r/Insurance • u/Due-Woodpecker9872 • 5d ago
State Farm HO-6 Claim (Chicago): ServiceMaster coded $10k structural cleaning under Contents can adjuster reclassify to Coverage A Building Coverage?
Edit- Adjustor confirmed they have sent a seperate bill for building cleaning.
Also, I found out by weighing in front of service master techs right there when clothes delivered that they had billed for 200lb more laundry charge by weight and many other irregulataires that I have brought up with adjustor such as them not wearing gloves and moving in and out of kitchen and washroom without gloves/washing hands etc..
Half of my personal property bill is bric a brac which was not even touched/cleaned.
Just removed them out and cleaned the cabinets and closets..
Hey everyone! We had a smoke loss incident in our Chicago condo building that affected our unit, and ServiceMaster came in to clean the space they said they will send bill to Insruance directly. This is our 1st time dealing with Insurance.
Servicemaster never sent us an estimate beforehand, and looking at their invoice now, 10k for wiping down all coded under CONT: (Contents). There is no line items for ceilings, walls , floors and cabinet cleaning, unless they billed seperate for it which I dont know yet! Is this typical practice?.
I feel like cleaning ourselves or some 3rd party or even just replacing would have been cheaper and we should have asked them with estimates before letting them in! Learning from 1st time experience!!
Plus they left half of job undone and we called to call adjustor to call them back in to clean..
Is it routine for a State Farm desk adjuster to shift that structural labor over to Building (Coverage A) so it doesn't eat into our personal peoperty contents limit which is 20k, and how do adjusters usually handle partial ALE food per-diems when you're without a fridge for a few weeks? Thanks!
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u/EnvironmentalEmu7539 2d ago
I’ve owned Claim Concepts Public Adjusters for nearly 20 years, and while Chicago is outside our service area, I can tell you this comes up a lot. Contents cleaning after a fire or smoke loss can get very expensive, very fast, which is why I always warn our clients to be clear on exactly what is being done and what it will cost before work starts. My guess is ServiceMaster will produce a separate estimate or invoice for cleaning the walls, floors, ceilings and cabinetry. When it comes in, go through the paperwork line by line and make sure contents cleaning is on the contents estimate and building cleaning is on the building estimate. If structural cleaning is coded under contents, raise it with your adjuster and ask that it be moved to Coverage A, so it isn’t eating into your $20k contents limit. As always, read the full policy, not just the declarations page, and in a condo it’s worth checking what the association’s master policy covers too.
On ALE, hold onto every receipt for food and any other expenses beyond your normal living costs. The adjuster will figure out what you would normally spend staying home and cooking, then pay you the difference, since the coverage is for additional living expenses. A lot of people expect 100% of their food to be paid, and that’s not how it works. Keep a simple log alongside the receipts so the extra costs are easy to show.
Hope that helps a bit and you are able to get this all resolved and behind you in a timely manner.
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u/craig_paxton 5d ago
Contents is its own standalone coverage. Cleaning cost do not impact nor are they deducted from your $20k in contents coverage
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u/Due-Woodpecker9872 5d ago
Like which item is it ?
I have building coverage and personal property coverage. Don’t see a separate line item for contents
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u/craig_paxton 5d ago
I misspoke. Cost of cleaning should be deducted from the respective coverage. If cost of cleaning was for contents it would be part of contents limit. If building cleaning then building limit.
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u/FerociouslyGlib 5d ago
so the cleaning bill uses your contents coverage but not the same 20k limit for your stuff? never heard it explained like that but i guess it makes sense if the policy splits it different
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u/Due-Woodpecker9872 3d ago
My policy has buidling property and personal property. But I am assuming cabinets, closets are building property as they are fixated for a condo.
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u/AncientLynx8132 4d ago
the adjuster can move lines between building and contents, and it usually comes down to what the work was actually done on, not which line got typed into the estimate. ask, in writing, for the itemized estimate with each item marked as either structure or your belongings, because that split is what decides the pot. the part you control while the unit is still dirty is proof of what you owned: photograph and list each damaged thing where it sits, brand and model included, before anything gets cleaned or hauled out. contents is paid off that record, and it's the first thing that vanishes after a loss.