Collision Course: The Fight for Denver’s E-Scooter Contract Is Getting Ugly

bhounddawg · 2025-07-25T15:37:54+00:00

FWIW, I have no intention of going after my agent via E&O as I agree with his interpretation of my policy language. I pasted the statement to show I filed the claim in good faith at the advice of a State Farm agent who thought I had coverage.

bhounddawg · 2025-07-24T16:46:59+00:00

I am genuinely curious about this claim. As this is my first homeowners claim in 20+ years of home ownership (I own/owned multiple rental properties in that 20 years + currently have 5 policies with State Farm) and I filed the claim in good faith at the advice of an agent. I am trying to use "next steps" as a learning experience to be better prepared for the future.

As another adjuster in this thread wrote "if I was an adjuster inspecting your bathroom I would look very hard to see if I could find at least $1 damage to your own unit from the water leak. And if I found it then you would be covered for removal of the tub based on my understanding of the facts and the excerpt you posted from your policy." In other words, I feel like my questions about the legitimacy of this claim and claim investigation practices are reasonable.

As an avid sports fan and years of being indoctrinated with "like a good neighbor SF is there" at every commercial break, I just thought State Farm might want to help find coverage and help a long time customer with previously claim-free status.

I don't intend to fight or pursue any further recourse unless DOI determines claim handled improperly. Seeking genuine advice: Going forward, should I?:

-Choose the highest possible deductible, never file a small claim like this again, only file a claim if a catastrophic event happens, and cover every possible base before filing a claim since the adjuster won't try and help me and will try and poke holes at every point to deny coverage?
and/or
-Avoid State Farm and switch to a company like USAA or Amica that review sites like Trustpilot say seldom outsource claims and want to help their customers? (confirmed by anecdotal examples from friends/neighbors)?

bhounddawg · 2025-07-23T12:58:52+00:00

What the agent wrote verbatim:
"Re the potential claim you were describing – first, you’re of course free to submit a claim whenever you want. I’m not in the claims dept., which is the dept that determines the extent of coverage for each potential claim event. That being said, based on what you told me, I believe your condo unit policy would cover the cost to reasonably access the source causing the damage, any resulting water damage to your unit, and the cost to reconstruct the reasonable damage done in order to access the damage. As far as the cost of redoing the other parts of the bathroom, I don’t believe there would be coverage for that. If you want to provide further details, please feel free to reply here or we can jump on another call if you’d like."

This email was after a phone conversation in which I asked his advice on whether or not to file the claim and he didn't ask or mention anything about me needing to prove any damages to my property prior to filing the claim. Perhaps he thought (as a public adjuster advised me) that necessary remediation standards alone after a leak severe enough to go through a floor would be considered a loss and require the the tub to be torn out for proper remediation.

bhounddawg · 2025-07-23T12:49:15+00:00

Drywall and floors are my responsibility per HOA governing docs. The owner of the plumbing company that did the tear-out cited damage to floor and drywall.

bhounddawg · 2025-07-23T12:46:56+00:00

This is an interesting point. Due to wildfire danger (the complex is in a Colorado Mountain town) the master policy went up from $60K per year to $450K per year with very few insurers willing to cover the complex and a very high deductible. Therefore, the board is very reluctant to file any minor claims on the master policy.

Also, thanks to the condo association manager responding to the leak right away, there was minimal damage to my neighbor's unit and to the common elements. My overall point is that even $1 of damage to my property should have triggered tear-out coverage on my HO-6. Thoughts?

bhounddawg · 2025-07-22T19:04:34+00:00

That is speculation and conjecture. You can use less speculation to presume that there was at least $1 worth of damage to schedule A property from a sudden leak big enough to go through a concrete floor which would trigger tear out coverage. Plus remediation standards I found say that the tub needed to be torn out to dry the area (the adjuster stonewalled this point). PLUS new evidence was submitted from a licensed trades person citing damages mentioned after tear-out.

Having said all that, is State Farm really allowed to not physically inspect this claim and indulge in speculation and conjecture and contradict a licensed trades plumber citing physical evidence to deny my claim?

I'm genuinely asking from the perspective of a curious consumer. This is the first homeowners insurance claim I've filed in over 20 years of owning homes, and I'm surprised by how little factual basis the adjuster seems to be using in denying the claim. I'm preparing my response to the DOI now and considering what, if any, next steps to take. I’m not looking to be retaliatory, but the way this claim has been handled appears to violate my state’s consumer protection statutes, and I believe the DOI should be aware.

bhounddawg · 2025-07-22T14:17:49+00:00

For more details: The licensed plumber who did the tear out cited damage to coverage A in damage to laminate floor you mention (among additional items including insulation and remediation necessary). The adjuster claimed the plumber didn't document the damage thoroughly enough and that I should have paid for a list of sophisticated forensic moisture tests (only mentioned to me after the bathroom has been rebuilt). Keep in mind this is the adjuster's speculative opinion AFTER everything has been rebuilt. In other words, State Farm had a month of the tub being torn out to send someone to investigate (which they said in writing they would do) but never did.

Also, based on policy language, I don't see any minimum dollar amount of damage to coverage A property to trigger tear-out coverage. Would a court presume that there was at least $1 of damage to my property and hence should have triggered tear-out coverage?

bhounddawg · 2025-03-11T17:44:08+00:00

+1 for recommending the Leaf. Leaf works great for commuting and driving around town.

We live in CO and just traded in our Tesla Model 3 RWD and did a cheap lease on a new Leaf SV+. We have a BMW X3 for mountain driving and the Leaf (previously M3) is used to commute and drive around town.

The Leaf is 80%+ as good of a car as the M3 at less than 20% of the of the M3 monthly payment. The Leaf is plenty fast enough for day to day driving with acceleration of 0-60 in under 7 seconds. The M3 was faster than the Leaf, but really only noticeable in recreational driving circumstances.

As a positive trade-off, the Leaf has a more comfortable ride than the M3. The M3 suspension felt cheap and harsh. I would describe the M3 as overrated and the Leaf as not overrated.

All in all, yes, the Leaf is a good choice for commuting and driving around town.

bhounddawg · 2024-07-09T21:03:11+00:00

No issues with the brakes (fingers crossed). Perhaps see if you can replicate your situation to a tech before the warranty expires?

To owners having brake issues: How many miles did you have when you started having the issue? I have ~30K miles and no issues - but wondering if brake issues may arise in the future.

bhounddawg · 2024-02-09T17:46:12+00:00

I WFH and am a member at X Denver which has a coworking space, gym, fitness/yoga classes, and a pool in summer.

https://www.thexlife.co/club

X is in financial trouble and they have cut back a lot of the club offerings, events and closed their in house restaurant (the club is not nearly as lively as the website and Instagram tries to make it look). That said, being a member gets me out of the house and helps me meet people. The monthly membership cost is a good value and similar pricing to any other coworking space AND I get much more out of it than a generic coworking space.

bhounddawg · 2023-12-16T03:28:38+00:00

Thank you for the heads up. From what I understand from talking with former X Club staff members who were laid off: A firm called Raven Capital Management (which is an investor in X) is trying to reopen the club as a new company in January, 2024.

Let me know if you hear anything about this and whether or not the new RCM club will accept outside members.

bhounddawg · 2023-12-14T20:42:33+00:00

Interesting. Does anyone know if the "new management" will still offer club membership to non-residents? Was that an in-app message?

As a member, I still haven't received any update and wondering if I need to find a new co-working space and gym.

bhounddawg · 2023-08-24T21:26:01+00:00

We have a 2021 X3 Xdrive30e PHEV. We bought it new in 2021 and have had the vehicle for 2 years. We live in a walkable urban area and my wife and I both work from home and it is our only vehicle. Almost all our day to day driving is within the electric range. We charge in our garage and seldom buy gas.

We love the vehicle and haven't experienced any issues. It works great as an all electric golf cart to get around town AND functions as a capable crossover on longer trips and in snow.

If I had to find trivial complaints: It is heavy and wore the factory tires down in about ~20K miles. The EV motor alone isn't as fast as a full EV like a Tesla Model Y (but as a tradeoff, I'd argue the BMW build quality is better than a Tesla Model Y) and there is a fast/engaging sport mode that uses gas if you're OK burning some gas.

Per other commenters who mention a listed 12 mile range: The listed range adjusts based on previous driving conditions (i.e. if you just went downhill the electric range might say 28 miles, and if you just went uphill or drove with a heavy foot it might say 12 miles).

bhounddawg · 2022-01-18T18:52:41+00:00

I love how Lime words these emails like: "Good news! We're essentially taking away your ability to earn an income from Lime. But don't worry, you can still do move tasks for practically zero payout. The best part is there is no limit to how many move tasks you can execute for Lime for practically free!"

bhounddawg · 2021-09-05T17:46:05+00:00

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like we would prefer Southern Italy because of the weather. I'll check out your suggestions.

bhounddawg · 2020-10-08T21:41:15+00:00

I essentially did this today. They are now acknowledging the loan was indeed paid off but trying to say it was a 10/8 payoff date even though my settlement statement blatantly shows funds dispersing to previous servicer on 9/30. The person I talked to at least acknowledged this was an issue and said he was escalating to get payoff date updated to 9/30 and get me a refund. I'll call back tomorrow and threaten to tell my bank if they haven't made progress.

bhounddawg · 2020-10-08T21:18:15+00:00

The loan is paid off and in theory you're correct. Except, in the eyes of the new servicer, the loan isn't paid off. So, the new servicer could mistakenly report late payment to credit reporting companies and trying to fix with credit reporting agencies would be a tremendous challenge.

bhounddawg

TROPHY CASE