On Christmas morning last year, blaring fire alarms and thick smoke jolted Peter Majerus, his three children and girlfriend awake as a fire spread from an apartment below.
“It was so thick that you couldn’t see the hand in front of your face,” Majerus said.
Majerus filed a renter’s insurance claim with American Family Insurance the same day. Although Majerus’ unit wasn’t one of the four that caught fire, he said his family lost almost everything because of smoke damage.
Majerus sent over all the evidence he could think of – a couple photos of the damaged property and Milwaukee Fire Department and Milwaukee Police Department incident reports of the fire.
Then, about three weeks later, he threw almost everything into a dumpster.
But American Family Insurance said that’s where Majerus made a big mistake. The insurance company said it can’t reimburse him for items he threw away.
“Because the items were discarded before a professional assessment could be completed, we unfortunately cannot verify the damage or determine if the items were salvageable,” an insurance adjuster said in a Jan. 27 letter. “As a result, we are unable to provide coverage for the discarded property under your policy.”
Insurance did pay him $4,000 the day after the fire and more than $17,000 to cover the cost of finding a new place and cleaning his personal property. But it’s not enough to cover all that the family lost, including almost everything they received from their 5-month-old’s recent baby shower, according to Majerus.
Majerus said he was worried that carcinogens and other chemicals might linger in the baby items and harm her.
He and his girlfriend salvaged what they could and tossed out the mattresses, couch and other porous items. Their four TVs, Xbox, microwave, toaster and other electronics were fried, he said.
“We didn’t want to take a chance with the baby,” he said.
In addition, the deadline to leave his apartment building near the Milwaukee-Greenfield border was creeping up. Enigma Properties had told tenants to clear out of the building for repairs or risk losing their security deposit, he said.
Majerus, who was focused on finding the family another home while they stayed with relatives, said they didn’t have anywhere to keep their smoke damaged property.
“They never said not to throw anything away,” Majerus said. “How was I supposed to know that?”
Experts say insurer’s response was typical
One of the last things you want to do after filing an insurance claim is throw the property away, said Sarah Smith, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
“We encourage that nothing is disposed of until there’s been some agreement reached with the [insurance] adjuster,” Smith said.
Yet consumers frequently make this mistake. It’s one of the tips in the commission’s fact sheet for reporting claims after a fire or natural disaster.
The commission reviewed Majerus’ complaint against American Family Insurance and sided with the company, records show.
Jay McDivitt, an attorney with Cannon & Dunphy, said evidence is crucial. He recommends consumers get as granular as possible by photographing each affected item, showing receipts and even resorting to hiring a professional mitigation company to review and report the damage to the insurance company.
“Frankly, insurance companies count on people not being particularly conscientious about saving all of that stuff,” McDivitt said. “It becomes easy to deny a claim or to limit the value of a claim if you don’t have evidence.”
It’s not necessarily on the insurance companies to advise consumers to not throw the damaged property away, said Noah Domnitz, a personal injury attorney for Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. Insurance companies are required to operate honestly and fairly, but it’s the responsibility of the consumer to know their policy and have the evidence, he said.
That being said, Domnitz added, “Just because the insured is ignorant of what they may need to make a claim, it doesn’t mean the insurance company can try to treat them unfairly. If they’re provided with reasonable proof of the loss, they should provide coverage.”
Tips for filing an insurance claim after a disaster
To read more tips, visit the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at gcastro@usatodayco.com.
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(This story was updated to add information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: I filed for insurance after a disaster. How long do I keep the damaged property?
Reporting by Gina Lee Castro, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Gina Lee Castro, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
