A woman in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has become a victim of an unfortunate, and very mean spirited, crime. She recently bought a house. Being a responsible homeowner, she got a homeowners insurance policy. Two weeks after she bought her house, thieves came and stole the copper pipes that were attached to the house, making the house unlivable. Homeowners insurance is supposed to cover the costs of replacing parts of a home that are damaged.
Apparently, it has become more common for thieves to sneak up to someone else’s house, and proceed to steal the copper pipes. It is an easy way for a person who doesn’t have a conscious, or a sense of morality, to make a quick buck. Copper is one of the metals that can be taken to “junkyards” that salvage metals. These places don’t usually ask any questions about where the metal that a person is turning in originated from, or how that metal came to be in that person’s possession. In general, this is the kind of crime that is happening to homes that do not have anyone currently living in them, who might catch the thieves in the act of committing a crime.
I can only imagine the heartbreak the new homeowner must have felt when she discovered that her home had been damaged, and that she could not live in it until after the repairs are made. She did exactly what she was supposed to do in this situation: she called the police, and she made a claim with SafeCo, the company where her homeowners policy came from. Unfortunately, SafeCo has decided to drag it’s feet about paying for this claim. It has been months since the claim was made, and the insurance company still hasn’t done what it was supposed to do. The woman has contacted a local news agency about the situation, and that is where I heard about this story.
Usually, homeowners insurance policies are a form of protection for the homeowner. If someone steals the pipes that are attached to your home, the homeowners insurance is supposed to cover the costs involved in repairing the damage, and replacing the pipes. There is still a chance that SafeCo will get it’s act together, and help this poor woman. If she didn’t have a homeowners insurance policy, she would have to pay for the cost of the new pipes, and the labor to have them attached to her home, entirely by herself.
Image by Michael Pereckas on Flickr