Hello Mr. Insurance Check, Where Have You Been?

I'll just say it has been a process, and not exactly a consumer-friendly one. I officially deposited our insurance check on Friday, one day short of eight weeks. Luckily, we had no roof damage, so it was not a big deal to put the repairs off for two months. However the dozens of neighbors around us are still sporting blue tarps instead of shingles and are antsy to get their money and get the repairs started.

Texas has a state issued windstorm policy (hurricane insurance). Its pricey (like selling my spare body parts expenisve and I shutter what it will be next year after this), but the state had to step in because so many insurance companies decided it was not profitable to cover windstorm (can't imagine why, I read Ike made over 50,000 insurance claims and that was within a week of the storm). Except for State farm and talking to people, they are getting hosed by State Farm.

Texas Windstorm uses independent adjusters and were paying a good price, we really didn't have to fight to get our claim, the process was just tedious...

• 4 canceled vists by the adjuster (one of those we'll show up between 8-5 and you have to be there which = fours days of waiting).
• 5 contractor estimates (also we'll show up between 8-5...if your luckily and you were even luckier if they actually got a quote back to you).
• 4 weeks to process the claim
  

So the check comes back with your name, and your mortgage companies name (thanks to all you crazy Katrina victims that purchased cars and junk instead of a freaken ROOF!). Which pretty much means your mortgage company controls how and where the money goes since they have to endorse it. From what I hear its a real pain, you have to put up the money up front and turn in receipts and photos to get a reimbursement or have the mortgage control who does the work for you. I see why they do it, they were the ones that got hosed in Katrina since people spent their insurance money frivolously and let their house go to pot and then the bank was stuck with a house worth nothing when the owner defaulted.

Luckily we were under the limit so we just had to have a banker at our mortgage bank endorse it and we could deposit it without any going back and forth. Bad news was we had two mortgage companies. Countrywide does not have a local endorser (I about jumped over the desk, a hurricane just hit the 4th largest city and you don't have a local check signer?) So we spent another two weeks mailing the check to California for someone to place their John Hancock on the back (which to my dismay was a stamp).

We got the check back Thursday and Friday I spent another two hours at Wells Fargo getting the last signature (which almost didn't happen, long story). In the mean time my well behaved children managed to devour a basket full of complementary cookies, play 500 pickup with a stack of deposit slips and break a phone at the local Wells Fargo branch. And finally, after countless hours, I deposit the money! Saturday we had plans to start rebuilding 160' of property fence......
...Until Saturday morning Jared found out he was #5 on the list at Home Depot for a post hold auger.... so the repairs will start next week. Heck whats another week right?