Great Letter That Made Insurance Company Payout Special Assessment Claim

Once and a while, you really just have to blog a post that says “go over to this site and read it.” So that’s what I have here.

The Consumerist (a great site) reprints a reader’s letter to their insurance company, in full, that was successful in getting the coverage he bought fulfilled. His coverage included payout for special assessments – which the condominium applied to owners in order to fix the glass railings around his condo.

The tone and approach are perfect for anyone else that is suffering issues with their insurance not fulfilling their product payouts.

Bella Vista Calgary Interview

On Wednesday 29 June 2011, I was interviewed for CBC Television on a developer’s ability to walk away from buildings that are made with significant structural deficiencies. The story aired at 5PM and 6PM, and was good at expressing the anger being caused by a system that is failing owners.

While it didn’t make the sound bite, I lay the blame fully with the developer. They may indicate the building was passed by the city inspectors, but the inspectors are a lot like police attempting to catch speeders. Overall they help reduce the overall error rate, but they cannot catch everything, and there are developers that will still, wilfully, “drive 225 in a 50 zone” and not be caught. For developers to say “I wasn’t caught by the inspectors, so I hold no blame” is completely without base.

Here is the link to one of the CBC cuts, starting at the 6:55 mark is the condominium segment.

Here’s an article from the Calgary Herald which covers the issue well.