The Plumbing Crisis
((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~
This morning, I called my insurance agent about the leak/mold. I spoke to his assistant first. She explained the process of putting in a claim and having an inspector come out to assess the problem. The inspector will determine whether it's a sudden problem or one resulting from me not properly maintaining our home. The fact that there is mold will tell the claims department that this isn't a sudden problem or a new occurrence.
Of course, I told her our story about losing Jon and Jim, and why I couldn't address this sooner. She said "I'm sorry for your loss, but ... it's possible that this won't be covered by your policy."
After 42 1/2 years with this insurance company covering my home, with only 2 claims in that time, and this is what I get? I'm elderly, and my husband just died.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but you have to maintain your home."
"Was I supposed to have a plumber visit every 3 months to check to see if I might have a sudden leak somewhere? What does that mean? I have maintained my home, that's why I have a trusted plumbing company, which has done a lot of work in our home, including putting a new toilet upstairs. They didn't see a problem then. We had a leak in the bedroom closet, where my husband was dying. I was taking 24 hour care of him. No help. Just me. I couldn't do anything about it, because, as I said several times, he was dying. Now he's gone, and I'm addressing the problem. NINE DAYS after his passing."
I told her that I wanted to speak to my agent. She texted him, as they're all working from home under the state orders. He called me an hour later, and I told him my whole story. He was also so sorry for my losses. This was beginning to feel like patronizing, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate to be patronized.
He gave me the same line about sudden, unexpected, and something that had been brewing for awhile. For crying out loud! My home is 42 1/2 years old with original plumbing! What do they expect? Was I supposed to upgrade the pipes during the last 20 years to avoid this from happening? Well, I was a bit busy, what with Jonathan being in and out of ICU 6 times between 2004-2012, and caring for him in our own ICU at home. In 2014, we had a huge earthquake. Then, Jim had an RA flare in 2015 and a lump on his breast, which was benign. In 2016, Jim started coughing up blood. In 2017, on his birthday, he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. From thereon, it was caring for Jon and Jim until they both passed. Golly, I'm so sorry that I didn't make time to have all the plumbing replaced during that time!
My agent advised me to call my trusted plumbers to have them assess the situation and give me an estimate for repair. Okay. But what about the mold? Don't mention the mold to the inspector, the agent said to me. Well, the treatment of the mold will come before the plumbers work, so I'll have to get an estimate on that too.
He said if the plumbers can fix it for less than my deductible, then I shouldn't file a claim.
I was simply stunned. My deductible is $500. A faucet costs nearly that much, when a plumber installs it! I should know, and our plumber gives us discounts on everything, because they are a compassionate family, who really care about their customers.
We have MOLD, for crying out loud! Whether I tell the inspector or I don't, we have mold. I don't want to be jerked around by the insurance company to get work started on this job, while my home becomes engulfed in mold. Get the plumber out, get the mold people out, get estimates, file a claim, have an inspector come out from the insurance company, submit findings, wait for claims department to make a decision, then if they deny it, I have to go back to the mold company and the plumber and pay out of my own pocket.
I'm living here, while the mold is growing, but that didn't seem to concern my agent. It should be drying out and not that much. I was shaking at this point. I told him I'd call my plumber. And, I am prepared for him to tell me that the cost of repairing all of this will be astronomic.
I hung up the phone and burst into tears.
JOHN'S VISIT
I texted John and told him we didn't have to clean out the closet or Jon's room today and asked him to call me. He did, and I told him everything that I've just told you. He was shocked at how poorly I am being treated. He said, "Breathe. We'll take this one step at a time."
Then, I told John that the pump isn't working in Michael's pond, and I don't want the water to stagnate. He said he'd come over to check it out, which he did. We have power to the pumps, but the pump appears to be broken. That little pump did a yeoman's job for many years, and Jim always commented on how good our pond pumps were. But tons of debris and no clean out for years has done its number on them.
John took the pump to find a replacement and was trying to determine how we can use it with a hose to pump the water out of the pond onto the greenbelt behind our fence. Jim connected PVC pipes to the pump, but I don't know how or where they are now. I watched him do it many times. We irrigated the greenbelt with pond water, so there was no waste.
John is determined to figure this out. "We'll drain it and let it dry out completely, then we'll get all of the gunk out of it, hose it down, pump that out, and put in fresh water and a new pump."
We chatted for awhile about his parents, Jim, Jon, Michael and this being his 20th wedding anniversary. His wife said that they were ordering in, because she wasn't in the mood to cook on their anniversary. They are still in the middle of having the interior of their home painted.
He said he never realized what a big job it is to paint the interior of a home. "I do," I said. "I painted every square inch of this home in the 80s. By myself. I repainted the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom in the 90s, while Jim was laying floors and installing windows and doors."
John just looked at me, smiling, shaking his head. "That does not surprise me, Rose."
John left with a heavy bag full of applesauce and juice boxes for his 4 year old niece. John's sister will be stopping by this evening to finalize paperwork related to their mom. She's Grandma, so she will deliver the goodies to this sweet little pumpkin I have yet to meet. I see her pictures, and I'm kept up to date on her. I told John's sister that I hope to meet her before she goes to college.
WHERE I AM
Just when I think I might have some control over something, that is lost. Just when I think I may not have more tears to shed, I weep. Just when I think that everything will be all right and go smoothly, it doesn't.
I honestly do not know how strong I am now. How much more I can endure. It's just a succession of crises, or problems to be sorted out, during a pandemic. I try to rest, to eat, to find moments of peace and calm, to believe that all will work out, to connect with Jim, Jonathan and Michael, but reality is wearing me down.
But, I must persevere and find my way through this muck and mire and have all of my ducks in a row.
Thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support. I love you and pray for you and your loved ones every day. Blessings upon you all. Be safe. Stay home. Be well.
Love & Light,
Rose
((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~
This morning, I called my insurance agent about the leak/mold. I spoke to his assistant first. She explained the process of putting in a claim and having an inspector come out to assess the problem. The inspector will determine whether it's a sudden problem or one resulting from me not properly maintaining our home. The fact that there is mold will tell the claims department that this isn't a sudden problem or a new occurrence.
Of course, I told her our story about losing Jon and Jim, and why I couldn't address this sooner. She said "I'm sorry for your loss, but ... it's possible that this won't be covered by your policy."
After 42 1/2 years with this insurance company covering my home, with only 2 claims in that time, and this is what I get? I'm elderly, and my husband just died.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but you have to maintain your home."
"Was I supposed to have a plumber visit every 3 months to check to see if I might have a sudden leak somewhere? What does that mean? I have maintained my home, that's why I have a trusted plumbing company, which has done a lot of work in our home, including putting a new toilet upstairs. They didn't see a problem then. We had a leak in the bedroom closet, where my husband was dying. I was taking 24 hour care of him. No help. Just me. I couldn't do anything about it, because, as I said several times, he was dying. Now he's gone, and I'm addressing the problem. NINE DAYS after his passing."
I told her that I wanted to speak to my agent. She texted him, as they're all working from home under the state orders. He called me an hour later, and I told him my whole story. He was also so sorry for my losses. This was beginning to feel like patronizing, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate to be patronized.
He gave me the same line about sudden, unexpected, and something that had been brewing for awhile. For crying out loud! My home is 42 1/2 years old with original plumbing! What do they expect? Was I supposed to upgrade the pipes during the last 20 years to avoid this from happening? Well, I was a bit busy, what with Jonathan being in and out of ICU 6 times between 2004-2012, and caring for him in our own ICU at home. In 2014, we had a huge earthquake. Then, Jim had an RA flare in 2015 and a lump on his breast, which was benign. In 2016, Jim started coughing up blood. In 2017, on his birthday, he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. From thereon, it was caring for Jon and Jim until they both passed. Golly, I'm so sorry that I didn't make time to have all the plumbing replaced during that time!
My agent advised me to call my trusted plumbers to have them assess the situation and give me an estimate for repair. Okay. But what about the mold? Don't mention the mold to the inspector, the agent said to me. Well, the treatment of the mold will come before the plumbers work, so I'll have to get an estimate on that too.
He said if the plumbers can fix it for less than my deductible, then I shouldn't file a claim.
I was simply stunned. My deductible is $500. A faucet costs nearly that much, when a plumber installs it! I should know, and our plumber gives us discounts on everything, because they are a compassionate family, who really care about their customers.
We have MOLD, for crying out loud! Whether I tell the inspector or I don't, we have mold. I don't want to be jerked around by the insurance company to get work started on this job, while my home becomes engulfed in mold. Get the plumber out, get the mold people out, get estimates, file a claim, have an inspector come out from the insurance company, submit findings, wait for claims department to make a decision, then if they deny it, I have to go back to the mold company and the plumber and pay out of my own pocket.
I'm living here, while the mold is growing, but that didn't seem to concern my agent. It should be drying out and not that much. I was shaking at this point. I told him I'd call my plumber. And, I am prepared for him to tell me that the cost of repairing all of this will be astronomic.
I hung up the phone and burst into tears.
JOHN'S VISIT
I texted John and told him we didn't have to clean out the closet or Jon's room today and asked him to call me. He did, and I told him everything that I've just told you. He was shocked at how poorly I am being treated. He said, "Breathe. We'll take this one step at a time."
Then, I told John that the pump isn't working in Michael's pond, and I don't want the water to stagnate. He said he'd come over to check it out, which he did. We have power to the pumps, but the pump appears to be broken. That little pump did a yeoman's job for many years, and Jim always commented on how good our pond pumps were. But tons of debris and no clean out for years has done its number on them.
John took the pump to find a replacement and was trying to determine how we can use it with a hose to pump the water out of the pond onto the greenbelt behind our fence. Jim connected PVC pipes to the pump, but I don't know how or where they are now. I watched him do it many times. We irrigated the greenbelt with pond water, so there was no waste.
John is determined to figure this out. "We'll drain it and let it dry out completely, then we'll get all of the gunk out of it, hose it down, pump that out, and put in fresh water and a new pump."
We chatted for awhile about his parents, Jim, Jon, Michael and this being his 20th wedding anniversary. His wife said that they were ordering in, because she wasn't in the mood to cook on their anniversary. They are still in the middle of having the interior of their home painted.
He said he never realized what a big job it is to paint the interior of a home. "I do," I said. "I painted every square inch of this home in the 80s. By myself. I repainted the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom in the 90s, while Jim was laying floors and installing windows and doors."
John just looked at me, smiling, shaking his head. "That does not surprise me, Rose."
John left with a heavy bag full of applesauce and juice boxes for his 4 year old niece. John's sister will be stopping by this evening to finalize paperwork related to their mom. She's Grandma, so she will deliver the goodies to this sweet little pumpkin I have yet to meet. I see her pictures, and I'm kept up to date on her. I told John's sister that I hope to meet her before she goes to college.
WHERE I AM
Just when I think I might have some control over something, that is lost. Just when I think I may not have more tears to shed, I weep. Just when I think that everything will be all right and go smoothly, it doesn't.
I honestly do not know how strong I am now. How much more I can endure. It's just a succession of crises, or problems to be sorted out, during a pandemic. I try to rest, to eat, to find moments of peace and calm, to believe that all will work out, to connect with Jim, Jonathan and Michael, but reality is wearing me down.
But, I must persevere and find my way through this muck and mire and have all of my ducks in a row.
Thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support. I love you and pray for you and your loved ones every day. Blessings upon you all. Be safe. Stay home. Be well.
Love & Light,
Rose
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