Allianz told to get earthquake damage offer in claim dispute – Daily – Insurance News

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A hearing on the claim decided that Allianz should triple its offer to Washington homeowners who were hit by an earthquake nearly three years ago.

Homeowners maintained a “home and contents” policy with Allianz that covers accidental loss or damage, including damage from earthquake and landslides or subsidence occurring within 72 hours due to an earthquake.

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck in mid-September 2018, causing property damage. Large aftershocks and more than 100 earthquakes followed. A few days after the earthquake, they filed a lawsuit.

Allianz said some of the damage was caused by conditions that are excluded from the cover, including gradual wear and tear and faulty or defective workmanship. Once the damage is assessed, Allianz apportion the damage.

Initially offered to settle the claim for $80,000 based on an engineering opinion that concluded 60% of the damage was caused by the earthquake.

This was rejected and the engineer reassessed the damage, concluding that the initial assessment was “fairly generous” and recommended reducing the allocation from 60% to 20% for earthquake-related damage, with the remainder considered to be primarily due to pre-existing structural defects.

Accordingly, Allianz adjusted its bid to $32,558.

The homeowners said the offer was unreasonable and went to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) to contest the percentage of the liability allocation on which Allianz relies and say it should either authorize repairs or rebuilding the home.

The AFCA found that Allianz’s bid was not fair in all circumstances and should increase its bid to $99,025 – 60% of the construction bid, including a 15% contingency allowance. She added that Allianz will also pay interest from March 17 last year and $4,800 for temporary housing while repairs are made to the only bathroom and kitchen.

Allianz obtained a quote from a construction worker who estimated the repairs and improvements at $271,815. The policy holder did not provide any alternative engineering assessments or scope of works.

Based on the builder quote, Allianz offered $271,815 (less than event-related upgrades of $128,301), resulting in $143,514 in insurance-related repairs (less than 80% of pre-existing damage: 114, 812 dollars). This comes to a total of $28703 plus a 15% contingency ($4,305) for a total of $33,008, minus an increase of $450 for a total settlement of $32,558.

“The team acknowledges that further engineering assessments may result in a revised division of responsibility. However, the Committee noted that the assessment was not based on a site-specific review,” the AFC said.

“The valuation does not refer to the different construction methods used on the other properties. The Committee is not convinced that the insurer’s offer is fair under the circumstances as it chose to reduce its liability based on the engineering valuation that takes into account sites and other properties constructed using different methods.

“The initial calculations were site-specific rather than an unfounded public opinion.”

The AFC agreed with Allianz that the foundations of the property were not damaged by the insured event, the earthquake, but said Allianz was not able to guarantee the business, Allianz was not obligated to do the business and therefore was required to settle the homeowners in cash. .

“Therefore, the insurance company has to pay the complainants cash for repairs to their property in the amount of $99,025,” she added.

See the full ruling here.

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