Storm damage all done for $60.
Over two weeks ago my house in Durban received some storm damage and I had to get the insurance company in. They have been more than just good and maybe I am not used to finding service like this today. What was a common practice 20 or 30 years ago is not so common now and when you find a company that bends over backwards it does feel strange.
A tree had damaged the boundary wall and with severe rains had loosened the foundations at the same time. The wall is at the top of a bank with around a 10 meter slope going down to the garden and swimming pool. The swimming pool was on the receiving end as the water saturated soil filled in part of it. The pump that works the pool packed up and it sounds like it burnt out. There were a few other issues that should have been raised at the time that weren't.
I contacted the bank that handles my mortgage and insurance to see at what stage we are at for the repairs. In other countries they send out assessors first and do a detailed list so they can then hand out particular jobs for specialized work. They obviously don't do that and go with the owners word.
The boundary wall had a builder assess the damage and they can't properly assess everything until a tree feller has removed the tree. That is happening over the next two days. The builder will then assess the way forward and do the repairs fixing what is broken. They are then getting a landscaper to re do the bank. This sounds too good to be true as I was not expecting that.
I was concerned about the electric fence that runs along the top of the wall so they agreed to send an electrician to sort out any other issues. The swimming pool is being cleaned and the pump replaced and they didn't even check the pump if it was working or not. The insurance company is going on everyone word which I find strange and worrying.
This is why you send an insurance assessor out so you get everything checked thoroughly and aren't just adding to the list. I don't know why or how they work this way but I am not complaining as they are going over and above what I thought they would do. The best bit is the excess is minimal and the swimming pool is going to cost me $30 and the builder another $30 so everything covered , repaired or replaced for a mere $60.
The beauty about this whole thing is we are getting ready to sell and this happened at the best possible time.
Wow, that is pretty impressive! I can't believe they are not sending an assessor out either. You better keep an eye on your bills and make sure they don't raise your premium because you are making a claim! Maybe not as many people there hold insurance so they have an excess of money to pay out :P
This is how they operate. I am not worried as I am putting the house on the market within the next few weeks as soon as the work is done and I have painted the boundary wall. It seems like the best time now before something else happens.
Indeed, you are probably right!
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That the insurance company would take your word when it comes to the damage is strange indeed.
When you reported the incident, did you send a detailed description of the damage complete with a lot of photos? Do you have a history as a good customer with this company? Perhaps they're saving costs by not sending an inspector to look into every case, only the less clear cut ones?
I spoke to them over the phone and was very vague with the damage as i wasn't really sure. I was expecting an assessor to double check and not receive calls from two different companies who were going to do the repairs. I have been a customer with them for a long time, but I still think they should be checking.It would surely cost them more by not sending an assessor in the long run.
Perhaps they have worked out they can trust some of their best long-term customers and that it does not pay to send an assessor every single time.
So you are saying, sometimes bad things are good things. :)
You never really know .... do you?
I hope it all goes as promised.
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haha! howdy sir cryptoandcoffee! wow $60! that's unbelievable. Where are you moving? Not out of the country yet?
No this is my second house and rent it out. Going to fix it up and sell it as it is just costing me money these days and the rental doesn't cover all the expenses.
oh how interesting..so being a landlord is a tough business to be in these days. In South Africa. Well I hope you get a good price for it, if alot of people are moving out of the country that would create a buyer's market.
I don't think a lot of people are leaving at the moment. Majority of the people left can't leave anyway as they have South African passports and are stuck.
Is the government trying to keep people from being able to leave?
I don't have any experience with international travel so I don't know how hard it is to get a passport
to travel out of country. I bet alot of them would leave if they could.
No they aren't stopping them but if you have a South African passport there are only a few options for you. You can't just move to another country.
Oh rats. Because other countries don't want people from South Africa?
You can leave when you get ready though, right?