sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Insurance Letter for customer equipment loss

i live in louisiana and as most know we just had 2 hurricanes hit us. well im getting alot of request's from my customers that they need a letter from me to their insurance companies. this is so the insurance company will cover their equipment that was damaged due to water (one company's phone system was under 4' of water!! i'm just not sure what to write, I'm guessing that someone else has gone through this as well. so if you could maybe send me something that i could use as a template are anything i could use that would be great!! thank you in advance, Mike :shrug:

What do you write when a customer wants a recommendation from you for work on their system?

"At your request we inspected your ______ phone system and wiring and found that it is damaged beyond repair due to being submerged in water. We are providing the following quotation for the replacement of all components including premise wiring, jacks, and the system itself."

Then go on to give a quote to replace what was there with current and COMPARABLE equipment. DO NOT include any upgrages or additional wiring or equipment.

-Hal

I've never been ask to "write a letter" to a customer's insurance company but I've certainly filled out many affidavits stating exactly what my professional opinion was regarding the cause of the damage to the insured equipment.

Hal's suggestion is a good idea along with the affidavit. I would ask them to get the forms you will need to fill out from their insurance carrier.

But be sure you do not throw the damaged equipment in the trash! I always leave it on site and advise my customer to hang on to it until the insurance company tells them whether or not they want the equipment for verification purposes!

Great thank you both very much, and for such a fast response. I think this will take care of this question again thank you both very much!!

"A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS"

Hopefully, the demolition and dry-down; insurance; and restoration companies all photographed the damage. However, in situations dealing with damaged property, i.e. equipment and/or wiring facilities, we also document with photographs (and detailed notes) any and all damage related to our trade involvement, including "expert opinions" solicited and/or rendered, estimates (bids, quotes, proposals, etc.), service calls, work orders, invoices, etc., etc., etc.

Documentation is king!

Good luck!

Even with all of that, you still might get some snot-nosed kid fresh out of high school that ends up being the adjuster.

Had that with a fire victim. He saw the 1A2 equipment on the wall that had been destroyed by smoke & water and insisted that I reuse it. This system had been installed in the earlym 60's & bought out later from Bell. The Jerk didn't even know what a "Dial" phone was.

Most of the Insurance Affidavits are very short, sweet, and to the point. Some companies will have their own form that they want used, others just want a generic affidavit. What Hal posted above is an excellent form.

I've never been ask to "write a letter" to a customer's insurance company but I've certainly filled out many affidavits stating exactly what my professional opinion was regarding the cause of the damage to the insured equipment.

I have never been asked too write a letter to an insurance company either. Always it was to the customer who would use it to show the insurance company the cause and what the cost will be to repair or replace. I have never been asked to fill out any affidavits, my reports have always been sufficient as an authorized dealer and legitimate business.

I think this is all the OP has been asked to provide.

-Hal

in this case the customers insurance company wants a letter from me on my letter head i guess stating the equipment is no longer any good. i'm going to use the short and sweet statment that Hal posted above. thanks again for all the help.

o by the way the customer had a dk 424 and since those are no longer being made i will have to replace it with a 670. the reason im saying this is that in this thread someone wrote not to upgrade any of there equipment but in this case i dont see where i have a choice. the customer should not have to settle for refurbished equ.

That was me who said that. What you are proposing should be fine.

-Hal

i would just like to say thank you again to all that posted on this topic. This is a great site i have had nothing but GREAT information from all members. If there is ever anything i can do to help any of you please feel free to call are email. i also try my best to provide helpful information in the toshiba thread. THANKS AND GOD BLESS

That's all we ask.

of course if the insurance co. is not smart enough to realize that 4' of water on electronic componets will damage it beyond repair god help us all.

I would also just add to make sure you get paid when you put in the equipment. Do not wait until the insurance company pays the customer. What happens if they don't pay. Get your money at installation. Good luck.

Jim

Exellent advice, Jim. I've been down that road before. The customer tells us to "bill the insurance company", gives us the claim number, agent's name, all of the above. We then find out two months later that the customer got a check written on the spot for the claim. We now become an account receivable of the customer after they have already spent the money. All of this while our customer just bought a new car.

Flood/fire damage claims are one thing, since they are hard to dispute. It is the lightning damage jokers with two-line phones who claim that they had a $35K PBX who really screw the system. The adjusters are ambushed with claims, so they just write checks without much investigation.

Izkuliq goes out and buys everything he ever wanted and then stiffs us for the $300.00 replacement cost of his 2-line phones.

Never, ever do an insurance repair/replacement without getting paid on the spot..EVER.

Not only do I agree with all the above, I make sure that the customer knows, in writing, that he pays, I install, and then it is between him and the insurance...not my problem.

Yes, I write letters to the customer...how he uses it is his business. Do I get calls from jr. adjusters who must still be in high school? Do they understand? No. It ain't a computer...proprietary equipment means just that.

My 2 cents.

Yeah we had a good customer had a fire burned up the merlin classic, we gave them temp. service on 25oo sets; while they decided about a new system, got paid for that. Then came time for the new system hem and haw; how much? add this in.Finally went with a DX80 then bill and bill and bill, "you know since the fire lots of outlay nothing from ins. co. yet ect" Big BS job. then guess what the new location with the DX80 burned out again. this time it was we will install for this much check due on compeletion.
Still a good customer though.

I'm confused by that post, Jim. Would you mind clarifying?

"I have never been asked to fill out any affidavits, my reports have always been sufficient as an authorized dealer and legitimate business."

I've been an authorized dealer more than once over the years and I run a legitimate business but many of the insurers I've dealt with still wanted a signed affidavit for their records.