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A Year Later, Delaware family still fighting for home repairs after Tropical Storm Isaias
The homeowner says she got $20,000 from the insurance company, which went to repairing five sunroom windows, her fence and garage door. She still needs the roughly $30,000 to repair the siding on her home, an interior garage wall and her roof.
MIDDLETOWN, Del. - If you take a quick drive through the Dove Run neighborhood, there’s no evidence that almost one year ago, it was full of devastation.
A tornado touched down during the peak of Tropical Storm Isaias. Homes have since gotten new roofs and new siding. The home next to Tracey Forte looks brand new after they lost an entire side of siding and insulation.
However, at Tracey Forte’s home, she’s reminded daily of the destruction.
"I live in a very nice neighborhood and my house clearly is an eyesore," she says. "I just want to be made whole. I don’t want anything extra, just just give me back what I had before the tornado hit us last August."
Tracey says she field an insurance claim with Philadelphia Contributionship after the storm and had a contractor come out, who estimated the repairs would cost roughly $54,000.
She showed Fox 29 her policy that includes protection against damage from unexpected distasters.
Tracey says she got $20,000 from the insurance company, which went to repairing five sunroom windows, her fence and garage door. She still needs the roughly $30,000 to repair the siding on her home, an interior garage wall and her roof.
"I pay my homeowners every month faithfully in my mortgage payment and I expect to have my damages covered."
Tracey says she went to the Delaware Department of Insurance and took Philadelphia Contributionship to arbitration—and won. She showed Fox 29 a letter that says she is awarded the roughly $54,000, not including deductibles and depreciation.
Still, the money hasn’t come.
FOX 29 reached out to the Philadelphia Contributionship and their Corporate Secretary said in an e-mail they are familiar with Tracey’s claim and have been working with her and others involved in the past year.
They continued, "As a matter of company policy, we do not comment to the press about ongoing claims, particularly without the express written consent of the policyholder."
Tracey is urging other homeowners to do their research.
"Just know your insurance company that’s so critical, because you just never know when devastation is going to hit you."
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