your rig.

He learned the hard way that refrigerators, in particular absorption types must be shut off before they can be parked on the lot.

The reason, not that absorption refrigerators are bad but that they have to be level or they will overheat and catch fire. He doesn’t have time to babysit rigs and make sure they are level during service.

He also cuts everything off.

In NC your insurance covers things while in for service. I have a $3,000 handgun that I notified my insurance when it went in for an inspection.

I doubt it will ever be their fault, finding fault of whatever rig started the fire is going to be a challenge. Hopefully it wasn’t yours. The others could file against you.