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tkcas01 · 11-25-2017, 02:19 PM

As you may have seen in other posts, both my 2004 Diplomat and 2007 Grand Cherokee found themselves in 3-4 feet of water after Harvey visited southeast Texas. Geico was quick to declare them both total losses due to the level the water reached.

In the Jeep it was up over the center console and the motorhome had it up over the tires and up about 3/4 to the top of the basement. Clearly there was electrical damage.

Geico was pretty quick to get the Jeep towed and a settlement check to me. While more is always better, I have to say that they were exceedingly fair in the settlement. Based on retail Blue Book and also prices of similar vehicles for sale nationally, they settled for about midway of the range I was expecting. I really had no reason to complain.

Now on the motorhome, for some reason it took forever. It sat there for almost 2 months without being towed and no word on what they were planning to settle for. I got tired of waiting and called the office of the Geico CEO. I was transferred to the office of the Vice President, told an executive admin my story, and within 5 hours a local Geico office called that my check was ready. Clearly someone dropped the ball.

It was about another 2 weeks before they finally had someone out to tow it. Again, between NADA retail value, and the prices of similar rigs for sale, they settled for just shy of midway of the range I was expecting. Again, more is always better, but I had no reason to complain.

Since I was paying rent where it was parked, I have submitted a further claim for "storage fees" for 64 days, and fully expect to be reimbursed based on a call from my adjuster.

So then it comes down to the contents. I did a thorough job of photographing everything that got damaged in the flood - basically everything in the basement. I numbered everything and provided either receipts or online screenshots of how much the item would cost to replace.

Again it was frustrating that it took 5-6 weeks for them to come back with a settlement, but again I could not object. They essentially covered everything I claimed except for the full tank of diesel, of propane, and $500 I tossed in for "shipping" were I to have to pay that to purchase replacement items.

So in all, though it has been frustrating that this process has stretched out over almost 3 months, I have to say that Geico was exceedingly fair in their settlements on all fronts. And in their defense, the office of the VP told me they had at least 40,000 claims they were processing as a result of Harvey. Their staff was just stretched to the max.

My only other comment - reconsider your level of contents coverage! I had $20K in coverage and just in the basement had almost $15K in losses. If the thing had burned and I had lost everything inside the coach, I would have been severally under-insured. It is surprising how quickly things add up. Maybe in your spare time do an inventory and value everything, then update it as you purchase new things.

Hopefully most of you will never have to go through such a thing, but if you do I hope in the end you will also feel you were treated fairly.

Arch Hoagland · 11-25-2017, 03:32 PM

Good to hear. I suspect they were really slammed after the hurricanes that have hit.

sgpd1sam · 11-26-2017, 11:34 AM

I certainly don’t think this is your case as you seem like a reasonable person, but so many people act like they are the only customer a company has and demand immediate attention. I work part time and have seven clients in my area out of several hundred nationwide. Each thinks they are the most important and everything ahead of them should be dropped to take care of them. Patience is a virtue. Well, to a point anyway.

LETMGROW · 11-26-2017, 12:19 PM

40.000 claims! Can you even imagine the logistics involved in the handling of all of these? No two would be the same so each claim would have to be processed on an individual basis.
I am sure the parent company has to sublet a large portion of the claims out to other carriers and adjusters. Wow!
I hope I never have to go through something like this again. I had a cable break on one of my lifts in my garage. The front left corner dropped to the floor from 5' up. There was a 1 year old Ford 350 diesel pick up on the lift with a utility box. The truck ended up on it's side. The lift was totally ruined and the concrete floor was damaged severely where the lift was mounted to it. All in all a $46,000 day. Luckily the employee who was running the lift escaped unhurt.
I received a fair settlement from my garage keeper's liability and I was quite happy. The truck was repaired and the lift was cut up for scrap. It was only 5 years old but I wanted nothing to do with it.
Less than 30 days after I got the settlement I got a letter from the insurance company I was being cancelled coverage in 45 days.
The race was on! I was down to 3 days left with coverage before I got approved and bought a policy from another carrier. I was on the brink of closing the business as the risk could outweigh the reward of not paying a premium. It worked out in the end though as I got more coverage with a $3000 less annual premium.
I had all my insurance through the same company. Homeowner's, automobile, camper and farm liability.
Now I have reached out and have more than one carrier just in case.
Lynn

Aegon · 11-26-2017, 07:10 PM

Tkcas01, thanks for your report. When we pick up our new MH, based on your experience, I'll be sure to start a log (with receipts) of purchases--such a great idea.

milkman55 · 11-26-2017, 07:22 PM

I just bought a new 2017 Sprinter Class C and added it to my Geico policy with my cars and $1 mil umbrella. I was amazed they insured the $95k RV with the same coverage on my autos $300k loan/$500 deduct for $187 each six months. The RV costs more than both my insured autos which cost about $600 each six months. Glad to hear their claims coverage is acceptable as I have never had a claim with them beyond a glass chip.

Forkyfork · 11-26-2017, 07:30 PM

Ive been trying to get geico to tell me how they currently value my MH. When I was with liberty they would provide that info on my vehicles. There are other reasons I am not with them.

My question is what percent difference did you see between NADA mid value and what they paid out? I know you felt it was reasonable and likely don't want to disclose your values. Im just trying to figure out what percentage they seem to cut off the value before they pay out.

tkcas01 · 11-27-2017, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forkyfork

Ive been trying to get geico to tell me how they currently value my MH. When I was with liberty they would provide that info on my vehicles. There are other reasons I am not with them.

My question is what percent difference did you see between NADA mid value and what they paid out? I know you felt it was reasonable and likely don't want to disclose your values. Im just trying to figure out what percentage they seem to cut off the value before they pay out.

I used the NADA online tool and Geico came in about 6% OVER the average retail price calculated by the tool. They were about 16% UNDER the asking price of similar rigs (year, model, mileage) I found for sale online, and you know no one pays asking price for used. So while more would have been nice, I certainly had no rationale to be unhappy.

Of course, they withhold your deductible from the payout.

I guess where things hurt is if you have done upgrades. For example, if you swapped out older TVs for newer ones, to them a TV is a TV. Same thing on upgrading to a residential fridge: Fridge - check.

That is another thing I learned - if you have made a modification that was over and above features typical RVs have, you may want to inform your insurance company of it and its value. Otherwise they probably will not cover it.

Forkyfork · 11-27-2017, 08:16 PM

Thanks for the info. I feel 6% above average reasonable too. I was concerned they would do something much lower than that.

I ran into your concern when replacing my Ford Ranger. The book value was 9K but where I lived at the time they were selling for 13K and I couldn't replace my truck with what they wanted to pay out. The good thing is it was the guys that hit me insurance paying it out. I reminded them I wasn't suing them at that time but would consider it to get my same truck back. They asked me what truck I wanted and paid for it.
You can't really get away with that with your own insurance company.