Damaged Cues ??? From Water

[abe]

Hello,

I deal with water damage everyday. I am an IICRC (WRT) certified water damage restoration tech.

It is amazing what kind of damage can be done by water and moisture, even with no direct contact. Elevated moisture will find its way into furniture and surrounding materials.

Do you think it could possibly effected the entire pool table? It's a new Brunswick Gibson? If so can you you explaing so I can inform the insurance company in a way they might understand.

Did you hire a water damge restoration company? What caused the water damage ( flood, appliance, water pipe, etc). Who is your insurance company?

Yes, we had Service Master come out. The damage was caused by a broken water pipe whiich ran continously for over a week while we were out of town. We have State Farm Insurance .

#1 DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!! Take as many pics as you can. If you do not have documentation, it did not happen as far as the insurance company is concerned. Get verification of cue values and produce any receipts that may back you up.


I personally feel that if they are willing to cover the cost, take the money, instead of trying repair. I am pretty sure that the cues are severely damaged.


Also, where do you live? Different enviroments are more prone to mold, etc.

Because of the region we live in our homeowners insurance policy does have a clause for up to $25,000 in mold damage, Hopefully we wont have to use it.

You can dry out wood with dehumidification. But the question is will they return to their original and straight condition? I would prob suggest hanging them from the tips in a closed enviroment with dehumidifiers and blowers. The blowers create evaporation and the DH's will pull that moisture out and drain it into a sink, etc. Wood is considered "dry" when its moisture content is below 16%.

Even assuming that you dry out the wood and it returns to a straight condition, there is more than wood in a cue. Every material has different rates of absorption and differing rates that it will release moisture. These different materials will expand and contract at different rates and can cause all kinds of problems with the cues integrity. Inlays and rings can pop out, the finish can crack, etc.



I deal with insurance companies all the time in this situation. It is usually easier if it is an independant adjuster as opposed to an employee of the insurance company.

Oh, and as far as mold goes. See if you can find a product called microban. It is prob the best product available to kill and inhibit mold growth.

I think that is what Service Master sprayed all over and in the walls.

Let me know if I can help out. Give me a little more info, and I am sure I could offer a bit more advice.



Jason

Jason, you seem like just the guy I am looking for. Thank you for the advice and please let me know if you have any other suggestion.

Thanks

 

[abe]

Oh yeah, now I remember who you are. Yeah those dealer cases aren't made to stand up to submersion. Good luck with your situation.

Thanks, Right now I am wishing I would have had the custom cue/gun case we were talking about having you make for me. I am sure that would have protected my cues much better. Take care.

 

[abe]

No your insurance will not cover your cues. (At least not for much)

I carry a "rider" policy on my homeowners.

Ken

This worries me. I still don't know for sure but I pray they will cover them. 15K would be a real big hit on my finances right now not to mention there was over $12K in damage to the house alone + the additional $20K or so in other personal property.

Do you know what percentage they may cover them for? Have you had sometjing like this happen. We are going through our Homeowners insurance which is State Farm.

 

[Ken_4fun]

This worries me. I still don't know for sure but I pray they will cover them. 15K would be a real big hit on my finances right now not to mention there was over $12K in damage to the house alone + the additional $20K or so in other personal property.

Do you know what percentage they may cover them for? Have you had sometjing like this happen. We are going through our Homeowners insurance which is State Farm.

I have State Farm as well. I had a claim for the first time in about 10 years and my rates more than doubled.

I am currently paying over $750 annually for this rider. I am going to drop it soon and sell off my cues.

As far as the guns, I had my great great grandfathers shotgun restored by a NRA trained gunsmith that specializes in damaged guns. He is in Florida and gets tons of insurance work. I can recommend him highly.

Best of luck,

Ken

 

[javi2]

Abe best advice as Poolpro said is : GET AN ADJUSTER! You can be sure that the insurance company is not going to cover everything. An adjuster will make sure that you get your losses covered.

 

[JB Cases]

This worries me. I still don't know for sure but I pray they will cover them. 15K would be a real big hit on my finances right now not to mention there was over $12K in damage to the house alone + the additional $20K or so in other personal property.

Do you know what percentage they may cover them for? Have you had sometjing like this happen. We are going through our Homeowners insurance which is State Farm.

All I can say is that I had State Farm on my cars and business for years and they took care of all my claims promptly with no fuss. I hope that your experience with them will be as good as mine was. I had two high end cues stolen out of my shop and they paid off and my truck was stolen and they paid off promptly.

Again good luck.

 

[poolpro]

Jason, you seem like just the guy I am looking for. Thank you for the advice and please let me know if you have any other suggestion.

Thanks

Hey abe,

It is good to know that you did have a water damage restoration company involved. I know service master.

1) I cannot say with any real confidence exactly to what extent the table is damaged without really inspecting it myself. I will say it would be much like any other piece of fine wood furniture. You are dealing with swelling, expansion, etc. This can be very slight or very extreme. I am not a table mechanic, but the most likey places for concern would probably be at wood joints, etc.

I assume that service master placed heavy duty dehumidifiers and blowers in all affected areas to dry them out. In which case it is likely that the table could return to its previous state. I would recomend having a qualified table mechanic inspect the table for problems.

I have had hardwood floors buckle and cup from water damage and return flat after drying. It really depends on a lot of factors as to how much water, how long it was let to absorb, etc.

Insurance companies are used to all of these situations. You really should not have to explain too much. Service master should also be helping with this, as they need to provide info to state farm to get paid too. You need to deal with the adjuster and just walk him through it, and have pics and documentation. He will take his own, but it is a really good idea to have your own documentation of everything. I will say that State Farm is one of the companies that we have had to fight with a bit to get then to pay certain things. Be polite, but do not let them bs you. Review your policy very carefully and ask for clarification if you need it ( and prob, even if you do not think you need it). If things get too ugly you can hire your own independent adjuster and attorney. That is why you MUST have your own documentation. I don't want to scare you. They may take great care of you without any problem, just cover yourself.

I would be suprised if they coughed up $15,000 for cues (at least not without some real proof), but they might. The bottom line is they ARE responsible. They wrote the policy, they took your premiums. Sometimes they just need a little reminding that they do in fact need to pony up. It is their job to try and find ways to reduce their liabilty. To someone who is not knowledgeable about cues, this number will seem ridiculous. It may seem to them that you are inflating the value greatly. It is common for people to start saying everything is worth much more than it really is, etc. You just need to prove that it is legitemit.


Has the adjuster come out already? I usually see an adjuster between 3-7 days after the claim is started. He will be the best source of information as to what will happen. Just remember- he is an employee of the insurance company ( usually). He will assess the damage and determine what they will cover or not. He makes recomendations. He does not have final say. You can fight any decisions ( though you will need to decide if it is worth it to do so). It may or may not be.

Like I said, just be polite, but cautious.



I am sure it will all work out for you. Let me know if I can be of any help.


Jason

 

[Xnotedgeanymore]

wow, sorry to hear about your misfortune. Hopefully they will make it better, if not right. Best of luck with everything.