Does anyone remember a blog post from a few days ago? Remember the one about our cabin?Remember the insurance report that lied about when we found the issue, lied about the construction of our cabin, and the construction and restoration crew (sent by the insurance industry) that refused to look for the problem.
Yes…it rings a bell doesn’t it.
It probably was the blog post that made you think back to your own insurance claims where you were royally screwed. It was the blog post that made you kick yourself because you are now wondering what lies were written in the report. Seriously I didn’t mean to give you sleepless nights. I didn’t mean to induce another ulcer. I did want everyone to be aware of just what is going on through my OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
If you would like to read the original post click HERE!!!!!!!!
But before we get to the fun let’s share another piece of relevant information. On Friday November 14th I sent out the original blog post to SEVEN different people/departments at WAWANESA to express my concern regarding how our claim was being handled. NOT A SINGLE PERSON FROM WAWANESA HAS EVEN TRIED TO CONTACT US.
NOT OUR ADJUSTER.
NOT THE ADJUSTER’S MANAGER.
NOT ANY OF THE OTHER MANAGERS.
NO ONE.
Not a phone call. Not an email. Not a smoke signal. Nothing. (But we DO know Wawanesa knows about it thanks to our very awesome broker……it is great that someone is AWESOME!)
So in the spirit of consumer protection, I am including below the email I sent so everyone will know who will actually ignore you and never get back to you at Wawanesa. Feel free to click on the below image to view full size.
(click on image to view full size!)
In actual fact the only interested parties were our broker and “The Office of Consumer Affairs”. Wawanesa did not contact us all week long.
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Oh wait, breaking news…….. minutes ago I received an email from Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service after no contact at all all week long. I will include it just below, click on it to enlarge:
We’ll discuss this email in a moment. But before I get to it, continue reading.
Today I received this, the letter indicating Wawanesa will not be covering our loss:
Would you like to have a read? The whole package we received is scanned below. Please click on the images to view full size. I am all about honesty and transparency.
I am now going to share a few highlights with you.
Let’s review the dates. On September 29th the “independent adjuster ” came out looked around, took a statement, took a few pictures and told US to “find the source”. Our broker told us he has never heard of the insured being told by the insurance company that they are the ones who have to find the source; he says this is unheard of.
On October 4th we went and tried to find “the source”, found fresh water, took tons of pictures and tried by phone to contact every resource we could in the insurance industry to give us guidance. The only one interested was our broker. We couldn’t even register information with Wawanesa.
On October 25th the “independent adjuster” and the representative from Titan Construction drove out to our cabin together in the ‘independent adjuster’s” vehicle. They looked around, took some pictures and agreed to send out a construction crew to LOOK FOR THE SOURCE. Then they went for lunch together.
On OCTOBER 29TH, 2014 , a date OMITTED FROM THE TOWNSEND AND LEEDHAM letter posted above, the construction crew came to the cabin and wrote the report that deemed the claim to be denied. My previous blog post will outline and share the letter, but to give you four main points :
1 – they LIED about when we discovered the problem (we discovered it the weekend of September 7th, 2014, they said approximately 2 years ago….we have a blog post to prove it)
2 – they LIED about the construction of the cabin (they said we have foam underlay….we don’t…their pictures prove it)
3 – they REFUSED to look for the source – the source was never found because the CREW that was sent BY THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY REFUSED TO LOOK (and then this information was omitted in the above letter)
4 – to quote their report that caused the claim to be denied …”My theory is this is a condensation issue.” THEORY. The claim is denied on a “theory”…a guess…..a guess because they refused to look for the source (report viewable below, please click to view larger). However the cause in the “report” is listed as “condensation” but the letter today from the very same independent adjuster who agreed to the condensation claim on November 14, 2014 is now stating “seepage and leakage” as the cause even though this was NEVER MENTIONED in the very report he is using for denial. The report resulting from Titan Construction’s visit to the site of the claim on October 29th, 2014. The date and information was COMPLETELY OMITTED from the letter we received today from Townsend & Leedham Adjusters Ltd (of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).
Why was this information omitted in the letter today? Why can’t the insurance industry stick to FACTS and TRUTH. Why can’t they be TRANSPARENT and HONEST?
Just to be thorough, the November 14th date was the date the “independent adjuster” told my husband Mark over the phone that the claim was denied. The independent adjuster who will never reply by email so that we have information in writing and always calls us on a “blocked” phone number. We can’t trace emails, we can’t trace phone calls, plus we have misrepresentation of the claim and lies on the report, and then a whole new cause manufactured on the letter dated November 14, 2014 from Townsend & Leedham Adjusters Ltd……….impressive isn’t it.
So remember the lie on the report about when we found the damage? Here is that page of the report (click to view full size).
Guess what surfaced in the letter today……………
….why the quotations? Do you see it? I will help you…….
“An action or proceeding against an insurer under a contract must be commenced, in the case of loss of damage to insured property, not later than 2 years after the date the insured knew or ought to have known that the loss or damage occurred.”
We knew about the damage in September of 2014. They flat out LIED in the report. We are being called LIERS, the report is SLANDERING us. I am sorry but Mr. Hunter DID NOT CONFIRM that he put in the shims approximately 2 years ago….it was September 2014…we have the Home Depot credit card record to prove it.
Just for fun read the wording again…….this part……. “or ought to have known that the loss or damage occurred.”. How can anyone “ought to have known”? In our case it was COMPLETELY CONCEALED plus there was no evidence of an excessive amount of water being consumed to create damage (you’ll understand this when you read the very end of the blog post). The source is still concealed because Wananesa and their associates REFUSED to look for “the source”.
Let me ask you, are you required to climb up on your own roof to assess hail damage? Are you required to play with your home’s wiring after an electrical fire? Are you required to track down the criminal after your house has been broken into, or find the arsonist that burnt your house down? Probably not, but this is what they expect us to do.
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Let’s continue.
Let’s move on to today’s email from Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service. I’ll paste it again here, click to enlarge.
Let me show you a close up:
The Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service has deemed the damage to be caused by “continuous seepage and leakage”. Hmmm, yet the “report” that caused the claim to be denied declared, and I quote, “My theory is this is a condensation issue.” Which is it? “Continuous seepage and leakage” wasn’t in the report. I just checked. The term “seepage” and the term “leakage” are NOT USED AT ALL IN THE REPORT. In the time span from November 14th to today November 20th the Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service has FICTIONALIZED, perhaps with the assistance of the TOWNSEND & LEEDHAM adjuster, A WHOLE NEW REASON FOR THE DAMAGE WITHOUT ANYONE EVER HAVING SET FOOT IN THE CABIN.
Compare the paperwork included in this blog.
THEY MADE IT UP TOO.
THERE IS NOTHING IN THE REPORT TO SUPPORT THEIR CLAIM OF DENIAL. THE REPORT STATED “CONDENSATION”, IT NEVER MENTIONED “LEAKAGE OR SEEPAGE”.
The Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service made up this information (perhaps with the assistance of the Townsend & Leedham adjuster) just like the report made up when we discovered the issue and made up that we have foam underlay. There is no proof or information in the report to verify this claim. Surely the ombudsman would at least look at the report responsible for denying this claim.
WHERE DO THE LIES END?
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So let’s refer back :
I would like to point out that “the source” has NEVER been discovered. We DO NOT KNOW IT IS SEEPAGE OR LEAKAGE BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO LOOK. The Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service has based their decision on this:
Two tiny cuts in the wall. This is the ONLY EXPLORATION the insurance industry would do. Evidently this is the only place that water supply lines run in our cabin in their professional opinion. Let me share a diagram.
This is our bathroom. The tiny orange area is the only area they cut to look. Somehow water mysteriously gets from our pump house to this area without supply lines according to the insurance industry. Can someone tell me how the exploration is at all fair? Water runs to the kitchen, to the bathroom sink, to the toilet and to the shower yet the ONLY place they cut open was in front of the hot water tank.
The “source” has NEVER been found because WAWANESA REFUSED TO LOOK. UNFAIR. We have a “theory” of condensation and then the “out of thin air revelation” by the ombudsman and Townsend & Leedham of “leakage and seepage”.
Surely after paying for insurance for YEARS on THREE DIFFERENT PROPERTIES (at the same time!) we at least should be granted the fairness of them LOOKING and ASSESSING the situation fairly.
WAWANESA REFUSES TO LOOK FOR THE PROBLEM and are ASSUMING…….ASSUMING……it is “continuous seepage and leakage” (wherever they got that information from). They have NO PROOF because they REFUSE to look and “continuous seepage and leakage” wasn’t even in the report. This has been fictionalized by the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service after a panic decision by Townsend & Leedham to include it in their letter of denial with no proof of it whatsoever.
This claim has been denied on lies and assumptions and Wawanesa’s Northern Alberta Ombuds service SUPPORTS THESE LIES AND ASSUMPTIONS.
Did the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service address the LIES about when we discovered the damage – NO.
Did the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service address the LIES about construction of the cabin – NO.
Did the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service address the fact that exploration for the source was NEVER DONE to a satisfactory level – NO.
Has the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service ever seen the cabin or the situation – NO.
Has the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service even talked to us – NO.
Did the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service endorse the fictionalized cause to be “continuous seepage and leakage” – YES!!!!!!! It wasn’t even listed as a cause in the report that denied our claim.
What a farce.
Wawanesa accepts lies and uses it as documentation. They deny a claim on assumptions and theories and fiction. Then the ombudsman pulls a whole new cause out of thin air , with the help of Townsend & Leedham, with no fact to substantiate it.
The report that they used to deny our claim was filled with lies. The lies we had addressed with our Wawanesa adjuster over the phone by our broker as we sat in his office. The lies were addressed in the previous blog post, with documentation of when we FOUND the problem in September 2014. Wawanesa knowingly accepted a report that they KNOW has lies in it to deny our claim.
Our insurance broker said that the insurance industry must have code of ethics that they must follow. Is accepting outright lies part of the code of ethics? Is the ombudsman creating imaginary causes out of thin air (with assistance from Townsend & Leedham) with no proof at all ethical? A blog post proves “discovery” was in September 2014. The insurance report pictures PROVE there is no “foam” in our cabin. Their own pictures. Check out the previous blog post for verification. Their own pictures discredit their own report. The report and the ombudsman deny the claim on completely different issues, without any proof.
I am sorry but when a company can’t even compare the pictures in their report to the words in the report, when the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service accepts a report with lies when we have addressed and proven otherwise, when the ombudsman fictionalizes a cause with no proof (with the help of Townsend & Leedham), and when an insurance claim denies on assumptions rather than fact, the company is one of two things….INCOMPETENT OR CORRUPT.
In the eyes of Wawanesa Insurance the insured is guilty until proven innocent.
We were never treated fairly.
To sum up the situation:
– Wawanesa accepted lies about when we discovered the damage – slander
– Wawanesa accepted lies about construction of our cabin – the lies are proven by cross referencing the pictures in the report compared to the words in the report
– Wawanesa REFUSED to do a thorough exploration (below is the only exploration carried out)
– Wawanesa denied a claim based on THEORIES listed in the report (phone call by the Townsend & Leedham adjuster on November 14th and the report he provided us) and then DENIED A CLAIM BASED ON MANUFACTURED FICTION (the letter we received today “stated leakage and seepage” terms NEVER used in the report). Why even do a report if they are just going to create whole new causes out of thin air?
– the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service then denies the claim a second time on a FICTIONALIZED CAUSE, a cause never even mentioned in the report
– Wawanesa also has never addressed this picture, the one of LOCALIZED water coming from somewhere. If they would have followed the water they would have found “the source” but they REFUSED to look. Wawanesa even REFUSED to put the picture in the report or address the issue even though they have had this picture sent directly to them in an email. They have refused to address this water even though their own “independent adjuster” and the construction crew, and the author of “the report”, have had their own hands in the puddle. Here is the picture:
Soaking wet. Localized, not seepage. A puddle. This is the problem, it isn’t shown or talked about in the report. Nothing in the report, visually or written , accurately reflects the issue. Surely an insurance report is required to reflect the situation accurately. Surely an insurance report is required to tell the truth. What we have discovered is that the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service doesn’t care about truth or accuracy, it simple is a non issue….lies, lack of accuracy, refusing to find “the source, and assumptions and theories are the order of the day.
This situation is no longer just about “the claim” or “the water” or “the source”. This situation is now about SLANDER where a report LIES about when we found this problem. This situation is about LIES where a report LIES about the construction of our cabin. This situation is about MISREPRESENTATION of the actual claim by the independent adjuster and the report. This situation is about FAIRNESS and that every insured should be entitled to real exploration of the problem not the insurance industry refusing to look. This situation is about an insurance company so corrupt or incompetent that the report denies the claim on a “theory” of “condensation” while the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service denies the claim on “seepage and leakage” when that term wasn’t even in the report that caused the claim to be denied. The ombudsman denied the claim on a FICTIONALIZED CAUSE. The cause has never been found, the insurance industry refused to look.
Shouldn’t a report be based on the TRUTH?
Shouldn’t a report be based on FACT?
Shouldn’t the insured be treated FAIRLY?
Shouldn’t the report and Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service at least agree on why the claim is being denied. The Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service never looked at the cabin, never had any further information, they made it up. They decided to just come to another conclusion and pulled “leakage and seepage” out of thin air along with the help of the “Townsend & Leedham” and their sudden change of mind, it wasn’t even in the report. They are denying claims without even a fictionalized report to back them up. Pure fiction. The Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service denied coverage based on PURE FICTION.
Wawanesa does not base their claims on fact. Wawanesa does not base their claims on fairness. Wawanesa will do whatever it takes to wiggle out of a claim.
Code of ethics? I’ll let you decide.
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Cabin Water Information
Now let me share a little water information regarding our cabin, as it is quite interesting, and everyone refused to listen. The construction crew was stating condensation and groundwater even before they entered the cabin (as I said, never given a fair chance to show the real situation).
-First regarding “seepage and leakage”, the ground under the floor joists is bone dry and vented, the bottom joists are bone dry as well, the water damage has come from the top down. None of the pictures in the report show that , neither do the words.
– Second, the wet spot is localized. This much water can only be forming from a teeny tiny supply line, it is the only source of water. It isn’t the roof (no staining or swelling) and it isn’t coming in through the exterior walls (again no staining or swelling). It isn’t groundwater, the ground is dry beneath the joists.
The construction professional put their moisture meter inches from the wet spot and it showed “no moisture”. He cut a hole where it said “no moisture”. I put my hand in that hole and it was soaking wet. All that separated the moisture meter from soaking wet wood and insulation was 1/2 inch drywall….how can it show “no moisture”? Isn’t that curious?
The report deemed this wet spot to be condensation; how can condensation form when there is no heating, the space is vented, the wet area is completely open to the room, and the puddle ONLY FORMS WHEN THERE IS WATER IN THE SUPPLY LINES? “Condensation” is the cause listed in the “report” that caused our claim to be denied. How? (Please see the report below, click to enlarge.)
– Third, water is only accessed and available to the water supply lines May to October with an average usage of 12 two day weekends per year. Water only actively flows through the pipes of the cabin for 24 days a year. Otherwise there is no water available for seepage or leakage. This year we used 750 gallons ( I documented that we had 500 gallons left in an email to the independent adjuster) of water for a family of 7 including filling up a hot water tank (possibly 40 gallons). Let’s do the math:
750 gallons- 40 gallons =710 gallons of used water for the year (hot water tank was full)
710 gallons divided by 7 people is 101.43 gallons of water per person for the year
101.43 gallons of water (per person) divided by 3 gallons (estimate) per toilet flush = 33.81 toilet flushes for the year for one person
33.81 toilet flushes divided by 24 days of use = 1.41 toilet flushes per person per day
***this doesn’t include hand washing, dishes washing or watering trees and plants
This damage isn’t continual leakage or seepage as we would be going through huge amounts of water. This can only be happening when we are actively using water ; a total of 24 days a year. Our water tank has the gallon markings on it, we would be able to watch it go down disproportionately. We can physically see the amount of water we use as we are on water haul. Our lines are only actively in use 24 days a year, water is in the supply lines May to October until we drain off the water for winter. No water is available at all October to May. No water is accessible when we are not at the cabin May to October as the pump has the power turned off to it. The water holding tank is outside, if there was ever an issue it would simply water our lawn. Other than when we are in the cabin for 24 days a year, water is not being pumped through our supply lines.
The empty water tank behind our son. We would actually “see” the water going down if it was constant leakage and seepage.
– Fourth- when the area was first opened up there wasn’t a massive amount of mold, you could find an odd teeny patch if you looked hard enough. This hasn’t been wet for years. The whole area would have been full of mold if this was a situation ongoing for years. The soaking wet sheeting used on the subfloor fell apart in your hands, a chip board type of composition, the top was discolored the center was wood colored. The water had dissolved it.
If anyone had bothered to assess the situation and listen to us they would realize the construction does not allow for condensation and that the water system is only active approximately 24 days a year.
Instead we get theories and manufactured causes without proof from the Wawanesa Northern Alberta Ombuds service.
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Now I am also going to share another little “FYI” which Wawanesa really needs to take note of. When things like this happen I do send them out to the media, depending on my mood the odd blog post has gone out to over 100 outlets in an evening (by the way the total media sends aren’t all listed on the email above…I took a break to eat dinner!). They get exactly the same email that Wawanesa received. Wawanesa is probably sitting there saying “Squeeky wheel, moaning cow, no one is picking up this story, what a stupid (fill in the blank!)”. This is definitely the thought process as no one got back to us (until moments ago)…..but they are missing the point. I am not aiming for “media coverage”, I’m aiming for “water cooler gossip”. Think about it. “Water cooler gossip” is the most damning thing that exists. People embellish, over exaggerate a story, try to out do one another and essentially one little story has the potential to become urban myth. Even better, people hate dealing with insurance companies, the insured are treated like criminals, we are guilty until proven innocent , so they are going to LOVE a story like ours. Happily we are also approaching the “festive season”, happily we will be mixing “water cooler gossip” with alcohol at company Christmas parties….this story has potential to grow legs of its own. People NEED to know this story.
Wawanesa had plenty of opportunity to stop this. We sent emails to our “independent adjuster” that were forwarded to our “Wawanesa adjuster”. We sat in our broker’s office while he attempted to bring the situation to our “Wawanesa’s adjuster’s” attention. We sent out the previous blog post. Attempt after attempt and COMPLETELY IGNORED.
Just how much bad press do they want, because the first post is receiving hundreds of views a day.
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Edited to add this LINK:
Wawanesa states on the third page of their 2013 Annual Report the following values:
VALUES
•
We treat others in a respectful and truthful manner.
•
We conduct business with integrity, honesty, consistency and fairness.
•
We act ethically and lawfully.
•
We take pride in making service a priority.
•
We encourage collaboration, innovation and excellence.
•
We support the communities in which we work and live
Spot the difference with what we have experienced!
h..... the blog 
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