Add'l Living Expense clause
by RichmondBC on Aug 5, 2016
1 out of 5 stars
I recently had a flood and had to move out for 78 weeks. I found the insurance company average when it came to service but S_L_O_W to respond to calls, slow to reimbursement of money I put out (I am not a bank for BCAA) and slow to get things done
I had a sewage backup flood in November - December while away from home for 9 weeks. Christmas weekend December 24 - 25, 2016 I reported the claim. CanStar Restoration arrived and did some damage control but their team missed a significant part of the damage in walls and floors and subfloors. This is being dealt with by BCAA afresh to address the extent of the damage. More on that when I know result but I have spent $1000's to fix the full extent of the damage myself. CLAIMSPRO adjuster Ms A.D. did not give me any information in writing or provide forms, processes, contact information. When I went up the line to her manager, Mr. J.L. I got no help. I was seriously ill so not dealing with the situation effectively. On July 18th, approx., I engaged the assistance of the Vice President of ClaimsPro (found name and number on Google) and by Friday that week, the insurance payout cheque was in my hands. That day I learned via email comment from MS A.D. on July 22, 2017 that there was a BCAA representative assigned to my Claim who would "cut the cheque". Today, July 24, I phoned BCAA for advice on the extensive (missed) damage and was informed that the BCAA rep should have been involved by ClaimsPro, engaging me in the information loop with my (unknown) BCAA claim examiner. Had I known she existed, I'd have met with her and got my questions and concerns dealt with. Instead, several months of serious distress, no communication, nothing in writing, no answers, and serious financial costs associated with waiting several months for a cheque that should have been released in April 2017 latest. With information about what to do about the "missed" sewage damage.
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BCAA was awesome few years ago... when ClaimsPro was not the their 3rd party adjuster company. I don't recall being this frustrated when I had similar claim few years back (flooding that requires laminate flooring to be replaced throughout the house). Their contractor has found our main floor (which is our access to kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom) to be "unsafe" due to accident prone while the main floor and stairs are being replaced but they still find it "liveable". The policy states that they will cover living expense when "unfit for occupancy". Which becomes debatable... after numerous battles with both ClaimsPro and BCAA directly, they concluded that being unsafe is still fit for occupancy. I was advised to use my common sense that if construction site (house) is unsafe, to use my judgement to be cautious... even if I have small kids. They've stated that if I were to fix my damage on my own, I'd be careful not be in any sort of accident. Then I wondered isn't it the reason why we take insurance? So we have a peace of mind in not harming ourselves during claim renovation... hence the clause for 'additional living expense' for when 'unfit for occupancy'? This is really dumb. I'd like to formally complaint to BCAA and BBB for this part of the policy to be clarified. I don't understand the logic.