Patricia Clark of Narragansett RI says…

This is a testimonial about Gary Gallo who saved my son and me from having to go to court over a large loss which our insurance company was trying to get out of paying. Believe it or not, they were actually trying to blame us for the flooding of my son’s home as a result of a blizzard and resulting power outage.

My ordeal began in February, 2013, when I was on vacation in Florida and my son came to assist me because two relatives were in life-threatening medical situations. He left his home on Monday, February 4th, and a blizzard hit on Friday and Saturday, the 8th and 9th, causing the power to go out for a few days. During and after this time the temperatures were around ten degrees and the winds were fierce. As a result, although he left the heat on and the faucets dripping, the pipes froze. When the power came back on, the pipes thawed and water poured into the house. This event started a year and a half of trials and tribulations with our insurance company.

At first, the insurance company representative bent over backwards to be helpful. This lasted a few weeks. He offered to put my son up in a hotel (which he refused) and told him to make sure that he made a list of everything that was ruined so that they could reimburse him. After these kindnesses were offered, everything changed. Although this representative was very attentive at first, he stopped returning calls. Although we were not notified of a change, it appeared that a new representative was assigned to the case.

Soon after it seemed that this new representative was trying to blame my son for this loss. She accused him of being a “snowbird” who left his house unattended for the winter instead of the reality, as he had told them, that he was gone for two weeks to assist in a family emergency. The first representative had asked for a taped interview with him, which my son agreed to since he had nothing to hide, but it later appeared as though they were trying to find fault with something he had said or done. They transcribed the tape and misquoted him on some issues, distorting what he had said and adding things he did not say, even making up what day the flooding occurred, although he had said he did not know for sure. The first we learned of the flooding was a telephone call because the rubbish collector had noticed a large puddle in his yard and saw water pouring out of the house and had notified the Town Hall Water Department.

Next, they asked us for all of our records including oil fill-ups and furnace repair appointments, which I at first thought was understandable but later realized it was ridiculous since the frozen pipes thawed when the furnace came on. If the furnace had been broken or out of fuel, it would not have started when the power came back on. Next, they had their engineers come to evaluate the condition of the heating system, and they asked my son for some records which he drove to North Attleboro to expedite the process. They also asked us to get the records of the National Weather Service for what the temperatures were in our area during the month of February. Again, this was ludicrous since I heard that many homes had their pipes freeze because of this blizzard and resulting power outage. During all of this time, telephone calls and emails were not returned at all in many cases and very delayed in others. This insurance company was absolutely unprofessional and insulted our integrity during this entire process despite the fact that our family had insured up to five properties and five cars with them over a thirty year period.

I finally hired an attorney who confirmed our belief that this company was trying to blame this catastrophe on my son and get out of paying for the damages altogether. She was able to intervene for us, and this company finally, six months later, did send us a check for approximately $9,700 after deducting a $2,500 deductible and for $5,500 depreciation. Since Servpro had torn out the entire kitchen and the floor and bottom half of the walls in three rooms, this amount was absurd so we did not accept it. We were insured for replacement value, and this sum would not have even repaired the kitchen.

After being referred to Gary Gallo by my brother whom he had previously assisted with an insurance claim, I hired him in January, 2014. My attorney and I left everything in his hands. With his history in construction as well as having worked in the insurance business, he knew how to figure out how much the repair of this house would cost and also how to deal with the insurance process.

My experience with Gary was very relaxed. I felt my son and I were in capable, competent hands from the very beginning, and we felt that these worries were finally off our shoulders. Well, I was right. Gary persisted with this company in spite of being treated as unprofessionally as I was by their employees. They also did not return his calls, and he had to be very persistent and assertive to get any response from them. He did persevere, however, and eight months after I hired him (a year and a half after the house was flooded), we finally received payment of approximately $66,000 for the damages incurred due to that blizzard and outage. Needless to say, we are very happy with this result, and my son is thrilled that he can finally get on with his life. I would highly recommend Gary to anyone who is faced with this type of ordeal!

P. Clark