NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Christy Pike sits in her living room, a cell phone in one hand, paperwork and documents scattered on the table nearby. Pike is on hold as she attempts to reach someone from her insurance company.
“I call a lot, but things just aren’t getting done,” Pike explained.
The guest bathroom has been out of commission for almost two months. Pike’s mother-in-law fell several months ago and landed on the toilet. Her mother-in-law was not hurt. Yet, they didn’t realize the fall dislodged the toilet and damaged a pipe.
“I guess it was just slowly leaking for several weeks,” Pike continued.
By the time they realized the problem, the water had rotted the floor, and mold was growing up the walls behind the wallpaper.
“It (mold) covered the wall by the toilet and the floor,” Pike said.
After calling her insurance company, a remediation team was quick to respond. They were able to rip out the floor, stop the leak and pull out the toilet. The bathroom was basically left useless as the subfloor was damaged in several spots. The bathtub was filled with the old toilet and other items.
“We never went in there (bathroom)”, Pike said.
A few weeks later, Pike reached out to her insurance company to try and get the repairs started. The adjuster was often unavailable or was not very responsive according to Pike.
“I could get no answers. No one would reply to me,” Pike said.
The bathroom sat unfinished for more than six weeks while Pike tried to connect with her adjuster and get a contractor out to the house. The problem was doubly frustrating because her mother-in-law uses a wheelchair to get around and the only other bathroom in the house is very small.
“It was a struggle to get her in and out of the bathroom,” Pike said.
At one point, Pike said she received a message when the adjuster went on vacation. Around that time, Pike reached out to News 2 for some assistance.
After going by the house, seeing the damage, and reviewing her insurance policy, we contacted the insurance company. We spoke with a representative and sent pictures of the damage. The representative told us he would investigate the claim and call us back.
“I just wanted the bathroom fixed,” Pike said.
Less than a day after we contacted the insurance company, Pike received a call from the claims adjuster. A few days later, a crew was sent out to make the repairs.
“I’m very glad (News 2) was involved,” Pike said.
Now, the bathroom is back in service. There’s new wood on the floor, a new toilet, and the old wallpaper was ripped out.
“I honestly believe if I did not call News 2 and send a request, I don’t believe I’d be as far as [I'd] be now,” Pike said.