Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

homeowners ins claims

we had something happen with our wood stove it back up smoke through our whole house needing our furniture and carpets cleaned they said our walls needed cleaned so they also cleaned our walls now they are all streaked so now they need painted so my husband being he was a painter said he would paint the walls they said if he does the work himself we would only get 70 percent odf the estimate the same with some of the other work that was done such as cleaning my toilet,cleaning the vents so my question is can they nly pay us 70 percent of the estimates that we get


Asked on 3/07/06, 1:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Roger Traversa Arjont Group (Law Office of Roger Traversa)

Re: homeowners ins claims

It depends on your specific contract with the insurance company. In many cases the insurance company pays on the estimates and then will also pay if a contractor exceeds those estimates. You don't have to tell the insurer that you are or aren't having the work done by the person who provided the estimate.

Where you erred is in telling the insurer that "you" would do the work yourselves. The insurer does not need to pay you for your labor. There is no value in it (hard concept to explain). If they did pay you for your labor there are potential liabilities that are impossible for the insurer to absorb. The idea you need to convey is value not matter who does the work.

Simply put, if the insurer thinks you will be doing the work, according to most insurance contracts that I am aware of, and commonly at law, the insurer does not need to pay you for your time and effort.

Hire a contractor to do all the work that way if the contractor screws up or you discover further damage you won't have to fight with the insurer about who did what and when.

Hope that helps. Please feel free to contact me with any legal problems you may be having now or in the future.

Regards,

Roger Traversa

[email protected]

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Answered on 3/07/06, 2:04 pm


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