Complaint Review: Assurant Specialty Property (American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida

 First I want to describe the situation that caused a total loss to my rental house and them my complaint with thismpany.

I lived a couple miles out of town in a old farm house in Floyd co Kentucky. It was a place we fell in love with and to make sure we got the house because several people was wanting  it I paid the entire one year lease up front. The owner of the home lives in Ohio and she had a local property manger. The property was heated by Gas from a well on the farm and one of the benefits of the property is we got free gas, that was an agreement the owner has with the gas company that gathers the gas. Sometime in the late fall early winter 2014 the electric behind the stove and in the basement stop working. I called the property manager and he came up to the house and tried to find the problem the house  was supposely just rewired the summer 2014. We had to run an extention cord  behind the Stove so we could use it, although the stove is gas its still required electric to operate. The electric was  never fixed in the basement nor the  area of the kitchen. Going back to the first day we moved in. Robert Slone the property manager was assisting hooking up the washer and dryer. When he pluged the dryer in the plug in "POP" and flames came out of the outlet and up the wall feeling the house with Black smoke. Robert kicked off the main breaker and the fire went out althought it destroyed the dryer.

In November 2014 we started smelling gas in the house.Again we called Robert the property manager and he sent and sent a retired Gas company employee name Ralph Slone to the home. Ralph determine the gas was leaking from the back of the stove and in the basement. Since the basement was only accesable from the outside I left the door open so gas would not build up. Ralph could not fix the stove so the property manager called an applaince repairman. The repairman came out and inspector the stove and said not only was there a  bad part allowing the gas to escape causing a dangous and potential deadly situation. He also said plumbing to the stove was was done inproper and was a cause of concern. Robert the property manager decides to replace the stove because the cost to repair was about equal to a new stove. Lowes brought the stove and Ralph Slone came to house and hook it up.

This would not be the last of our gas problems. As soon as it got below freezing the first time our gas went off leaving me with no heat. Again I called the property manager Robert and again he called Ralph Slone to come up. About 200 feet up the mountain there is what they call a plumger that has to pulled out because water was getting into it and freezing and would not allow gas or very little to come through the line. During the early part of the winter of 2015 Ralph had to come to the house 6 times and one time the gas was off over night and couple of the pipes had frozen and burst in the basement which he fixed as well. Feb, 13 2015 I went to Madisonville KY to visit a Step son. We left on Friday and was planning come back on Monday but due to a major snow storm  moving in we decide to come back on Sunday night. When I got home on Sunday night walk into the house and it was very cold Temp in the house was around 30 degree.  It was late and could not get anybody up to the house so I went up the hill trying to find the Plunger but could not locate. So to keep warm I put a space in the bedroom and made through the night although some of the water froze even the water in one of the toliet froze. On Monday Ralph Slone came and got the gas back on.

The house was located about 400 yards from the main road and only one other house between the road and my house. On Monday  Feb, 16, 2015 the snow started by late afternoon is was getting almost impossible to travel, however I had been to Pikeville Kentucky and went to the gocery store knowing  I was going to be snowed in for a few days. When I got back home I was only able to get a little ways off the main road and I was struck in the snow. I had to carry the goceries about 300 yards to the house. After dark on the 16th gas went off again.The house was getting very cold fast so I called Ralph Slone but he could not make to the house because of the snow and ice. I called him thress or four times that night and he talked me into finding the plumger, by this time it was 12 inch under the snow and I got the heat back on but only for a couple of hours. This went on for the next three days. The house was cold I had to put another space heater in the basement trying to keep the water from freezing, of course I had to run an extenstion cord from the car port because the electric in the basement still didn't work. 

On Feb, 18 2015. I was snowned in with no heat except for the small space heater,and Robert the property could not really find a solution to the problem and he was out of town working in Texas so got ahold of the landlord in Ohio and she was  a ware we was having a on going issue with the gas. She was able to give me the name of the small gas company that operated the well on the property located in Prestonsburg KY. Got ahold of them on the 19th. They sent two guys out. They went to the pluger and by this time by the time you pull the plunger and walked off the hill back to the house the gas was off. They came off the hill and said there was a bigger problem and they was not really the ones who took care of that well, the well was actually maintain by their bosses Father, apparently both the father and son operated gas wells but would help each other out. They said they thought the main line at the gas well head was froze and they wopuld need to go there and put some type of chemicials in the main line to keep from freeze and the gas flowing. They informed me because it was already 430pm and the wheather conditions they could not get to the top of the mountain but the operater would have somebody outthe next day with a ATV and try to make to the gas well and fix the problem. There temporay fix only lastede for a few minutes and the gas went back off. My son shortly came to the house in his four wheel drive and he tried to get the gas back on and could not. I was snowed in with no heat and Feb, 19 into the 20th was forecasted to be the coldest night to the date below 0 degrees and the house was already in the 20 degree range. Since he was there and had a four wheel drive, I figure I better leave for the night because if the electric went off I would have no heat at all and my car was snowned in, plus I have a history of heart problems including a heart attack and nd I didn't want to be hiking out to the main road in 24 inch of snow below zero. So I had my son drive me down to my car which  was still struck and I called Conleys wrecker service in Hager Hill Ky to get my car unstruck. When I left the house last time around 530pm on the 19th My son unpluged the space heater in the bedroom. The only thing out of the normal that was plugged was the space in the basement around the pipes it was placed just about the gas water heater in a clear spot against concerete blocks. 

We left the house waited for Conleys to come and get me unstruck. A regualar wrecker would not work so they sent a jeep to wrench me to the main road. I drove to Staffordsville, KY to a family member to stay for the night. 

Around 830am on the 20th feb 2015 I got the worst call of my life. The landlord had called and said the house was on fire and she had been told it was a total loss. I left my mothers house but my car was struck in her driveway. My son had to leave work in his 4 four drive to come and get me and take me to the house.I love that house and it was my home and I had planned on being there for as long as the landlord would lease to me. We lost everything except for 2 change of clothes I had taken with me. The pain of losing all of your memories, pictures is as hard as a death and we are still greiving.  I called the assurant and at first they acted like they was concern for me. They sent me out a $2,500 check but I later find out they could only be for Food and I had to get receipts and I could not use it to replace clothes. That was paid under my loss of use clause which is good for up to $19,000 but they will not allow me to use it for rent, clothing, or funishings. I have $95000 in personal property and liablity of $100,000.Its been 45 days or so and still no pay out. The company is terrible about returning emails and phone calls. I have furish them with all the information they have requested including a list of property lost. They sent out somebody to take pictures  but have not investagated to find the cause or orgin although I was first told they would hire an outside company to investage, because the local fire department although they responded they couldnot flight the fire because of the road conditions up to the house and no excess to water. They felt no reason to investage. After filing a complaint  with the Kentucky department of insurance because they would not respond to emails or phone calls or answer specific questions (I still don't have a copy of my policy because it was destroyed in the house).  Assurant called me and it was very clear the adjustor was upset that I had filed a complaint and her boss called me to informed me they was mailing out a Reservation of Rights letter. They have also schedule examanation under oath with an attorney. I have no problem at all with that and welcome it. I do beleive they will deny the claim or try to because of the history of this company and the fact they are not even trying to investagte what cause the fire although I have asked at least 15 times to different adjustors. They also brought up the fact the policy was just a few months old, well I can't help that only being living there a few months. I had insurance under another policy with them at a different house last year. I also had a property claim 5 years ago which I fully disclosed when I took the policy out with Gecio. They have lied about several things and I started recording all the phones call when I am able to get them to call me back or answer and I can prove they are doing things to delay and are acting in bad faith. I do have an attorney that is advising me but I am not going to ask them to get involved until the claim is and if denied. I do not recommend this company for rental insurance you are better off paying more for a good policy no wonder they sell ploicies so cheap because I think they work harder trying to find a reason not to pay than to find a way to not pay valid claims. I am planning on filing a bad faith lawsuite  against this company. I have also be in contact with a class action attorney because the number of complaints againt Assurant and American Bankers Insurance Company Of Florida. If you have been done wrong by this company send me a email to (((redacted))) I understand this was a long complaint but I wanted to get on the record the history of the house andhoping they would send an fire investagator to the house and they to determine a cause. After the complaint with the state was filed Mr. Ambros called and said they was going to work the claim under Reservation of rights  he more or less said I might have been responsbile for the fire. TRhat was on  a Friday and over the weekend that started to get me upset so I call him back on Monday and told him I didn't like that and it was wrong for him to say that and I told him even more of a reason to find out the cause, but at that time he backed off of that statment .I beleive he said that in respones to my filing a complaint with the State. 

They don'tcare that I am homeless until this get settle and will not even provide me a hotel until I can get my own place again. Don't ever think they have your best interest at heart, its all about the adjustors finding a way not to pay a claim. Adjustors getting bonus based on how much they save the company by deny claims. DONT TRUST THIS COMPANY WITH YOUR LIFE. I will not stop fighting for what is right.