Adjusting Expectations

 

Our adjuster (and his brother) finally showed up yesterday.  They took a lot more measurements and took a lot more pictures.  

He told us our "getting started" check was on the way and should have been here already.  He also said they would be in town for another 10 days or so and then they were headed to Florida.  He said he will be sending his finalized estimate in by this weekend, but he has no idea how long it will take to get our final check.

The one piece of good news - and it's not carved in stone - was that he finally agreed that the floor in the living room did not constitute a "Finished" floor.  

When the house was built, the contractor installed asphalt tile, and both the tile and the mastic they used to stick it down contained asbestos.  The floor has patches that only match the original tile in thickness, and large gaps from when the house was leveled that are just the concrete slab. When we first added carpet, it was decided it was both cheaper and safer to just cover the tile rather than remove it.

All of this matters because, as the flood insurance laws are written, carpet over an Unfinished floor is considered part of the dwelling, but carpet - even wall-to-wall carpet over a "Finished" floor deemed to be part of the contents.  In our case, with the minimal damage we suffered, listing the carpet as contents, with the additional deductible, would mean we would receive next to nothing for the damage to our home.