Flood damage- help

[somethingshiny]

We got several inches of sewer water backed up into our basement early this morning.

The basement is unfinished and really just used for storage. An insurance appraiser is supposed to make an appearance at some point today. Does anyone know HOW to find out if the washer and dryer, water heater, furnace, etc are damaged?? I''d rather not stand in a puddle and turn on an electric dryer to see if it heats up! We''ve never had to make any sort of claim before and I''m afraid that damage will reveal itself AFTER we sign off on it.

Also, over the phone the adjuster mentioned getting in a dehumidifier to try to salvage the furniture and stuff. It''s sewer water, do I HAVE to try this?? I''m not keeping anything that has sat in sh!t water, especially because it''s all the nursery furniture.

Any advice and suggestions are more than welcome!!

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 5/13/2010 3:40:26 PM
Author:somethingshiny
We got several inches of sewer water backed up into our basement early this morning.

The basement is unfinished and really just used for storage. An insurance appraiser is supposed to make an appearance at some point today. Does anyone know HOW to find out if the washer and dryer, water heater, furnace, etc are damaged?? I'd rather not stand in a puddle and turn on an electric dryer to see if it heats up! We've never had to make any sort of claim before and I'm afraid that damage will reveal itself AFTER we sign off on it.


Also, over the phone the adjuster mentioned getting in a dehumidifier to try to salvage the furniture and stuff. It's sewer water, do I HAVE to try this?? I'm not keeping anything that has sat in sh!t water, especially because it's all the nursery furniture.


Any advice and suggestions are more than welcome!!

I come from a "land of regular basement flooding and sewer backups".

I think the adjuster is off his rocker. You can't salvage furniture and stuff that has been sitting in sewer water. In addition to bacterial issues....it's prone to rot and mold and the like. I do not know ANYONE who has ever had sewer backups who has kept anything in there. They even have to strip all the drywall to above water level and do some major cleaning in there. Ground flooding is another matter...but sewage backup - hell no way would I accept keeping any of that stuff.

Remember, unless he is an INDEPENDENT adjuster, he works for the insurance company. Some insurance companies are a little more reluctant to pay than others. You can generally do some research on what insurance companies are better for that then others (or by word of mouth).

If the adjuster cannot tell you about the furnace and so on...you need to contact the insurance company and see whether you would be okay to get a report from other specialists.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks for the info.

Our entire street ended up getting flooded with sewer water today. The city is blaming it on the severe storms we''ve had, but it''s ridiculous! Our neighbors have over 3 feet of water in their finished basement and no insurance for it.

Also, should insurance cover disposal of the items?? I don''t even know what to do with upholstered furniture that is so saturated.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Just a little advice from someone coming off of a stint with 6 inches of water in her basement. In your claim do NOT mention any mold or mildew damage. Simply refer to everything with a generic "water damage" terminology. This is actually a hint from my ins company. Most policies don''t cover mold/mildew damage even if it''s the result of water damage, so just say water damage regardless of if there''s mold on it or not.

And your adjuster is out of his mind.

 

[doodle]

TOTALLY agree with Hudson_Hawk on that "water damage" tip! A sewage pipe burst in my friend''s parents'' neighborhood a while back, and the flooding was so bad that the foundation underneath a corner of their house actually started eroding away. Their entire house was at risk of collapsing, and the insurance company was giving them crap because of the terminology used when reporting the damage.

Best of luck to you, and so sorry you''re having to deal with all this--I know what a PITA it is, so you have my sympathy!

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 5/13/2010 4:11:36 PM
Author: somethingshiny
Thanks for the info.


Our entire street ended up getting flooded with sewer water today. The city is blaming it on the severe storms we''ve had, but it''s ridiculous! Our neighbors have over 3 feet of water in their finished basement and no insurance for it.


Also, should insurance cover disposal of the items?? I don''t even know what to do with upholstered furniture that is so saturated.

The latter depends on your policy. You''ll have to read it over.

Yes, if a severe storm is too much for current infrastructure to handle....this can happen.

The city is trying to cover their butt - as it is not uncommon for property owners to get together and sue in these sorts of situations where they don''t have insurance (or the insurers subrogate).

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks for the posts.

HH~ Good tip!

The adjuster came out and suggested we get a professional cleaning service to do the major clean-up and then reevaluate the damage. He walked down my stairs and said "Oh good. Your furniture is real wood. It''ll dry out and be fine." Really?? You do realize wood IS porous, right? Just because it''s not particle board doesn''t mean it''ll be fine.

The professional cleaners will be here tomorrow evening to begin. DH and I are going away for the weekend so hopefully by the time we get back it''ll be significantly less odoriffic!

We also have techs coming to evaluate our furnace, water heater, etc.


Loss so far includes:
baby furniture and accessories (swing, high chair, bouncer, etc)
3 bookcases and all the books on the bottom couple shelves
possibly several boxes of books ( I haven''t gone through it all yet)
electronics (speakers, printer, scanner, etc)
wedding dress (I don''t know if it can be cleaned or if I should even try)
lots of clothes that were in a wardrobe, all my "good" stuff
tons of JT''s baby clothes


Damages:
several tables
several chairs
possibly the good dining set
lamps
Christmas trees
"garage sale" items (I just sorted and boxed it all last weekend)
oak dresser
kitchen table
possibly the wine cooler



What a giant PITA.

Most of our neighbors don''t have any coverage and I can''t imagine sitting in their sloppy shoes right now.

 

[marcy]

I am so sorry to hear that. I hope the insurance company takes care of you.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Also, before you dispose of anything, take pictures of the item and the damage. You''ll also want to take inventory of it all. What it is (brand, material/type of wood, etc; the age; and an estimated replacement value. Remember, it''s how much it would cost to replace it with a like item today, not how much it''s "worth" to you.

 

[artdecogirl]

So sorry Shiny! That stinks. We had flooding about 5 years ago and the insurance co. had encouraged us to use a service also but what we found was they gave us a estimate of about 25 grand to clean up water damage and replace,(alot of sheetrock and a damaged fireplace) but our insurance only covered I think 6,000. so make sure before you use them what your coverage will be! My husband had finished the lower level before so he did all the work again and we used the money for new supplies and disposal but it was like pulling teeth to get it. Again so sorry and good luck with your insurance co.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks, ladies.

We had the service come out yesterday and I sat down with them and got their estimate and put a cap on the financial before they started. Our total coverage is only $5000 and our basement isn''t finished (concrete walls and floors) so we can get a good amount of work for $1500-$2000. Unfortunately, the water table is so high, our basement is still under water.

DH got every thing out of the basement and I rented a storage unit yesterday to put all of the good stuff in for now. The adjuster told me to write down all of our time and labor and that will go towards working off the deductible.

The cleaning service said that anything wood, paper, or fabric that had touched sewer water was garbage by their standards. The adjuster actually tried to argue that I should "just bleach" the crib. Yeah, I''m putting my baby in that... After I put my foot down he was quite helpful.

I''ve already taken the inventory but I''m at a loss on some things, mostly some books. Our total loss so far is around $5500 and that''s without trying to dry clean my dress and other "little" things.

I have collected old encyclopedias for a long time. I''ve lost 4 entire sets. It''s hard to find the value of a 1951 set. I''ve even tried searching by ISBN and can''t find anything. My best luck has been on ebay, but I think it''s inaccurate.

Anyway, DH and I are going crib/dresser/chair shopping today.


We''ve got tons of pictures and the adjuster also took pictures, hopefully they won''t screw us.