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Have some questions about a renter's insurance claim for any adjusters or investigators?

• I have a question about the renter's claim/investigation process. I've never made a renter's claim before; any advice is appreciated. About 2 months ago, my house was robbed while I was at work. We'd just moved in September, & I was having trouble with my cable install - had a tech here for the 4th time. I live half a block from my office & came home from work to let the tech in around 2 pm. I asked him to call me when the job was done so I could come back home & let my dogs out; had them penned up so they wouldn't run away when he was going in & out. He never called, but I know some jobs can take a long time, & I thought he was still there working. I came home around 8 pm to find the front door of my house standing wide open & quite a bit of my stuff (mostly electronics) removed from my house. When I talked to the cable co., they were able to determine that the tech left the house around 3:15. A couple days later, I filed a police report. I didn't do it right away because it wasn't an emergency, I honestly didn't expect them to do anything, & I wanted to be sure of what was missing before I made the report. Due to a hectic work schedule with a lot of overtime, & also because I was a little late on paying my policy premium, I didn't file the claim with my insurance company for another week or so. Of course, I did also speak to the cable co. about this incident, but presently I'm not getting anywhere with them. Don't know if it was the tech or someone else that burglarized me, but in my mind they bear at least some responsibility - this happened because my door was left open. Most of what was removed was electronics - we'd just moved, we didn't have any furniture yet, a lot of stuff was in boxes, & there wasn't much else in the house. I had 2 laptops with custom specs that were over $3k each (one about two years older than the other); one had Adobe software that was over $2k; my DSLR camera body & kit that was around $2k; had a lens in the kit (refurb) that was about another $2k (I had planned on taking classes to learn how to use this stuff). Also removed was my gaming system, controllers, games, CD & DVD collections (they were in binders - about 300 of each), iPod, dock/speakers, Blu-ray player, Kindle... you get the picture. They removed some jewelry too -- nothing outrageous, I only wear silver, no gems really; but I did have a couple pieces that were in the $300-$500 range. All told for the jewelry, about $3k. Anyway, the total loss turned out to be around $30k which is well within my $45k policy; however, my adjuster reminded me that it is significantly reduced because my coverage for computers/software is a max of $3k; jewelry, $500; & cameras, $500 (per incident, not per item). The total claim amount was a lot more than I expected & is, I imagine, more than a typical burglary claim. I did have & submitted documentation (PayPal receipts/purchase histories/photos etc.) for almost everything. Adjuster suggested I write off what's not covered on my taxes. He also said that a "special investigator" would probably want to speak to me & to the cable co. I understand there are limits to the policy - I'm not challenging those - I initially got the policy to satisfy my lease requirements with the intention of increasing some of the coverage but didn't get around to it before the burglary (my bad, lesson learned). I'm sure the volume of the loss, coupled with the fact that I haven't had the policy very long, is probably raising some eyebrows. My question is, first of all, what does special investigator do, & what should I expect? From what I've been reading on the internet, it makes me more than a little nervous. Frankly, I don't know if I can handle what a "special investigation" might entail - I'm a single parent going through a divorce/custody battle, I'm in a new position in a very stressful job, & still adjusting to living in a new city. If this is going to involve giving depositions, going to court, or having an investigator scrutinize me until I make a mistake or give an unsatisfactory answer to some small question so that they can charge me with insurance fraud, I'd rather just forget the whole thing. Do they only do this when they suspect fraud or when the claim isn't typical, or is this routine & nothing for me to worry about? I asked my adjuster if, when he does my estimate, he could detail what's not covered by my policy so that I might get an attorney & try to hold the cable company responsible for what my policy isn't covering. But now it occurs to me that if I'm going to go that route, maybe the right thing to do is, if it's not too late, to withdraw my claim or put a hold on it & see what, if anything, I can hold the cable company responsible for & THEN see if my own insurance company will cover what's left (& possibly pay out less), rather

• Answer:

  As a former auto claim adjuster for 10 years working in several companies can give you some ideas of what I expect to happen. I never handled homeowners, but many things are just the same. If I had received this claim, I would see a lot of "red flags" that would be "screaming" at me. I will try and break down the problems you will encounter. You requested service from the cable company to correct several problems. You let him in at 2 pm and left, and not coming home till 8 pm. Who leaves a stranger alone where no one is there to verify nothing is taken or damaged? Now here is where the biggest red flags come in. You walk into your apartment with the door wide open, then realized you have been burglarized, so the 1st thing anyone would do is call the police immediately and report it. Next flag is stating being a little late on paying the premium, which could mean you never paid the premium, but paid it and then waited to file a claim. I see no mention of talking to the management of the apartment complex of this, since what if maintenance could have had a key to get in and take this stuff. You just moved, but have no furniture? Where was your furniture, or do you own any furniture? The special investigator job will be to literally go through your life to see if in fact you did sustain a burglary or not. They will start with the police report you filed, and what you claimed was stolen. They will most likely talk to your neighbors to see if they saw anyone coming and going that day, carrying out boxes, electronic devices and if there were any other suspicious trucks/vans. They will talk to the cable guy who went to your house and ask him what did he see? He will most likely state he saw a lot of boxes around but he has no clue what was in those boxes, since they could be towels, dishes, pots/pans in those boxes, but not electronics. They will also talk to the cable company to see if other homes have reported being burglarized in the past by this cable guy. They will also ask for ALL of your financial records to validate if you are having financial problems. Overdue bills, debts in collection is motive for fraud. If you have moved a lot over the years, is it because you were evicted for not paying the rent? Personally, when I read this, none of this makes any sense and looks like fraud. Yes they will be taking depositions from you. They will ask you why you allowed someone to stay unsupervised, and why you failed to report this immediately to the police. Who else could have access to your apartment and why you failed to notify the apartment complex. If the insurance company deems this as fraud, they will deny and you will get nothing. If the cable company can validate they are not responsible, then the end result is the same, you get nothing. To sue someone, you have the burden of proof. You were not there when this happened, so unknown who is responsible if this is a legitimate burglary. good luck, you will need it