They dropped a tree on my car barn, and nothing has happened since. Any informed ideas?

My Neighbor hired a tree service to take down a tree that was dead and leaning toward my house. As you can see by the photo they screwed up a bit by putting a rope around it that made it swing 45 degrees and fall directly on my pole barn. That was 12 weeks ago. 10 weeks ago their insurance company called me, and 8 weeks ago an adjuster came out. And not a word since then. Nothing looks a bit different since the day the tree fell. I've had many sleepless nights worrying about this. Any suggestions how to get this process moving along? I called the insurance agency yesterday and the unkind lady (I'm being very generous here) said that I was not the client and she could not talk to me.

So 12 weeks later and counting it pretty much looks exactly like it did the day the tree fell. The tree company did pull out a lot of the tree that fell on the ground, just leaving the dangerously dangling part. It pretty much crushed the pole band and fence. For those interested in car damage: (well the damage I can see trying to peak around the tree) the '75 Bricklin is totaled, and there are dents and scratches on the '80 TR7, '27 Model T speedster, "92 Daytona IROC R/T,'63 Lark, and '85 Shelby Charger. Of course there could be more damage when (if?) they go to pull the tree out.

Wow, that is some E36 M3. Either have your insurance company go after them or get a lawyer.

Brian wrote: Wow, that is some E36 M3. Either have your insurance company go after them or get a lawyer.

Both.

I would have called my insurance company the day it happened.

The unkind lady told you everything you need to know. Your insurance company is the one that will have a reason to get the barn and cars fixed.

Call the other insurance company directly, not the agent. Agents are usually basically useless. Find out who is handling the liability portion of the claim, that will be for your stuff. Feel free to opt out of the phone system to try to get to a manager to try to push this forward directly with them. Going through your own insurance who will then subrogate your neighbors insurance is also an option, but you will be out your deductibles for a while until they get the $ back, and you have to deal with the different companies that insure the pole barn and different cars.

When I lost a tree to a windstorm, I called my insurance company because part of it fell on my neighbor's garage. I assumed it was my problem, but they basically said that as soon as it passed the property line it became her insurance company's problem. Basically, they told me she'd have to file a claim with her homeowners' insurance and they would pay her, then they would possibly talk to my insurance about reimbursement.

Given that this was a business causing the problem, I assume that "possibly" would become a "definitely", but once your insurance pays you, it's not your concern who ultimately pays. They shouldn't ding you for the claim, because it was not your neglect or incompetence that caused it.

I used to handle these types of claims as an independent adjuster in the field. I would inspect and provide an estimate and report for the liability carrier.

My first order of business would be to call the adjuster who came to inspect.

If that person is not directly handling the claim they were likely preparing an estimate for the damage to the barn and sending that to a desk adjuster. They should be happy to get you the information of the adjuster who is handling it and get you off thier back.

If you can't reach someone go on to the ladder. Emailing also helps document contact attempts.

My guess is that someone has dropped the ball about getting back in touch with you.

Also there is likely going to be another adjuster who has to come out to inspect the cars.

In the meantime I would have a contractor or two come out to provide a repair estimate. Keep in mind that they are likely going to pay you the depreciated amount of the damage. Depending on you homeowners and auto coverage it may be worth going through them and taking the hit on your deductibles. You may get some/all of them back if your carriers recover.

If you want you can PM me and I'll give you my #. Probably easier than typing everything out. I'm in FL as well BTW.

If you aren't getting quick enough satisfaction from insurance companies, file complaints with the BBB. They hate that.

Can you hire a lawyer? The tree company was clearly negligent and needs to be held accountable. Start some lawsuits, really hold their feet to the fire. Call local news stations and have them do a piece for the 11 oclock news. News crew would love that footage and human interest.

Oh yeah I had forgotten the obligatory LAWYER UP!!! comment.

They would be happy to take the case on a per hour basis or perhaps by getting 1/3 of the settlement. Which would still be on the depreciated value.

There really isn't much wiggle room in property damage so I would recommend a lawyer as a last resort.

In most states there is a mandated time for insurance to settle a claim. Contact the state insurance commission and file a complaint. It ahs worked for me in the past. 6 months of no action, settlement in 1 week after the complaint to the insurance commission.

Don49 wrote: In most states there is a mandated time for insurance to settle a claim. Contact the state insurance commission and file a complaint. It ahs worked for me in the past. 6 months of no action, settlement in 1 week after the complaint to the insurance commission.

Good advice. If you can't get some type of answers soon that's a good route. Just mentioning it to the adjuster or their supervisor may very well get them in gear.

12 Weeks is insane, I would have been all over them daily 6 weeks ago. My advice is to get loud and do it fast. They might play the waiting game with you until it is too late for you to do anything.

If the insurance company is dragging it's feet, call your state commission.

As noted above.

Surprising how fast things happen. Been there.

Thanks. I think I'll follow Greg's advice.