Close Call

My wonderful neighbor lets me use her car port attached to her garage to store my vehicles out of the weather. So in preparation for the big storm our vehicles were arranged and the Tacoma was parked out of the weather. So this morning I drive my plow truck down to where the Tacoma is parked and this is what I find.











What is amazing is that I cannot see any damage to the truck. There is debris in the bed and pieces of roof shingles on the roof. The hole in the roof over the top of the truck did not have a branch come through the roof. Luckily I decided to drive in instead if back in. I also pulled the truck within an inch of touching in the front. I do feel very fortunate!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

Close call indeed

 

Your wise neighbor gets her wonderful neighbor to cut up/remove the old deadfall tree from in front of her carport. ...And maybe he'll reroof that old carport while he's at it.

 

I suspect that you are correct. My girlfriend and I will clean up the deadfall and probably make some temporary repairs until spring or early summer. Then the fun begins. After the Tacoma was removed I could see there is a broken rafter and a hole that stretched for a good six feet across two sheets of plywood. That will require quite a bit of shingle replacement.

 

Definitely! I really don't understand how the truck was missed completely.

 

Time to go play the lottery. LOL You're a lucky S.O.B..

 

I am not so sure. I think I pretty much used up all my luck already!

 

LOL, yea you did luck out on this.

 

x2

 

You are very lucky!!Will you continue to park your truck there or are you going to do something else ?

 

This was the first time the Tacoma was parked there. Usually it is one of our other vehicles, typically the MINI. Which is short enough and low enough so I think that would have escaped also. That part of the tree was dead and that is what caused it to fall. But the danger has passed as there are no other trees that could fall and cause similar damage. So, yes, I would park there again.

 

i do believe sir, that is what charlie brown would call a thanksgiving miracle! glad to hear the truck made it through and is ok.

BUT FOR FOLKS NOT SO LUCKY, in the event something similar happens and damages do happen to your car/truck/boat/camper/UTV/ATV/trailer, etc... insurance wise, any insurance policy on the vehicle/item will be responsible for damages. if the vehicle is in a carport or a shop with AN OPEN SIDE, OPEN DOOR, ETC, and the damaged vehicle does not have insurance, NO MATTER WHAT KIND of policy you have on the structure itself, the vehicle is NOT COVERED and damages will not be covered!

if the vehicle is stored in a COMPLETELY closed environment, meaning 4 walls, ceiling and slab and no doors/windows are open at the time the damage occurs, the policy on the vehicle covers damages up to the limit of that policy, THEN the insurance on the structure will cover any damages above the vehicles policy limits (up to the limits of the structures coverage of course) . if the vehicle/boat/camper/whatever has NO insurance, if it is in a 100% enclosed structure and that structure has contents coverage (which most all do unless the insurance agent has an IQ of 27) and that structure suffers damage due to covered peril (like a storm) and during that event the vehicle is damaged, that policy WILL cover damages to the vehicle/boat/whatever (of course up to policy limits). thats some little known and even less understood insurance guidelines most people do not know.

i worked as an adjuster as a young pup and now i am an agent, i have seen many people get screwed because (for example) a tree smashed their house or shop during a hurricane and damaged their boats/cars/atv's/etc that were inside and the vehicle did not have insurance, but the insurance on the house/shop DID NOT have to pay for the damages to the vehicle because some idiot forgot to close the shop door or someone parked them under a carport thinking the vehicle/boat/atv/etc would be covered, which they are not.

easiest way to kinda grasp the concept (what we would tell new adjusters) picture being in your bathroom or living room with the doors closed. a storm comes, the storm knocks over a tree and crushes your house. if your truck/boat/atv whatever is in there with you when the tree fell and gets damaged its covered under the house's policy.

now picture yourself sitting in the garage thats built into your house and you have the garage door open and a storm comes, the storm knocks over a tree and crushes your garage/house. if your truck/boat/atv whatever is in there with you when the tree fell and gets damaged its NOT covered under the house's policy. (should have shut the garage door!)

i know its a small print, kinda obscure rule, but i have seen dozens of people get screwed for simply not shutting the garage door, or because they parked under an open sided carport!

just thought that may help some folks out during a winter storm or something

 

Joseph, That's good info. What you didn't explain is that many claims are never even formally filed because some yahoo phone jocky at the insurance company or agency had a discouraging message for the insured. Even just a "Probably not" as a response to the question is enough to put off most people who actually have a legitimate claim. Of course, if it comes back at that jerk later from a persistent customer, then, it was "just a misunderstanding".

You've probably heard of many such "misunderstandings", and have helped many of those so afflicted with initial "doubts" of coverage. Thanks again for the helpful advice. Rep to you, sir!

 

Good insurance info to have indeed. Many thanks. Any idea if those guidelines vary state to state or are they pretty much the same regardless of where you live?

 

most homes have HO-3 (homeowner form 3) policies, it includes the standard coverages you expect for your home, your personal property (your stuff) and coverage for additional structures on the property like your fence and work shop, etc. some have HO-5 policies, basically the same as HO-3 but include a few extra's like higher limits of coverage on jewelry, firearm, cash/coins, etc some have whats called a DW-3 on their home but usually its used to cover rental properties.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU GET A COPY OF YOUR POLICY AND READ IT, ACTUALLY LOOK WHAT COVERAGE YOU HAVE! if you are not sure what you have, on any policy, if you would like me to take a look and break it down for you, i will gladly do so. some agents are not as honest as the 99% of other ones and will sell you a dwelling policy instead of a homeowners policy so that they can quote you a lower premium and get your business! dwelling policies CAN have almost the same coverage as your typical homeowners policy, BUT several of the coverages included in a homeowners policy have to be added as options on a dwelling policy.

the HO-3 and H0-5 forms are pretty much standard across companies and states. but each states commissioner of insurance can make edits and additions to any policy form and approve companies to make changes as well. a good example is state farm. i worked for them doing property claims for many years when i first started out. the homeowners policies they offer are based on the standard HO-3 and HO-5 form, but they took the standard form and added a few things to them. (they didnt take anything out so if you have state farm dont freak out lol!) its just an example of how changes can be made

in this case, for examples like i stated above, its pretty much uniform across all states and companies how those type of losses are handled.

another way to look at it in simple terms is that any vehicle or boat or toy, etc that can be insured, should be insured and have its own policy. so the way companies look at is this... if you own a car and a tree falls on it, and also your house, you should have had coverage on both. but if your car is locked up in your living room or closed in garage, etc and a tree smashes the house and when it smashed your house it also smashed your car in your house and the car does not have full comprehensive coverage, the car can be considered personal property just like your tv that got smashed when the tree fell, and the damage would be covered under your homeowners policy.

most of these type of situations i have run into are like when a guy buys an old corvette and is rebuilding it in the garage. of course he would not have a full coverage auto policy on it.

i can give you a real world example of a claim i handled, i know this really sucks and doesnt seem right but, this is what happened and it followed the policy guidelines to the letter.

Houston, TX, during hurricane Ike, a family's home was damaged badly during the storm. they had a large metal workshop in the back yard. they also has a trailer they stored in the shop with a small living/camping space up front and space in the back for their motorcycles . the trailer had a generator built into it. while the storm was still going on in order to have comfortable shelter and use the generator, kinda camp out in the trailer while it was parked in the shop until the storm passed. they did not have coverage on the trailer. they rolled up the door to the shop about 4 feet so the generator exhaust would be ventilated. a tree fell on the shop, smashed it and smashed about half of the trailer. thankfully they were not hurt. the damage to the shop was covered under their homeowners policy as an addition structure, the extra expense for the fuel to run the generator was covered as an additional living expense, the damage to the trailer was NOT covered because it was not enclosed in the shop! if the roll up door had been closed the damage to the trailer would have been covered.

 

well that is true sometimes, more so in the past. in the last few years what myself and alot of agents and adjusters have noticed is that covered damages that SHOULD be claimed or not because people are too afraid that if they call the agent or the company about it, their rates will go up. there are some, well alot of shady agents that could give a damn about customers, they treat them like inventory and its just a job! what you need to know is that legally, the agent is supposed to be your representative, meaning they are supposed to look out for you and your best interests. in fact that is the law. starting out as an adjuster, i guess makes me actually take the position as an agent much more seriously than the folks who become an agent because its a job and they need a job. when you first start out as an adjuster, you get sent to the worst places after the worst storms and stuff and have to actually meet and talk to these people who yesterday had a perfect life and today are homeless and have no clue how they will be able to feed their child tomorow. so even though 99.9% of people do not, i actually understand how important it is that people have the coverage they need and also UNDERSTAND the coverage they have.

another thing alot of people do not understand that makes them scared to file a claim for their home is that in most states you can file at least 1 'act of god' claim per 3 years and the companies cant hold it against you. meaning like if a hurricane hits your house and you have to file a claim, dont be scared to do so, the company cant (in most states) drop you or raise your rates some outrageous amount. NOW a claim for ANYTHING to do with a fire not started by lightening, will mark you for at least 6 years! no company will touch you! the same with a liability claim!

ALWAYS REMEMBER 2 THINGS

1. call your agent before the insurance company! ask his/her advice and if your not sure what to say or do ask them!

2. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER say the word LAWYER! until the insurance company has made their final offer, EVEN if you do have one!! if you do, you will get screwed! as an adjuster i can tell you 100%, that 99% of the time getting a lawyer involved you will get way less in the end! and 100% of the time telling the insurance company you have a lawyer you will get less! this is the reason... companies want you out of their hair ASAP, every day the claim is open you costing them a fortune literally! during a national disaster adjusters are getting paid about $500 a day. so if your house has $50,000 worth of damage and according the policy only $40,000 is actually covered, if you complain enough and drag it out, be nice, be patient, and above all make friends with the adjuster so he will remember who you are when a manager asks and can honestly say YES these people were affected and this is how..., 8 times out of 10 they will pay you the extra EVEN THOUGH the policy says they do not have to, just to shut you up!

we were trained, if you hear the word lawyer, close up shop basically, hand the claim over to the companies lawyers and from then on THERE IS NO ROOM TO NEGOTIATE, YOU WILL GET THE AMOUNT THE POLICY STATES! and your lawyer will charge you as well!

IMPORTANT! remember the average large claim has about 6 checks issued before it is officially closed. accepting a payment, without signing a release, DOES NOT mean the claim is closed! AFTER the insurance company says, this is it, this is all we will ever pay, even if its a year or 2 after the loss you can still call a lawyer. when you make that call 2 years later, he can do all the same things he could have done if you called the day after the loss, so it makes no sense to get a lawyer involved right away and risk getting less money. once you can get all the money you can without a lawyer and THEN if your not happy call a lawyer and get them involved to see if you can get you what you think is fair.

 

Wow!

 

You lucky man I am never that lucky. I will be sure to send you some lottery tickets for christmas.

 

OP, glad your truck's okay! JB1965, thank you for dropping knowledge on us!!

 

Thanks! I am very glad too. Just inspected the roof closely and I cannot see a mark on it. And the Tacoma is now idling in the driveway with an extension cord hooked up to my tenants heater from the truck bed. No power for the last 18 hours. Temps between 20 to 30 degrees. Already warmed up my side from 45 to 66.