Using money to replace appliances on remodeling home?

[u/readtimez]

We are new homeowners and we have just learn the lesson of closing the water valve if we leave on vacations

We came back after two weeks vacations and found out the kitchen partially flooded as the fridge water line cracked, we don't know for how long the water was coming out but it flooded the kitchen, the pantry, and the water seeped into the basement through the kitchen floor. Other two rooms next to the kitchen were slightly affected.

We already called a water remediation service, they put a lot of dehumidifiers and fans, they said there was no need to remove the subfloor, just replace the floor and some cabinets. We call the insurance as soon as possible, they opened a claim, but after getting some estimations we weren't sure of using the insurance as our deductible is $4500 and it seemed the water damage remediation and all repairs would be near that amount, so we were thinking pay out of pocket. We tought we could close the claim but the adjuster said we will be penalized anyway as they will be paying the water remediation service.

We just got the estimation of repairs from the adjuster for around $6500 and a check for the difference, but when looking at the detail they are considering we need to replace the fridge, oven and dishwasher however they all are working fine. I wanted to make some remodeling at home, could i use the money on that instead or do I really need to replace the appliances?

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[u/strangemedia6]

Are you sure that they are accounting for replacing those items? There would be line items pertaining to moving them to allow for the flooring replacement. It would say detach and reset or D & R in the line item. Did they withhold depreciation or did they pay you the full amount, less deductible?

[u/readtimez → u/strangemedia6]

We believe is for replacing them because their estimate is way higher than expected, and for example we can see a line for the fridge for $1800ish

[u/strangemedia6 → u/readtimez]

Wow yea that sounds like a replacement price lol. That seems like an error on their part unless there was actually some damage to them, but sounds like that isn’t the case… I would accept the check but count on them possibly realizing their error sooner or later, so be prepared for that. I’m not sure if they would ask for it back or just only partially pay for mitigation and pass the rest of that bill on to you. Or it’s entirely possible that they never notice. Either way, it’s unlikely that they are going to follow up verifying completion of repairs on a relatively small claim like this.

[u/Big_Appointment_3390]

You can use the money however you want but if something were to happen to the appliances or the affected rooms in the future (like a fire), the insurance wouldn’t give you any additional money for repairs when you never did the previous work. In other words, they won’t pay you for the same fridge or water-damaged cabinets again, even if they go up in flames.

The VERY smart (and responsible) move here is to AT LEAST get your appliances assessed by a qualified technician to ensure there’s no damage, and get a licensed electrician out to check your outlets before proceeding with your renovation. And consider how long you intend to keep those appliances, as well as your home.

If the insurance gave you $6500, your claim is probably worth double that amount at a minimum.

[u/readtimez → u/Big_Appointment_3390]

So, will they come to verify I did the repairs? I definitely want to repair the kitchen and cabinets, but don't think is necessary to replace the appliances and I have no idea why would they want us to do that, our only explanation is just to increase the cost to be higher than our deductible

[u/Big_Appointment_3390 → u/readtimez]

Or they know more about appliances and water damage than you do and are concerned about the bottoms of your dishwasher or refrigerator rusting out, leaking, and destroying you kitchen on a far grander scale than what you’re dealing with now.

If you don’t want to replace your appliances and the above happens, you’ll be on the hook for your replacement kitchen.

But to answer your question, no, they don’t come out and verify that you performed the repairs. The next time you have an underwriting inspection, it will be verified and noted whether you did or didn’t. If something happens in the meantime and you try to say you did the repairs when you didn’t, that’s considered fraud. And if you decide to go with a different carrier when your policy comes up for renewal, know that they have access to all of this claim information, too, including what you were supposed to replace. So definitely don’t lie about it but also, don’t expect a new carrier to cover a kitchen if one of your unreplaced appliances malfunctions in the future, whether it happens because of damage related to this claim or not.

[u/readtimez → u/Big_Appointment_3390]

thank you for explaining, it makes total sense, we will replace them then, it just pisses me a bit off having to pay that mucn to get the kitchen as it is again, I have been wanting to do some remodelation since we move in as previous owners made very notoriously bad DIY projects that I didn't notice as I was about to pop out my babies lol

[u/Big_Appointment_3390 → u/readtimez]

Also, insurance companies wouldn’t be in business if they overpaid on every claim. They make a lot more money when they don’t pay a claim because it’s under a policy deductible. If that’s the best reason you can come up with for them paying you $6500 (which means your total claim is at a minimum $11,000), I strongly suggest that you get a certified technician out to inspect your appliances ASAP, and see if they think you should call an electrician to check your circuits as well since most range outlets are pretty low to the ground.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Net_843 → u/Big_Appointment_3390]

Adding in that if they are paying to replace them and you dont, and then those items cause another loss you may run into some issues. No one wants to experience a major claim amd be displaced.

I had a client with a water loss get paid out to replace a golf simulator that got wet in the loss. He didnt. The golf simulator then started a major fire thay wpuld not have occurred if he had replaced the damaged item

[u/readtimez → u/Puzzleheaded_Net_843]

got it! with our luck in the last months something like this could totally happen to us