News10NBC Investigates: ‘I wish I knew how to get a hold of everybody’: Homeowners unite over Allstate’s handling of hail storm damage claims; Allstate responds
FARMINGTON, N.Y. – Since News10NBC’s investigation exposed the half dozen homes covered by Allstate that still haven’t been fixed since the hail storm in July, calls and emails have come in from two dozen more homeowners facing similar issues.
In one Farmington neighborhood, many homes are getting repaired, but the problem lies with the homes that aren’t being fixed from the July storm damage. The common denominator in almost every case is the insurance company.
“Well, if you take a look at the shutters, all of the shutters are damaged. All of the siding is completely cracked and broken,” said Valerie Cottrell, a Farmington resident.
Cottrell’s home was damaged in the July storm. She says her insurance is through Allstate, and they depreciated the value of her roof by more than half.
“They depreciated it by 57% because of the age of the roof. And then they are going to pay about 43%, which they figured was about $10,000,” Cottrell said. She puts her total damage at least $30,000.
Last week, News10NBC’s Berkeley Brean followed five Allstate customers to their homes. Their neighbors with different insurance are getting their siding and roofs repaired, but these families are still fighting for what they consider fair money.
“Our initial estimate was $45,000. We got back an initial offer of $8,400,” said Kristin Wright, a homeowner.
Since the initial story, there’s been some movement. Alana Dodgson and Frank Ventura say Allstate agreed to repair their roof, but they’re still fighting over the siding.
“If I think on it too much, I’ll burst into tears. That’s how upset I am,” Cottrell said. “I wish I knew how to get a hold of everybody. I mean, come to my house. We can sit and have coffee and talk about what we can possibly do.”
News10NBC contacted Allstate for the first story last week, but they didn’t offer any explanation for their decisions. Instead, they asked for the contact information of their customers who complained. Allstate was contacted again and replied, “We are working closely with our customers to resolve their claims according to their policies.”
Jake Kirsch, another Farmington resident, shared video of the runaround he got over the damage to his pool rail.
“So when the hail came through it hit every one of the top rails and the adjuster had taken two pictures of two rails so they were going to cover two out of the 16,” Kirsch said.
Berkeley Brean: “Why do you think this is happening to the Allstate customers?”
John Oliver, Long Construction: “One thing, Berkeley, is I don’t think they have the proper people inspecting. Or if they are inspecting property, the desk adjusters are just ignoring the evidence.”
Oliver, with Long Construction, has about 100 jobs from the hail storm. He shared his experience.
“You give them all the information. You pound them with hundreds of photographs. You back it up with building codes. And you prove your spot and then they come back and have another hurdle for you to jump through,” Oliver said.
That’s what Brean heard when he met five Allstate customers in Farmington last week.
“We have been through probably two to three hundred pictures, which they keep requesting more and more every time we talk,” said Alana Dodgson, a homeowner.
“It has been over six weeks now. I’ve been through two internal adjusters. My contractor has been up on my roof taking pictures, seven times they’ve been over trying to accommodate Allstate,” Wright said.
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