Freezer Meat ruined--Do we make insurance claim?

[Minnesota!]

I know. My friends are always buying a fraction of a cow and trying to get me to go in on it. All I can think is the risk of having that much frozen meat thaw.

We buy 1/4 - 1/2 a buffalo each year. A few times, "someone" has "accidentally" unplugged the freezer. I have, in those instances, browned up the meat, and refroze it. Still useable

Go get a cheap digital clock/alarm clock and plug it in where you can see it as you pull in or walk into the house, etc you get the idea. Get in a habit of looking at it. If it is bliinking the time you will know the electricity went out and came back on or is out completely. If it has a battery back up just don't put a battery in it.

GREAT idea!!!

 

[yoopermom]

We buy 1/4 - 1/2 a buffalo each year. A few times, "someone" has "accidentally" unplugged the freezer. I have, in those instances, browned up the meat, and refroze it. Still useable

Believe me, that's what I was hoping for, too, but when DH wouldn't even let me "in" the garage to see it, because he knew how upset I would be, I knew it was past the point of no return. He refroze it and will use it as bear bait in September. Lucky bears!

And an EXCELLENT idea about the digital clock, thank you! Of course for me to be able to pull into the garage, DH would have to clear out enough "stuff" to make room for my car, so maybe I'll use this as an excuse to push for that .

Terri

 

[Minnesota!]

Believe me, that's what I was hoping for, too, but when DH wouldn't even let me "in" the garage to see it, because he knew how upset I would be, I knew it was past the point of no return. He refroze it and will use it as bear bait in September. Lucky bears!

And an EXCELLENT idea about the digital clock, thank you! Of course for me to be able to pull into the garage, DH would have to clear out enough "stuff" to make room for my car, so maybe I'll use this as an excuse to push for that .

Terri

Ewww. Meaning - the smell must have been horrific! My BFF lost their (other half of my) buffalo a few years back = same situation - garage detached and they didn't know that it had been tripped. The smell was awful and they were out a lot of $$ and meat!

Lucky bears indeed!

 

[ragdoll]

What is the point of the insurance then if they are just going to get you when you file a claim

I think that it has gotten to the point that insurance is only good for a catastrophe. We have high deductibles because we would be afraid that our rates would rise if we put in a small claim. In fact, we just got our homeowners insurance bill and it went up $150 without any claims made on it. It really is getting ridiculous.

OP, sorry about your freezer.

 

[Andtototoo]

I think that it has gotten to the point that insurance is only good for a catastrophe. We have high deductibles because we would be afraid that our rates would rise if we put in a small claim. In fact, we just got our homeowners insurance bill and it went up $150 without any claims made on it. It really is getting ridiculous.

Exactly, we view insurance as only good for catastrophes. Everything else, we pay for out of pocket.

I should add that we know people who got a "ding" on their insurance for just CALLING to ASK about filing a claim. They never actually filed a claim, but they got a "ding" for calling to ask. Insurance is a joke.

 

[NotUrsula]

There are handy little gadgets on the market that will alert you if the power is out on a certain outlet in your home or business. The are called power-outage alert sensors.

The less expensive ones just plug into the outlet and have an alarm noise and flashing lights go off if the outlet loses power. The next step up has a short-distance monitor center so that you can put the monitor in a building separate from the location of the outlet. The really fancy ones will call you to let you know that the outlet has gone dead.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

We had an icestorm a few years back that knocked out power for a long time. The insurance company actually waived the deductible and reimbursed customers' losses (for refrigerators/freezers) up to a certain amount (which I do not remember the limit). They gave us a check with no hassle, but we didn't claim a lot, probably under $200.

I'm sure it cost the company a TON of money, but it was definitely an unheard of and classy move on the part of the insurance company.

 

[NewCrew42]

I wouldn't make a claim for just $500.
Your rates will end up higher, plus insurance companies are just looking for any reason to jack up rates or even drop you.

For $500, it might not be worth taking a chance.

We were dropped one year due to an ice storm in our area. Many houses where damaged by trees falling on them. We did NOT file a claim because we had no damage but were dropped because our home owners insurance pulled out of our area due to the large amount of claims from the storm.

We were hit by the same storm here in Mass. We filed a food spoilage claim and got a check for $500 right away. Last week, our new policy came and is now $134 higher per year - for the next 5 years. When I called to ask about it, they told me that we lost our $117 per year claims free discount, plus a rate hike of $17. So it will end up costing us more than we received for the claim. Not worth it.

This would be the reason I wouldn't file a claim. Take care of the small stuff yourself. I am so sorry you lost the meat. Insurance is wonderful when you need it. There are just some losses that are a part of life. I am so sorry this happened and it really stinks.

We did have a terrible hail storm this past year that immediately caused our roof to leak. $17,000 for a new roof PLUS new siding on the eves of the house, new gutters, new gutter covers, and screens for every window. The blades on both AC units had to be reshaped and our deck was severely damaged and had to have some boards replaced and restained. I just remember the cost of the roof as I nearly passed out when that estimate came in. I was so thankful to have insurance then.

 

[mhsjax]

I wouldn't submit a claim. Of course, I wouldn't go out and replace the $500 worth of meat, either. I'd just build up teh backstock slowly as you likely did before.

I wouldn't be hesitant to fill my freezers, however. I would simply manage the odds of loss. If you live in an area where you are likely to lose your power for more than a day or so, buy a generator.

IMHO buying a generator and the gas to power it for a freezer just isn't worth it. Others may but not for me.