HARD KNOCKSCONSULTING
Local Conditions
A city of brick, plaster, and clay pipe
Dearborn was largely built in three decades, which means most of the city shares the same assemblies — and the same four arguments show up on file after file.
Sewer backup and clay lateral
Finished basements over century-old combined sewer. Coverage sits in an endorsement with a sublimit, and where a municipal surcharge caused it, a separate claim against the city exists on a very short notice clock.
Brick and plaster matching
Brick color, size, and mortar profile change by decade and by yard. Plaster does not take a drywall patch without telegraphing. Neither patches invisibly, which makes both a replacement question.
Two-family flats and rentals
Fair rental value on a landlord form is separate from the dwelling limit and among the most consistently omitted coverages in the city. Owner-occupied duplexes can carry both a rental-value and a living-expense claim.
Depreciation on aging roofs
Thirty-year-old shingles invite heavy depreciation and, worse, actual-cash-value roof endorsements. Read the declarations page before accepting the number — that limitation changes the entire math.
Losses We Handle Here
Four claims make up most of the city's volume
Sewer backup
01Category 3 water in a finished basement. Materials that cannot be dried have to come out, and the sublimit rarely covers what that costs.
Wind & roof
02Low-slope garage roofs and aging three-tab. Broken seals across a slope are damage even where nothing blew off.
Fire & smoke
03Smoke moves through plaster keys and balloon-framed cavities into rooms the estimate never mentions. Contents and living expense are half the claim.
Ice dams & freeze
04Shallow eaves and under-insulated attics push meltwater back under the shingle. Damage appears at the ceiling weeks after the thaw.
Neighborhoods Served
Across the whole city
East and west Dearborn both, plus Dearborn Heights. If your neighborhood is not listed, call and ask.
By Loss Type
How each loss gets fought in Dearborn
Every peril has its own script of carrier positions and its own documentation burden. These break down what to expect before you call.
Local Questions
Dearborn claim questions
The questions that come up most on files in this city. If yours is not here, ask it on the review form.
My Dearborn basement backed up. Who pays for it?
Possibly two parties, on two separate tracks. Your homeowners policy pays only with a water backup of sewers and drains endorsement, and then only to its sublimit — commonly ten to twenty-five thousand dollars. Separately, where a municipal system surcharge caused the backup, Michigan's sewage disposal system event statute allows a claim against the municipality, on a strict written-notice deadline measured in days. Both get evaluated on day one, not after the first is denied.
The carrier wants to patch my brick and my plaster. Is that acceptable?
Frequently not. Brick color, size, and mortar joint profile change by decade and by yard, and plaster does not take a drywall patch without telegraphing the seam. A repair that cannot be made to reasonably match is a replacement question — and it has to be documented at the wall, with the failed match photographed, rather than argued on the phone.
I own a two-family flat. Does loss of rents get paid?
On a landlord or dwelling-fire form, yes — as fair rental value, and it is one of the most consistently omitted coverages in the city. It runs for the period reasonably required to repair, not the period the carrier prefers, and it sits outside the dwelling limit. If you occupy one unit and rent the other, a living-expense claim and a rental-value claim can both exist on the same loss.
How quickly can you get to a Dearborn property?
Wayne County is a primary service area, so site visits are typically within forty-eight hours, and the free review itself is usually read the same or next business day. The person who inspects the property is the person who writes the estimate and argues it.
What Happens Next
Three steps, no cost to start
You are never charged to find out whether you have a case. If the carrier's number is fair, I will tell you that and close the review.
Send what you have
Policy, the carrier's estimate, any photos. On a backup loss, note the date and time — the municipal notice clock starts then.
I inspect the property
In person, anywhere in Dearborn, usually within forty-eight hours. Moisture mapping, match documentation, and photographs before anything gets covered back up.
You get a line-item position
A written Xactimate scope and the coverage argument behind it, then I negotiate it — through appraisal if the carrier will not move.
Nearby
Other cities we cover
Dearborn
Find out what your claim is actually worth
Free review, read personally, usually within one business day. No intake team and no call center.
HARD KNOCKS CONSULTING
220 South Main Street
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(947) 241-2950
stanley@hardknocksconsulting.com
State of Michigan — statewideNPN 20573993