Insurance Snarls Steeple's Rebuild

[Henry]

The owner of Steeple Market, which was destroyed in a Christmas Eve fire, said he’s ready to rebuild, but the lack of an insurance settlement is blocking those plans.

"We still haven’t settled on anything, and the insurance company is just dragging its feet,” Menard said. Insurers keep asking for more information, he said, and sometimes misplace information they receive.

For more information and the whole article, click on the following link:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990425004

[cedarman]

Sounds like TYPICAL insurance company practice for any large claim.  They love to sit back and collect premiums, but they don't want to pay up when there is a legitimate claim.   It reminds me of a news story from a month or so ago about AIG rejecting a large percentage of medical claims.  Sometimes multiple times, and in some large settlements, they drag in on for years until people become so disheartened that they just quit.

It sounds illegal (and is), but they get around it by claiming the proper paperwork was not provided, or it was not filled out properly, and especially in medical cases, they can dispute the accuracy of diagnosis, treatment and extent of injury, etc.

[Chris Santee]

The Fairfax News coming out Friday is diving into this.

[Henry]

One of our Fairfax Residents told me she had written a letter to that Insurance Company expressing her displeasure with them and if she doesn't hear back from them plans to contact the Media.