If an ice storm knocks out your power - insurance question...

[Antonia]

An ice storm knocked our power out for 80 plus hours. We lost all the food in our refrigerator and our chest freezer. We have replaced stuff in our refrigerator - so we are not foodless - but in this instance does anyone know if your homeowner's insurance will pay anything towards that? We lost several hundred dollars worth of food. Just a thought. I doubt it would, but thought some of you may have experienced this before. By the way, we are in the South so this is a rare occurrence here. I am 41 years old and never remember being without power that long.

 

[we3luvdisney]

During Hurricane Floyd, we lost power for a number of days and lost everything in the refrig/freezer. When we contacted our insurance company to assess the damage, I asked about the food. They indicated that the food would be covered. I'm not sure about your insurance company, but mine paid for it.

When we were living in Arizona, my gas grill blew up. I received 2nd & 3rd degree burns and the house received some damage. I contacted the insurance company (same as above) and asked about my plants and grass. They said that they are covered and all I had to do was take pictures. They even covered the cost of the film and development.

I hope they pay for the food. All you can do is ask.

 

[Antonia]

I will ask. We are by no means asking for a handout. But it is quite a loss when you lose all your perishables at once.

 

[we3luvdisney]

I agree! If I remember right, our food almost covered our deductible. That is ALOT to lose at one time.

 

[NCRedding]

2 things to consider before filing a claim: 1. What is your deductible and is it worth it to file? 2. Do you have a prior history of filing claims, even if the amount was small? If you file several claims (even though valid and small amounts) your insurance company may terminate your coverage at the end of your policy year, and make it more difficult to obtain other home owners. I don't think it is fair or just, but very little about insurance companies is fair and just. We were also without power for 80+ hours. Luckily, our office had power so we transfered our expensive freezer stuff there--I lost lots of veggies, etc. but kept most of our meat. It's nice to have power again.

 

[pumba]

during the ice storm of 98 in maine......we didn't lose anything ..but our mother in law did.......the insurance said to write down what was there.......but my neighbor didnt' have the coverage on her insurance...some are different then others.....just call and ask....

 

[Sonya]

In our last "October Suprise" my parents were without power for 3 days, but the weather wasn't cold enough to put the food outside to save. They lost their fridge and the freeezer in the garage. Insurance didn't cover it. I hope you have better luck.

 

[Kermit]

I read my policy once when I was bored, and they do cover food. But since we have a $500 deductible and just one refrigerator/freezer combo, I don't think we'll ever use it unless a storm causes other damage, too.

I've heard that it's non-weather related claims that are most likely to raise your rates or get you cancelled. I would guess that this is weather related in their eyes, but I'm not sure. Rates have already gone up in SC. We pay ours with our mortgage, and my last mortgage payment was $30 higher than it used to be. (Our policy is renewed in December.)