What do I do with the extra money from a homeowners insurance check?
Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at
4:23 am
Jereme D asked:
We have a leak in our roof. Insurance company sent an appraiser out to take a look. A week later they sent us a check for $12,000. A contractor I regularly use quoted me a price of $2,000 to do the repairs. I didn’t show him the quote sheet from the insurance company because I didn’t want him to know how much we received for the repairs, but I’m pretty confident he knows exactly what needs to be done to repair it correctly.
We have a leak in our roof. Insurance company sent an appraiser out to take a look. A week later they sent us a check for $12,000. A contractor I regularly use quoted me a price of $2,000 to do the repairs. I didn’t show him the quote sheet from the insurance company because I didn’t want him to know how much we received for the repairs, but I’m pretty confident he knows exactly what needs to be done to repair it correctly.
In the letter that has the estimate, it says I need to submit a receipt for the repair work done, but then I got the check shortly after the estimate arrived, so it seems as if they wouldn’t need a receipt now since they’ve already cut the check.
My question is, can my insurance company come back later and ask for extra money back in what they sent minus the actual repair cost? Or can I spend the extra money however I want?
The check is written to myself and the mortgage company.
Tagged with: Insurance Company • Mortgage Company • Receipt
Filed under: Homeowners Insurance
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Well, it seems that either they overpaid by accident, adding an extra zero, or that the check was for more than the roof repair – like inside water damage repair, as well.
If it was an error, they can come back to you for it. If not, you can do whatever you want, IF you can get it from your mortgage company.
See, you can’t cash that check yourself. You have to sign it, and send it in to the mortgage company, who will pay the contractor as the job is completed.
The insurance company just wants to verify that the work is done.
But you need to be really, really sure, that what your contractor does, is ALL the work the insurance company paid for. Because I bet it isn’t!
Ask for (if you haven’t received it) a copy of the adjuster’s estimate – if, after receiving it, you still can’t figure it out, call the adjuster and ask.
It sounds like the adjuster probably wrote an estimate for an entire roof replacement, or some additional damages. It’s possible that the adjuster did not feel the repairs would match, or some other issue.
Here is the danger – if the insurance company paid you for a complete roof replacement, and you have the roof repaired (not replaced) and pocket the money, and if you have another roof claim with this same insurance company, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get them to pay to have your roof replaced a second time (since you didn’t use the money from the first time to do what they thought was necessary).
Also, the mortgage company is on the check, you’ll have to ge them to sign off on the repairs being completed.