Bogota homeowner clashes with insurance while trying to rebuild house struck by lightning
Deneen Martinez says she is forever grateful for those who have been by her side since her house in Bogota was destroyed by lightning in September. In times of hardship, however, she explains not everyone has done their part in helping repair her home as she has been experiencing frustrating battles with her insurance company, Encompass.
"There has been so many who have been so generous and stepped up," said the woman, who lives with her daughter, mother and dog. She said the Salesian Sisters of North Haledon have been overwhelmingly generous. The nuns called her the morning after the fire erupted and offered for her and her family to stay with them as the insurance company was in the process of finding a temporary home.
"The people who I did expect to step up were the people I was paying," Martinez said. She added she has been a top premium member at Encompass for 23 years, but she said the insurance company is paying less than half of what she is entitled in her claim.
She said the company last fall declared her house a total loss, so the cost to repair a damaged property exceeds its actual cash value of the property. Martinez argues her house should be worth more than what the insurance company is paying, as she said she and her family are collectors and her house was filled with valuable items.
According to the Bergen County resident, the insurance company owes her well over $100,000 to replace her belongings.
NorthJersey.com reached out to an Encompass representative for comment, but did not get a response.
Martinez said the construction has been paused on the rebuilding of her house until insurance or someone else pays for the establishment, and Martinez said she cannot afford it without her proper claims. "It's been seven months and I only have a roof and some windows. I don't know how much slower they can go," she said.
Her fear is that she is running out of time. She said the insurance company will only pay for her temporary apartment in Wayne for one full year, which ends in October. After that she said she will have nowhere else to stay.
She has been frustrated with the process, saying the representatives she has been communicating with have not been clear. She also says the Encompass representatives did not show up to the property to determine the total loss, and instead a third party was hired to determine what was survivable.
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Martinez hired a public adjustor to assist her in receiving the claims, but they have had trouble getting what she is owed. The public adjustor recommended to hire an attorney, but the homeowner explains how that is unaffordable.
"I don't know what else to do," she said. The single mother said she just wants to return to her regular life, but doesn't know how with the insurance company fighting her every step of the way.
She chooses to remain hopeful despite all the challenges that have been thrown her way. Martinez said she is grateful for all those who have been helping her these last few months.
"Everybody made it out OK, all because of heroes" as she refers to the sisters that she lived with for a month after the fire and her neighbor who started a GoFundMe after the lightning strike.
Despite losing her home, she said she appreciates she still has the most important thing: family. She said she hopes the insurance company can rebuild her house so she can then rebuild her life.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bogota NJ woman tries to rebuild after house struck by lightning
