My Injury Claims

I would like any information regarding submitting receipts for repairs that need to be done to my home. I have a large deductable and the repair expenses go beyond the claim payment. Can I hire a handy man or do the work myself? What documentation do I need to provide my insurance company as proof that the work is completed.

You can - but the insurance company can cancel you if the guy doing the repairs is required to be licensed, and isn't (example, a plumber). Also, depending on the type of claim, you might need to get a permit to do the repairs - which could ALSO require a license.

Anyway, to prove the repairs were done, you'll need photos and the receipts for the supplies. Also, if you do work yourself, log the hours you put into it.

Keep in mind, if you do a rotten job the first time, the insurance company won't pay a second time - and won't cover any mistakes you make with the repairs.

In Michigan, if a person was hit by a neighbor's car on the neighbor's property, who do they file a claim with?

The neighbor's insurance?

Or their own? If it is their own, why?

Thanks.

JoeCool, I suggest you locate a nearby auto insurance agent to help. Since I live in Virginia I can't suggest an agent in Michigan, but here is an resource that can help you. http://www.easyautoinsuranceguide.com/Michigan-Car-Insurance.html

Good Luck.

The state of Boston requires that sellers and purchasers pay for attorney review of real estate sales documents. On top of this consumers must also pay title companies and purchase title insurance. This drastically increases the cost to consumers and does little to protect consumer’s interests.

I paid an attorney $1,000.00 (one-thousand dollars) to review documents, including title documents. Additionally, I paid $1, 200.00 for title insurance.

I later learned that there were unpaid water charges due to the City of Boston that totaled nearly $600.00 and unpaid real-estate taxes totaling nearly $2,000.00.

I never received a copy of my title insurance policy and the attorney has failed to return multiple telephone calls.

Does anyone know how I can go about putting in a claim? Are there time frames for submitting claims? Who is liable, the attorney, the title company?

Boston, and the rest of Massachusetts is kind of a funny third world country with their rules, regulations, requirements and procedures (yeah I grew up there).

Anyway, where I'm from NOW, water and back taxes are not something that is cleared up by a title insurance policy. Until recently, if you purchased property in Columbus OH, and the prior owner had an outstanding water bill, you were on the hook until it was paid. You didn't have to pay it, they just wouldn't turn on your water. City council changed that rule a few years ago.
Payment of back taxes should have been outlined in your real estate purchase agreement. Since $2000 is about 15 minutes worth of real estate tax in Boston, I'm guessing you've had to pay up from the time the last tax payment was made by the prior owner. Any Realtor with dry ink on her license knows to put that in the contract; since I don't hear you complaining about a Realtor, I'm guessing there wasn't one.

So, unless the water & tax people but a lein on your property, there is no title issue. Don't like the water situation? gripe to your councilmen; unhappy with the tax deal? blame the person who wrote your purchase agreement. And enjoy the new house.

A car hit me but the driver was not the owner, the owner has insurance on the car. His insurance company wants to lowball me on getting my car repaired. Should I just get some estiments from quality repair shops such as dealers, and a few from auto body shops in the area and file a small claims suit?

If I should file small claims suite and forget about the insurance company should I sue both the driver and the owner or one or the other. If the owner had not let the driver use his car I would not have got hit.

What exactly do you mean by "lowball?" You didn't provide any figures. If by lowball you mean they want to pay for used parts on an older car, filing in small claims won't help you.

Suing the owner or direct is a really bad idea. You won't get any more money and they insurance company will help the other owner/driver prepare their case. Who is going to help you?

If your intent is to really get the car repaired then take the other companies estimate to the shop of your choice and let them review it with the other insurance company.

We have a lot of water damage from a washing machine that rotted out and leaked. We are being told that we have to pick our new tiles from the samples given to us by the insurance adjuster's contractor,but we do not like anything he has. Are we obliged to go with his contractor. Also, we think the contractor is ripping off the insurance company, because he's charging a fortune for doing very little. Do we have rights as a person stating a claim in Ontario?

You are under no obligation to use that contractor. While the insurer has the right to refuse certain contractors if they have had bad experiences with them in the past, the insurer cannot force you to use someone you do not want. At this point the best thing to do is figure out which contractor you wish to use, and then contact the adjuster handling your claim and inform them of the change. Keep in mind an insurer may be willing to offer guarantees on the work done by their preferred contractors, so if you decide to switch keep in mind you may lose this benefit. If the insurer gives you any grief ask them to point out where in the policy wordings it states that you have to use their contractor/repair facility (trust me, it's not in there).