BURIEN, Wash. -- A couple with a small waterfront home fears they could be bankrupted, now that Allstate has refused to pay for storm damage.
Dane Johnson spent part of Monday putting up more caution tape on the path leading down to his damaged Burien home.
On Nov. 23, a storm drove hard into homes on Three Tree point, weakening bulkheads. Johnson and his wife Kathy Justin's 1940s era house sits on a bulkhead and is now sinking, leaning further and further toward Puget Sound.
The house had stood strong for 63 years. "The wind was pretty intense and the storm was really loud," Justin recalled. About 5:30 in the morning a gas alarm went off and the house shifted.
The couple said Allstate Insurance checked out the house when they bought the policy. They even had a geo-technical engineer review the home as they bought it around the time of the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake.
"They sold us the Allstate deluxe package, with the idea that it covered what our house could go through. Storms and all that stuff," said Johnson.
But last week they found out in a phone call they were not covered.
"Not covered one bit. Not even a hotel room," says Johnson.
They said they have not received their final denial documents, but a preliminary letter received last week cited wind-driven flood, earth movement and other factors that night that Allstate claims are non-covered exceptions to their policy.
The office of Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says few people are aware they can file complaints involving their insurance companies. So far, a spokesman says only two complaints have been filed this fall and those involved shingles and a downed tree. The commission's hotline is 1-800-562-6900.
Johnson did not seem to be aware of his options with the Insurance Commission, but he says he has been in contact with a lawyer.
While the house is leaning, it isn't in the Sound yet. Justin says it's been tough with the holidays to get people out to look at the house to try to save it. They're worried as the home appears a little closer to falling into the Sound every day.
"You shouldn't have to be an insurance lawyer to own a home." says Johnson.
The couple have had several friends within the community offer to help move items out of their house.
A spokeswoman for Allstate couldn't comment on this specific case, but says the company encourages all homeowners to educate themselves to potential risks and work with their agent.
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