[RP TownTalk] Broken Window

[Jonathan W. Ebbeler]

All - 

 

I just wanted to reiterate the Mayor's sentiments that we are working with
the impacted to ensure that the damage is addressed.  I would like to take a
moment though to discuss the broader topic.

 

As some of you know, I had a house fire on March 27th that substantially
damaged my house.  Mind you this was a fire that was quickly concluded to be
the fault of the chimney.  A local company, 301 Chimney, rebuilt  and
're-lined' all 3 of my chimneys yet on at least one of them did not bother
to follow code and bring the lining down to the firebox leaving a nice 1-2"
crack in the masonry open for embers to escape and nearly burn my house
down.  

 

Although the next day my agent took a look at the pictures and within one
quick glance concluded that I would be at full policy limits, it has taken
State Farm 6 months to conclude the same.  State Farm's Adjuster stopped
talking to me directly for 13 days during the first 2 weeks of my claim,
have yet to pay me one dime for the food expenses I incurred while in a
hotel and violated the insurance policy by not paying for the full incurred
cost of a rental while I continue to be displaced.  On top of all this, they
have now added even more aggravation by demanding I give a deposition
attesting that I did incur the food and rental expenses although State Farm
has been in possession of the receipts for months.  Keep in mind, while this
harassment from State Farm was taking place the house has sat unrepaired.
Insurance companies do this because their studies will indicate the more you
harass someone the lower the claim they have to pay out because people wear
down and just settle.  Not all of us though J

 

The reason I bring this up is that for the first two months damage and
debris from the fire was piled high in the side yard, in violation of Town
Code.  The Town did cite me within 24 hours of the fire and I called and
explained the situation and they were kind enough to be patient as the fire
investigation and insurance processes commenced.  After a period of time
however, I did get a reminder call from the Mayor about cleaning up the
yard.  Since State Farm has proven to be absolutely terrible about living up
to their end of my policy I was forced to clean up the debris out of my own
pocket with hopes of being reimbursed after the fact from either State Farm
or 301 Chimney insurance company.  

 

Was it fair to my neighbor to stare at the debris for 2+ months or for the
Town for the continued code violation? No.  But in the end when there is
damage to insured structures it becomes a very complicated dance.  The
insured has to give the insurance company ample time to inspect and estimate
the damage on its own and prepare its own estimates or you pay for things
out of your own pocket.  If this does not happen claims can and are turned
down since the policy was violated.  Keep in mind also, with all of the
damage around Maryland, insurance companies triaged the losses to deal with
the major areas first and the less effected weeks later.  I realize we all
want damage repaired, replaced, and remediated immediately, but sometimes
there is more going on behind the scenes than just a property owner or
lessee making a conscious decision not to repair something immediately.

 

I would also hope that we as a Town are consistent with how we apply code
enforcement.  Please keep in mind the numerous broken windows at Jey's Auto
Care that have yet to be fixed or addressed regardless of Town or County
Code enforcement efforts.

 

 

Jonathan W. Ebbeler | Councilmember - Ward One

Town of Riverdale Park
 <mailto:jebbeler at riverdaleparkmd.gov> jebbeler at riverdaleparkmd.gov



 

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