Does the insurance require you to order an appraiser?

Here's something you do not know

New survey data show that about 60% of the insured in an apartment policy are not aware of their right to order a private appraiser, which leads to a huge financial loss

Walla!

Real Estate

25/01/2022

Tuesday, 25 January 2022, 10:03

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Over the past few months, many hundreds of lawsuits have been filed with insurance companies for property damage that occurred to apartments due to flood damage, stemming from the overflow of municipal sewers.

Failure of capacity and inability to contain the enormous amounts of rainwater, caused the apartments damage estimated at tens of millions of shekels, when in most cases, these are items such as wooden furniture, sofas, and a lot of equipment soaked in water.

As with any property damage, the insurance company sends an appraiser whose job it is to estimate the amount of damage to the contents and structure, but this is not a neutral factor, but an agent on behalf of the insurance company.

In light of this, the regulator determined that the insured have the option of summoning a private appraiser, who will provide a counter-opinion to the one issued by the appraiser sent by the insurer.

But new survey data reveal that 59% of policyholders in an apartment policy are unaware of this right they have.

This emerges from a survey recently conducted by the Torts Forum.

The survey, which examined the consumer attitudes of insureds in an apartment policy, in which 809 respondents were surveyed, revealed another problematic finding: 69% of insureds who are aware of this right avoid it due to fears that the insurance company will impose difficulties, given the involvement of a foreign entity.

This is a very problematic finding, the forum notes, as it is a basic right of insureds to receive an additional opinion, which may have a significant effect on the amount of compensation they will receive from the insurance company.

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Has the damage reached you?

The insurance company has an interest in minimizing it (Photo: Fire and Rescue)

The water problem

The Torts Forum points to another problem that infringes on the rights of insureds: the water that penetrates into the apartment spaces, often floods the floor with huge amounts of sewage, which penetrates through it and is absorbed in the sand substrate below the embossments. Admittedly, a standard apartment floor is designed to prevent water intrusion, but due to the excessive amount, they level their way through the protrusions, are absorbed in the sand substrate and even cause its displacement. Water absorption can cause many damages: from the formation of bacteria and germs that can cause respiratory problems and allergies to mildew and mold that create odor damage that lasts a long time. The problem is that more than once, in these insurance cases, the appraisers on behalf of the insurers tend to determine that the sand should not be replaced but offer the cheapest solution - dry it. Seemingly, this is an effective solution, but in practice, it imposes long months of suffering on the insured, and more than once it does not restore the status quo ante.

"This is not just about disagreements that arise in the context of sand replacement, but about an argument that takes place around an estimate of damage to many contents," notes Boaz Sheps, a property appraiser from Sheps Engineering and Appraisals, one of Israel's top property appraisers.

According to him, this is the case even when, for example, the damage caused to a sofa or other items that are commonly damaged in floods is estimated.

"The difference between the cost of drying and the cost of replacement can sometimes reach hundreds of percent and it is clear that the insurer, through a branch, has an interest in reducing the damage as much as possible, while the insured has an interest in receiving insurance compensation that best reflects the amount of damage."

Nefs adds that the flood water, which is absorbed in damaged property, is not drinking water but turbid water, which usually contains oils and sewage products, so no one can and should agree to a situation where the insurer will categorically determine that the only solution is drying.

In addition, the forum notes that insureds often complain about the poor quality of work performed by rehabilitation companies sent on behalf of insurance companies.

They will usually not see the immediate damage to the walls after drying.

Take a photo immediately (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Persistent decay

And if we are exercising the rights of insureds around flood damage, it seems inevitable to point out another unfortunate fact: despite the presence of a camera on every phone, reality shows that many do not bother to photograph the damage in real time, which later leads to failure to prove the extent and extent of the damage. .

Shanpas points out that a tree exposed to water swells and is destroyed, however this is not an immediate damage to the eye, but a process of ongoing decay.

According to him, often, an appraiser who comes to the apartment after the water has been pumped out of it, can not detect that a little while ago the flood flooded the living room and hit and penetrated into the details of the furniture in it.

The insured who did not photograph the injury itself in time, may find himself in a situation where he will have difficulty proving that he was harmed.

And this is not a warning in a maiden or a private case.

The Torts Forum notes that thousands of insureds are appalled to find that several months after the flood, the furniture is contorted as a result of water exposure but the appraiser's report did not address this, leading to insurance benefits that do not faithfully reflect the amount of damage.

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