Danny, I'm in Canada, so we have different insurance companies up here. I didn't hire a lawyer as my thought was that the lawyer would end up with all the money. I had a flood--and i waited a fair bit of time for the water to do the damage that it was going to do. ie. Cracking of my wooden california shutters, rust forming around the pot lights. This type of damage takes time to appear and the insurance wanted to get out fast and not cover these items. It was difficult to get them to acknowledge the damage. The restoration company that they wanted me to use, and who assessed the damage, was definitely "in bed" with the insurance company and kept denying all of the damage. They kept telling me that the cracks were "pre-existing" condition. This was garbage. I had just moved into the condo 6 months prior to the flood, so I had all the photos from the real estate company. One tip: Take lots of photos--including photos of your premises BEFORE you have a flood/fire. I was so frustrated with the contractor/insurance adjuster that I started to cry when they were here and denying all the damage--which was very apparent. This wasn't meant as a "tactic"--it was tears of frustration and anger. Well, once I started to cry, they actually approved the blinds (which were quoted at about $10,000 to replace) and 1/2 of my kitchen cupboards--where there were gaps and cracks forming in the doors. Luckily, most of my condo was wallpapered and they finally agreed that the wallpaper was ruined. (replacement cost to purchase wallpaper was around $8000). That added a fair bit to the claim. What started off as a $30K offer from the insurance ended up being a $120K claim. So I feel that my perserverance paid off. Once the insurance agreed to the damage, then they would pay for a quote that i proved them for materials, ie. the blinds, wallpaper, but they would not "up" their price for labour. It was crazy. They were offering $50 total for labour to wallpaper my large bedroom. Go find a guy who will do a huge room for $50. Trust me--it was a frustrating exercise. I had switch many of my trades to find people who would do the work for a more reasonable price. I can tell you that the other people in my building who sustained damage in this large leak who had insurance with Chubb had no issues with Chubb. During my 18 months of being out of my condo, i had lots of time to google insurance issues. It appears that people are unhappy with all insurance companies! I was not "under-insured", but I have increased my coverage since this incident. I had $150,000 out of home coverage--which covers living in a hotel while you are out of your place and moving costs. The insurance company told me to go a furnished suite near my home in a very fancy part of Toronto. It was over $5000 per month. So, after 18 months, the 150K was depleting quickly. I also never factored into my calculations how much it would cost to do the work needed immediately following the flood--removing the carpets, bringing in fans and water extractors, etc etc. So be sure when you calculate how much insurance coverage you need, that you add extra for these type of things. My insurance really wanted me to use their contractor--but my friends who had claims were very unhappy with the work of the insurance contractors. Plus, the insurance told me that their mandate is to restore everything back as it was before. If you decide that during the process you want to change something, they will not do it. So I decided to hire my own trades people and make some changes/improvements to the condo. I hope that this helps!

We have Medicare A + B and the "G" supplement. The difference between these 2 is that the "G" has a one time co-pay/deductible of $183, about the cost of one doctor's visit with blood work. All other coverage is the same. The "F" plan premium is $43.40 more per month. So, if you project having more than one medical visit a year then "G" will save you money. Of course you will get that one bill to pay.

Well our agent/broker came over today and said a lot of insurance companies are hiring out this type of inspection to freelancers - if they can't find something legitimate to complain about then they do stuff like this to try to justify their cost to the insurance company. He agreed this was not something they should even be looking at and he was going to call the insurance company. We have no problem leaving them for another company since we've only had them for the past 2 years. Funny thing about trees - we have 2 huge ones that are obviously dying. We are just waiting for it to get dry enough for the tree contractor to bring his heavy equipment onto the property without getting stuck. The inspector never even brought anything up about them.

Your contractor should have been able to get the increase almost immediately so perhaps he is stalling for some other reason. You should get your GC to name you as an additional insured on the policy and also get a copy of his Workman's Comp policy. You should also talk to your own insurance company and get an umbrella policy. These are relatively inexpensive because they kick in after you have exceeded liability claims for auto and homeowner's insurance in the event you are hit with a million dollar claim. I think I paid about $125 for my umbrella policy - but you need to have sufficient regular insurance coverage. I also state this because you say you live in a building. If any kind of plumbing issues can flood your neighbors, the liability is potentially enormous. My crazy neighbor flooded all the units below him. People have had to move out of their units while they are repaired - bathrooms needed to be gutted - all flooring had to be replaced etc. Owners of course use their own insurance to get paid immediately but the insurance companies then will subrogate the claims and go against everyone involved with the flood.