Unseen lightning damage to appliances.

[jdhog71]

I have a new customer who told me that lightning entered her home via the electric service last October. At that time she lost her furnace and one other appliance. Her former electrician filled out forms for the insurance claim and inspected all visible house wiring. He told her the house wiring looked good, but that the lightning surge could have done undetected damage to her other appliances some months later. Well, sure enough, she just lost her dishwasher and refrigerator. Her insurance company will not replace these two appliances, obviously because they were still working at the time of the first claim. The only way they will replace them is if she has an appliance repairman or an electrician fill out an affidavit, stating that there could be undetected damage done at the time of the original surge. Has anyone else heard of this or experienced this?

 

[Little Bill]

I have checked things and if visible damage is seen , I report it on my invoice for the insurance. I also put a disclaimer that there could be unseen damage that could show up later. I also repair/replace obvious things like breakers, GFCI receptacles, wiring, etc. Never heard anything back after I left. Ins. Co can be hard to deal with.

 

[HEYDOG]

I have a new customer who told me that lightning entered her home via the electric service last October. At that time she lost her furnace and one other appliance. Her former electrician filled out forms for the insurance claim and inspected all visible house wiring. He told her the house wiring looked good, but that the lightning surge could have done undetected damage to her other appliances some months later. Well, sure enough, she just lost her dishwasher and refrigerator. Her insurance company will not replace these two appliances, obviously because they were still working at the time of the first claim. The only way they will replace them is if she has an appliance repairman or an electrician fill out an affidavit, stating that there could be undetected damage done at the time of the original surge. Has anyone else heard of this or experienced this?

It would be next to impossible to prove. I would think with today’s electronics that a lightning surge would have taken the appliances out right away! May be able to sell her a Whole house Surge Protector. May not have helped with a direct lightening strike!

 

[ptonsparky]

I would be for checking voltages to ensure she does not have other issues first
Why didn't she call back the original electrician.?

 

[Fred B]

Both of those appliances may have been weakened by the initial surge that the full force may have been on another leg and now recently experienced another surge, and may not even been lightning, that finally took the appliance out.

Insurance may not now pay any additional claim. Insurance is not there to help you in the event of a loss, but to make money for their corp. execs. and some left overs for shareholders. They have whole teams just to look for ways not to pay. Thus you have insurance documents that are 50 page deep that only have 4 pages of what they will pay for and then the rest are exemptions to what they cover but not under this or that circumstance.
(It was a Tuesday, it was raining, a red car drove by, and the dining room table had a fork on it with the tines up, so we won't pay for your ???? loss that otherwise would have been covered. Sorry.)

 

[jdhog71]

I would be for checking voltages to ensure she does not have other issues first
Why didn't she call back the original electrician.?

She said her overall experience with him was not good. She isn't a brand new customer for me as I have done one small job for her after her experience with the first guy.

 

[jaggedben]

I would be happy to write that affidavit for someone, for a very reasonable fee.

 

[ptonsparky]

I would be happy to write that affidavit for someone, for a very reasonable fee.

Cash in hand as document is transferred.