Insurance Claim for Animal Damage

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Camper13

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May 23, 2013
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We just went to open our camper for the season, and unfortunately found squirrels, chipmunks, or some other animals made it their home for the winter.  There was animal feces and urine EVERYWHERE.  All countertops, sinks, floor, drawers, cabinets.  Everywhere.  I bought a tyvek suit and facemask before I would even go inside.  They had eaten through all our mattresses, paper products, insulation to make themselves a nest.

We considered attempting to clean it, but realized the damage was just too much, and contacted our insurance company.  We have comprehensive insurance coverage that covers animal damage.  I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this type of insurance claim.  They are considering making it a total loss.  The insurance company also told us to make a content list of everything in the camper with prices, where we bought the items, age of items, etc. 

We just want to make sure we are prepared and informed to make sure we get what we should in regards to reimbursement.  We had gotten a good deal on our camper, and put a lot of work into it to make it "new" again.  We want to be sure we are able to replace it with something comparable, plus all the contents inside of it that are covered in feces.  YUCK  :(

Any advice and suggestions are appreciated!!!!!
 
Sorry to hear about the damage.
Video everything that is damaged saying a description of the item as you film it, also show all improvements that you made that were not damaged to prove that they were made.
 
Sorry to hear about your terrible experience! Really, really yuchy!

Unless you have some kind of full replacement value coverage, you are bound to come up short because the insurer is only going to pay actual cash value, i.e. current market value for the items. Items purchased new in the past 6-12 months will probably be considered "new", i.e. full value, but most anything else will almost surely be depreciated, possible quite substantially. If the adjuster takes a hard line on values, it is very difficult to counter because it difficult to show any evidence that most things are worth more than a pittance. Used clothing, linens, and mattresses, for example, have close to zero market value. We are talking yard sale prices! So more than likely, the adjuster is going to say something like "you paid $xx for that two years ago and they typically last four years, so we will reimburse you for 50% of what you paid".  Getting angry with the insurer's reps is seldom productive, so gather as much actual documentation as you possibly can and work with them politely but firmly. You need their good will.

Many years ago we had major flood damage in a house. We had full replacement value insurance, but the settlement process was still difficult. The adjuster consistently came in low on his estimated values, primarily because their guidelines are for "typical" quality/cost of merchandise. Fortunately we had lots of purchase receipts to show that much of what we had cost more than their "typical" values and there was no argument over anything we had receipts for. Other items were more problematic and we had to find and show prices for similar products to help establish the values we claimed rather than their guideline values.
 
The adjuster just came back to us with what we feel as a very low estimate in order to "clean and deodorize" our travel trailer.  Part of the estimate is that they will replace the mattresses, countertop, carpet, and reupholster the couch. 

Any suggestions on further negotiations?  Does anyone know if we will be responsible for washing towels, pots/pans, silverware, etc?  How do we sanitize everything?  There is so much feces and urine everywhere I can't even comprehend where we would begin!  We truly thought it would be a total loss.  To make matters worse, we live 4 hours away from our campground.
 
What state are you in? I would suggest calling Servicemaster or a similar firm specializing in cleaning and restoration. It is their job to negotiate with the adjuster to assure you are not left with remaining charges. His initial cleaning and deoderizing estimate is premature.
Seperate out what you can do - whatever can be sanitized in your dishwasher or laundry.
 
I'm with Bob. Negotiate with the adjuster based on an estimate from a reliable local cleaning and restoration company. Then figure out what you can do in addition to that.
 
I would call a company that does hazardous clean-up and restoration. I'd get a firm estimate from them. This is a health hazard and I wouldn't hire just anyone to clean up and repair it. I'm a little surprised that the insurance company would get involved in taking any other route. You might even contact your local County Health Dept for recommendations.

As far as the value of the camper is concerned, they have to give you "Fair market value". That's where you can have influence on the settlement. Do research and come up with ads for campers the same as yours. Also, add in receipts for any current repairs that have been done.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!  I called ServPro today, and they said it wasn't something they wanted to get involved in!!  I mean they're known for disaster cleanup and restoration and they couldn't help us?!  I even called several RV repair shops in the area, and they couldn't help either.  I was able to find one professional cleaning company that was willing to come give us an estimate.  At this point, I'm not even sure who else to call. 

Our insurance adjuster thinks we can just bring it to a repair shop and they'll take care of it.  He must be used to dealing with cars, not RV's!
 
Another thing to look for is that varmints love to chew on wiring. You may have issues with this for years to come if you don't get it repaired properly now. Be sure that they carefully inspect all the wiring, especially inside your appliances.

A few years ago, I discovered that a rat had gotten into our trailer (couldn't have been there more than a week). He chewed through practically every wire inside my furnace. I took it out and re-wired it but what a job. I should have just bought a new furnace.
 
Getting the RV to a shop that can do the necessary work is part of the cost of repair.  If the RV is permanently set up in a campground, the services will have to come to it, just like a stick house. But if it's in a seasonal park and the RV is normally moved each season, then you may need to take it to a shop. In that case, the cost of an extra move is still part of the repair cost.

Washing all the towels and linens and clothing etc. is also part of the "repair".  These questions need to be addressed to the adjuster, and you should get estimates for as much of it as you can and submit them to him/her. Even if it's just an estimate for putting everything in garbage bags and hauling to a laundromat that has a wash and fold service. A handwritten estimate for vehicle expenses (at IRS standard mileage rates) and laundromat fees is adequate if you plan to do that part yourself. If you can't find a contractor to handle the whole thing in your behalf, you will have to be your own general contractor and define the steps in the clean-up process and then obtain/submit written estimates for each part of the job.

Also, if you have home owners insurance on your main home, it probably has some coverage for loss to your personal property away from home, e.g.  damage to clothing and portable personal gear. Make a claim for that where needed.
 
We had some damage to our roof on our house (not MH) that was done by squirrels.  I called my insurance agent and wanted to file a claim.  He asked if I was sure the damage was caused by squirrels, and I said yes, I see them going in and out of the hole they chewed in my soffit.  He told me that damage done by squirrels is NOT covered, since they are considered vermin.  Damage done by a raccoon, however, WOULD be covered. 

Just a heads up-it may or may not apply to your situation.

Also, as far as cleaning and sanitizing, once the flooring is taken up, the sub floor should be sealed with something like Zinnser Bin.  Probably the walls, too.  Good luck with everything.
 
Interesting distinction between squirrels and raccoons. While one is a rodent and the other not, I'm not sure there is a scientific distinction for "vermin". I wonder what the insurance company thinks of the term "weasel"?
 
Depends on what coverage form you have.
"Vermin" is just another vague undefined term that causes problems at claim time.
As far as I know, AAIS is the only form that provides a definition - "An animal that is prone to enter or burrow into or under a structure to seek food or shelter including but not limited to: armadillos, bats, opossums, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, and snakes."
Poor unsuspecting adjusters ocassionally try to provide their own definition. Just because something makes a mess, is ugly, and objectionable does not neccissarily make it vermin.
 
BinaryBob said:
Depends on what coverage form you have.
"Vermin" is just another vague undefined term that causes problems at claim time.
As far as I know, AAIS is the only form that provides a definition - "An animal that is prone to enter or burrow into or under a structure to seek food or shelter including but not limited to: armadillos, bats, opossums, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, and snakes."
Poor unsuspecting adjusters ocassionally try to provide their own definition. Just because something makes a mess, is ugly, and objectionable does not neccissarily make it vermin.
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I would think that a case could be made in court that the insured expected to be covered against the intrusion and damage of pretty well any animal or pest that is not the owner's pet. I think that "Vermin" is one of those innocuous terms that judges would rather lean toward the insured rather than the insurer. It seems that the insurer is the professional and if they wanted to exempt any type of pest from coverage, they should have stated so in the policy.
 
I just Googled "define vermin" and a number of definitions came up which cover a wide range of obnoxious and destructive critters including rats.  Then I Googled "definition of vermin" and up came some discussing insurance.  It appears it's one of those things where you have look at your policy to see what they consider vermin and what they will cover or not cover.

ArdraF
 
UPDATE:
We had a couple of repair men and cleaning companies come out to our camper to give us estimates.  One repair man said it was the worst he has seen in 20+ years!  He even called our insurance company for us. The insurance company totaled it without any further questions, and gave us a check for more than we had even paid for it. 

Advice for anyone in the future, be persistent with your insurance company.  Do not accept their first check or estimates.  With a little extra leg work, we lucked out.  (Although it is still to be seen what we are reimbursed for our personal property inside the camper.) 
 
Camper13 said:
UPDATE:
We had a couple of repair men and cleaning companies come out to our camper to give us estimates.  One repair man said it was the worst he has seen in 20+ years!  He even called our insurance company for us. The insurance company totaled it without any further questions, and gave us a check for more than we had even paid for it. 

Advice for anyone in the future, be persistent with your insurance company.  Do not accept their first check or estimates.  With a little extra leg work, we lucked out.  (Although it is still to be seen what we are reimbursed for our personal property inside the camper.)
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Sounds fair....... I don't think that the insurance company wanted to get involved with being responsible for what may be considered a hazardous health risk. That's why they want to give you a check and have you deal with it.
 
Great Horned Owl said:
Insurance companies must be used to getting claims for that kind of damage. I am wondering if they will believe that while visiting Everglades N.P., vultures ate my wiper blades, part of the rubber seal around the windshield, and the seals at the top of two of my doors. Hopefully, this will convince them http://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/vulturestoknow.htm.

Joel
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I'm sure that they will believe it. It's not uncommon damage.
 
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