USAA Homeowner's Insurance

DowagerCountessofNJ

Has anyone ever filed a claim with USAA under a homeowner's insurance policy or with any insurer?  What was the general process?

We woke up this morning to find the water line to our ice maker had burst in the middle of the night and water ran under the floor in our kitchen through the ceiling in our basement and along the wall that our fireplace sits against.  It's a hot mess...drywall and insulation is destroyed on that side of the basement.

T called USAA this morning to find out what we needed to do to file a claim.  The customer service rep was trying to tell T that they send an adjuster out and then someone to dry out the basement and if repairs are needed USAA will decide who they send out for repairs.  This doesn't sound kosher to me.  He left a message for a claims processor (or something to that effect) and is awaiting a call back.  I'm impatient of course so I've come here.

KCD053109

Had something kinda similar happen a couple months back - except it was water over-flow from the attic unit of the a/c and the water came through the ceiling of our bay window in the kitchen. An inspector came out and it was deemed water damage (hello!) and a company was called to do the repair work. It was definitely a hot mess until it was finally all done and I'm sooo happy to have my kitchen back.

DowagerCountessofNJ

Killer Cupcake:

That sounds about right. 

I've never filed a claim myself, but I know when my parents master toilet leaked and caused some damage to the bathroom floor and the ceiling below, their adjuster came out, assessed the damage and then cut them a check.

They had the option to take the cash or have someone come out and fix it. They took the cash.  

That's what I thought our options would be but this woman he spoke with made it sound like all repairs had to be through USAA's people which just doesn't seem right.

We're still waiting for a call back.  Guess I'm getting a basement remodel after all.

DowagerCountessofNJ

I'll definitely let you know what the end result is.

iluvmytxrgr

We had a pipe in our wall burst that left us completely unable to use our kitchen.  They wanted to send out an adjuster and a repair man.  It took two days for the adjuster to come out.  When he was here, he said it would take him a few days to do up the paperwork and then it would take another week for the contractor to come out to start the work.  I told him that wasn't acceptable and we could do it our selves.  I called USAA and told them we would start the work the next morning.  They said they were ok with that.  We ripped the walls out and rebuilt the kitchen in less time than they would have taken to start it all.  You just have to be firm with them and let them know what you are ok with. 

EDIT:  USAA sent us the money for what the adjuster figured it would cost for a contractor to fix it with in a month. 

AF2014

I have never filed a claim, but when my parents had a leak they filed a claim and the insurance company sent an adjuster and they sent a company to dry everything out, but then they sent my parents a check and let them pick who did the actual repairs.

Carlisle_Girl

I recommend using whoever USAA recommends.  Normally the insurance company offers additional guarantees on the work a company it selects, as opposed to someone else you select to do the work.  It also makes the process run smoother if they discover additional damage along the way.  For example, if you just take a check and use your own contractor, and the work isn't done right, resulting in mold damage, you could end up being on the hook.  If it's their contractor then they most likely will take responsibility for any faulty work you can't discover.