Family cottage burnt down - need advice

[FishFinder17]

Hi OFC,

Got some unfortunate news that our beloved Muskoka family cottage burnt to the ground yesterday - nothing left...

I'm hoping I can help my parents out in any way possible but have no experience with insurance claims of this magnitude. 

Has anyone been through a similar experience? and if so, do you have any tips to share on dealing with insurance companies, maximizing your payout, minimizing timelines, etc?

Some of the bigger questions I have - 

-How do we get the process moving as quickly as possible? What's a reasonable timeline to expect?
-Will it make more sense to rebuild and sell a brand new cottage? Or take the payout and sell the lot?
-How do we properly quantify the contents inside the cottage that should be covered (including my fishing gear)?

Obviously there's a lot that goes into answering some of these questions and I don't expect to get all of the answers, but there's a lot of experience on this board that I'm hoping to tap into. 

Many thanks in advance for your help,

FF17

Edited March 26, 2019 by FishFinder17

[OhioFisherman]

Sorry about your families loss, never been thru anything like that, but pictures of the cottage and contents before the fire might help to establish the value?

[Snidley]

Don't go for the first offer from the insurance company. Quickest is almost never the best settlement

[Canuck]

Call your insurance agent. They are not the insurance company. They work for you. They will tell you everything you need to know about the claim. They will need a list of contents and estimated age of each thing. So start making the list. They will want prove of ownership for as much as you can support but will cover other stuff too  

My advise is to avoid the temptation of saying you have something you didn’t. Your claim will go sideways fast if they show you misrepresented anything. 

[FishFinder17]

1 hour ago, OhioFisherman said:

Sorry about your families loss, never been thru anything like that, but pictures of the cottage and contents before the fire might help to establish the value?

Thank you very much. We are currently collecting the pictures we have

[FishFinder17]

15 minutes ago, Snidley said:

Don't go for the first offer from the insurance company. Quickest is almost never the best settlement

Good advice! thank you

[FishFinder17]

14 minutes ago, Canuck said:

Call your insurance agent. They are not the insurance company. They work for you. They will tell you everything you need to know about the claim. They will need a list of contents and estimated age of each thing. So start making the list. They will want prove of ownership for as much as you can support but will cover other stuff too  

My advise is to avoid the temptation of saying you have something you didn’t. Your claim will go sideways fast if they show you misrepresented anything. 

Thanks for the advice. Have already been in touch with insurance and just getting some details on next steps. 

Definitely want to keep things accurate. I'm more worried about forgetting to put something on the list than making something up.

 

[Terry]

it is almost always better to rebuild then settle

if you settle they value the building at the value it was, if you rebuild they must build by todays standards and all new so much more value, much more money in your pocket when you sell. at least thats how it was for me

i found the insurance company was easier to work with then the company i paid to rebuild, get into the agreement a firm finishing date with penalties for being late

[FishFinder17]

4 minutes ago, Terry said:

it is almost always better to rebuild then settle

if you settle they value the building at the value it was, if you rebuild they must build by todays standards and all new so much more value, much more money in your pocket when you sell. at least thats how it was for me

i found the insurance company was easier to work with then the company i paid to rebuild, get into the agreement a firm finishing date with penalties for being late

Thanks Terry, 

I wasn't aware that there would be a difference between what insurance would payout in cash, and what they would pay to do the rebuild. Very good to know. 

How long did your rebuild take?

[Terry]

year and a half

[irishfield]

I didn't even think they'd pay and let you walk away anymore to avoid owner "mortgage burning" fires. I thought you had to rebuild...

 

Sorry about your parents mess there FF17... and I thought worrying if my roof was still there this winter was tough.

[FishFinder17]

1 hour ago, irishfield said:

I didn't even think they'd pay and let you walk away anymore to avoid owner "mortgage burning" fires. I thought you had to rebuild...

 

Sorry about your parents mess there FF17... and I thought worrying if my roof was still there this winter was tough.

Thanks irishfield.  Just got the pictures of the aftermath and it is completely gone :(

[Tjames09]

Sorry about the cottage.

Any reason your looking to sell now? Id imagine rebuilt it'd be a nice new place.

I don't know if insurance companies will offer a cash settlement and leave an empty lot; I actually think they will make you build something. Id imagine there would be stipulations stating something must be built; otherwise the insurance money could be spent on something it wasn't intended for. 

[lew]

Really sorry to hear about your cottage, that's lousy news.

Hopefully the insurance company takes care of everything for you.

[spincast]

Sorry to hear that. . Take a deep breath, the next little bit may be stressful, especially if you aren't used to these types of things. . I would start by reading the policy - every last sentence.  Every policy  is different. Assuming you have a broker (not with someone like TD or Belair direct), get your broker involved. So much depends on the policy, the quality of the company who wrote the policy, and even whether or not you have other policies with the same insurer.  Depending on the circumstances , you may want to contact a lawyer before you sign or agree to anything. If it don't feel right, it probably isn't.  And never lose sight that the insurance company is in it to minimise their payout while still meeting their legal obligation. 

Without understanding your coverages, very difficult to provide any guidance beyond that.

[AKRISONER]

i couldnt even imagine...wow sorry to hear man

[chris.brock]

Not me, but my parents had the top of a big white pine break off in a windstorm and land on their cottage roof. Caved the roof, branches protruding through the roof and ceiling into the main room.

It was a lot of hassle for my parents, and it took 2 years to get everything back to right, but the insurance company lived up to their obligations with some prodding.

 good luck 

[craigdritchie]

7 hours ago, Terry said:

it is almost always better to rebuild then settle

if you settle they value the building at the value it was, if you rebuild they must build by todays standards and all new so much more value, much more money in your pocket when you sell. at least thats how it was for me

i found the insurance company was easier to work with then the company i paid to rebuild, get into the agreement a firm finishing date with penalties for being late

The kind of payout the insurance company will offer depends what kind of policy the cottage was insured under. If it was insured under an Agreed Cash Value policy, then the company will pay out whatever value you  agreed upon when the policy was taken out, and that's it.

If the cottage was insured under a Full Replacement Cost policy, then they will pay the full replacement cost, no questions asked.

Former in-laws had a tree come down on their cottage. Full replacement cost policy. Repaired to like-new condition in six weeks.

Talk to your agent, and good luck. Sorry for your loss.

Edited March 27, 2019 by craigdritchie

[OhioFisherman]

Fishfinder, was that the one in Gravenhurst?

[Old Man]

Lost the bulk of our house to a tornado about 8 years ago. Your first challenge will be dealing with the adjuster. My advice is  to first determine the value of the property. Looking through local real estate pricing is your first start.  From there on, if you encounter problems with the adjuster and the company, you can always chose to bring in a public adjuster to work on your behalf. In my case, the mere mention of this course,  along with my expressed willingness to go to court for settlement suddenly brought about a quick a equitable settlement. 

[Chuck Enwinde]

I'd work on itemizing everything in and around the cottage that will need to be replaced.  There is virtually no way that you'll remember everything but everything lost has a replacement value - from the bed sheets to the utensils. I had to make a claim a few years back- forgot that each of the reels I lost had ~$25 worth of Powerpro on.  Best of luck.  

[FishFinder17]

10 hours ago, OhioFisherman said:

Fishfinder, was that the one in Gravenhurst?

Yes it was

[FishFinder17]

13 hours ago, lew said:

Really sorry to hear about your cottage, that's lousy news.

Hopefully the insurance company takes care of everything for you.

Thanks Lew

[FishFinder17]

9 hours ago, Old Man said:

Lost the bulk of our house to a tornado about 8 years ago. Your first challenge will be dealing with the adjuster. My advice is  to first determine the value of the property. Looking through local real estate pricing is your first start.  From there on, if you encounter problems with the adjuster and the company, you can always chose to bring in a public adjuster to work on your behalf. In my case, the mere mention of this course,  along with my expressed willingness to go to court for settlement suddenly brought about a quick a equitable settlement. 

This is great, thanks. Didn't consider bringing in a public adjuster but that's a good plan to have if things go sideways. 

[FishFinder17]

Thanks to everyone for all of the insights and advice. My family has read through this thread and we're all really grateful for the support. 

Please keep the comments coming, I really appreciate it. 

I'll keep everyone updated with our progress. 

 

Thanks again,

FF17