Water damge and oriental rugs

[MWade25064]

I'm a p&c adjuster and have a claim with a water damaged oriental rug. Any
adjuster who has had one of these claims know that they are a pain because the
true replacement value of oriental rugs is very subjective. The insured has an
appraisel from 1997 for $9,200.00. I have spoken with a rug dealer who has
shown me comparable size, design, color, style etc. rugs and he states he can
sell these comparable rugs for $4,900.00. I want to be as fair as possible to
the insured yet not get ripped off. Any advice on handling the situation?
Thanks. T.J.

[Bob Thomas]

Don't know much about adjusting. Know a little bit about Oriental rugs. Do
you know the provenance of the rug in question? How about the age. Sure,
you can buy a new rug for less. Those rugs increase in value with age. How
about the number of knots per square inch? The more knots the higher the
value, generally. What is the rug made of? Is there silk thread, for
instance. The size, design, color and style is not particularly anything
you can use to price an Oriental.

Does that dealer think he's going to get to sell you a rug as replacement of
the damaged rug???

Better yet, get a professional appraisal.

cheers

bob
MWade25064 <mwade...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001104020722...@ng-fw1.aol.com...

[Isabella N]

> The insured has an
>appraisel from 1997 for $9,200.00. I have spoken with a rug dealer who has
>shown me comparable size, design, color, style etc. rugs and he states he can
>sell these comparable rugs for $4,900.00. I want to be as fair as possible to
>the insured yet not get ripped off.

I'm not an adjuster, but I DID see some show on TV (20/20?)where they were
showing how oriental rugs can be MAJORLY overpriced, misrepresented in
materials (they had a neat thread test where you light a thread with a match,
because cotton burns all the way, and synthetics leave a plastic string, or is
that reversed?), and otherwise be a rip off to consumers.

Is this rug scheduled? If it is, I think you should pay the scheduled amount.
If not, I think replacement value is fair. Have you had an expert examine the
remains of that rug to establish construction, pattern, origin, etc.?

"He who laughs last didn't get the joke."

[jobe...@my-deja.com]

"I'm a p&c adjuster and have a claim with a water damaged oriental rug.
Any adjuster who has had one of these claims know that they are a pain
because the true replacement value of oriental rugs is very subjective.

The insured has an appraisel from 1997 for $9,200.00. I have spoken with
a rug dealer who has shown me comparable size, design, color, style etc.
rugs and he states he can sell these comparable rugs for $4,900.00. I
want to be as fair as possible to the insured yet not get ripped off.

Any advice on handling the situation?"

An appraisal in this situation, unless it is a fine arts coverage that
offers appraised value only (unlikely) is irrelevant to the question at
hand.

Under the standard ISO language, the carrier has the right to repair or
replace with an item of similar or like kind & quality. As with
jewelry, the chances of actually paying the appraisal value of an
oriental for replacement is slim to none. If you have a dealer who can
offer the insured a comparable quality rug of similar design for $4900,
it would then fall back to the insured to show why the replacement is
not acceptable.

No one said being an adjuster was easy. (And if they did, they were
lying to get you to take the job. <G>)

since I don't know what carrier you work for, I can't answer as to the
wording of the IM endorsement for the rug, but I would have to assume
that your company is going to retain the right to replace. Replacement
is $4900, from the information you've posted--so that's what the insured
is entitled to.

Explaining it to an irate insured who thought they'd be entitled to
considerably more is something else. (Though, from experience, I'm
willing to bet that the insured didn't pay $9200 for the rug!)

--
Beth

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.