Insurance company's preferred contractors turn repair into unmitigated disaster
When a fallen tree left a gaping hole in a B.C. family's roof, they filed a claim with their home insurer and expected the damage—an estimated $78,000 worth—to be taken care of. As it's turned out, that was only the beginning of their problems.
Thanks to the ineffectual work done by a contractor that was recommended by their insurer, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance, Paul and Sharon Gough are dealing with almost a million dollars in resulting damages and have spent the last eight months living in a trailer outside their home.
The initial incident took place in August, 2015. After determining that proper replacement tiles for the roof couldn't be found, the contractor—who went unnamed in the CBC Go Public investigation that brought this saga to light—halted its work and covered the hole with nothing but a nylon tarp, which would serve, quite literally, as a band-aid solution until a sensible course of action was chosen.
That temporary measure opened the door for all kinds of animals to penetrate the house. Squirrels, birds, rats; all of them made themselves right at home in the Goughs' dwelling. Desperately needing pest control, the family once again chose to go with one of Wananesa's preferred options, and once again, it made a bad situation worse. By using poison instead of traps to remove the rats, many of the creatures died behind the house's drywall and attracted hordes of flies to the house.
Between stucco damages, broken windows, leakage and flooding, chewed-up wiring, and various minor issues, the Goughs have gone from having one fixable problem to being fully embroiled in an unmitigated disaster. Just to enter certain parts of their home, they need to wear hazmat suits and masks.
Their situation highlights the importance of securing a good contractor in repairs cases that are covered by home insurance. Even when an insurer has a "preferred" contractor or vendor, that's no guarantee of competence—it could just as well mean that the insurer prefers using them because they are cheap. Exploring other options could mean the difference between a timely repair and what happened to the Goughs.