On Your Side: How to navigate insurance appeals after Helene
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As fewer people struggle with getting power, water and internet back, more are fighting to get claims processed so they can begin repairs on their homes.
Senior Investigative Reporter Liz Owens explains why this process may take longer than getting power back.
Insurance companies are continuing to deploy agents nationwide, but like filing for FEMA assistance, the process isn’t immediate and may require additional appeals to get repairs done.
FEMA’s on the scene in the CSRA - how to file aid application
President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration in Georgia and ordered federal aid for individuals to supplement state and local recovery efforts.
Leele: “They picked the wrong girl to mess with today because I am not having it. Look at all the plaster on the floor that came from Helene.”
Leele: “The jury is still out on my AC unit. They think it got struck by lightning or something.”
But the hit that pushed her over the edge was the estimate she got back from her homeowner’s insurance.
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Liz: “How much did they offer you?”
Leele: “$2,004. How do you figure $2,004 is going to cover all of that? It’s not.”
Liz: “What did you say?”
Leele: “I said no way. I said I haven’t even gotten an estimate for any of this stuff.”
Liz: “This isn’t your first rodeo dealing with an insurance company making a claim?”
CSRA survivors share stories more than a week after Helene
It’s been more than a week since Hurricane Helene slammed into the two-state area, and neighbors say destruction like this will be felt for years to come.
Her roof took a beating from another storm back in 2020.
“Get this, they told me they didn’t have much damage and they were going to give me $1,586 to fix my roof and my deductible was $1,500.”
Rick Thomas is part of the State Farm team helping people file claims under the big tent in front of Carolina Pottery.
Liz: “What is your recourse as a consumer if you don’t think the estimate is going to cover the damage.”
Thomas: “The best thing to know there is that it is an estimate. We go out and make our first estimate. And then it’s a process of getting a contractor you want to complete the repairs to get an estimate and that needs to be a detailed estimate to see what they want to do. And then we will compare to our estimate and adjust and try to reconcile the two.”
Leele went through that exact process back in 2020.
“They sent someone else out to inspect it, and they sent me, I think it was a little over $10,000,” she said.
Liz: “But you had to fight for it?”
Leele: “I had to fight like hell.”
We were with Leele when she checked the status of her claim for Hurricane Helene. A payment of $2,004 was deposited into her .
She said, “I can’t believe they did that.”
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Liz: “She saw where it was deposited even though she turned it down. What do you do in that situation?”
Thomas: “Once we document damage and know there is damage, we owe regardless, and we will make that payment to you. I just explained the reconciliation process; that was the first check, and we can always add additional checks.”
Shelters are still full of people waiting on checks for repairs so they can safely return home. Nearly a hundred at May Park on Saturday, more than a week after the storm.
Leelee is waiting one more day.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King stopped in Augusta to let people know they have a resource if they hit a wall with their insurance company. His office is in charge of holding insurance companies able.
He says it may take longer than the standard 30 days to get an adjuster out to your home because of the sheer number of claims.
Thomas is filing claims under one of three categories: severe damage preventing families from returning home is prioritized.
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