Without Gary Gallo settlement offered was $9,700 – With Gary settlement offered was $66,000
Without Gary Gallo settlement offered was $9,700 – With Gary settlement offered was $66,000
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 (which we had used for the past 30 years) 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.
Our ordeal began in February, 2013. My son left his home for two weeks to assist me in Florida with two seriously ill relatives. While there, a blizzard hit Rhode Island resulting in power outages lasting for days. Temperatures hovered around 10 degrees during this time causing his pipes to freeze and rupture. When the power was restored, water poured into his home for several days.
At first, the insurance company representative bent over backwards to be helpful. Later, he stopped returning calls and the case was reassigned to a woman. It soon became evident 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 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.
They then asked us for all of our records including oil fill-ups and furnace repair appointments. Next, they had their engineers come to evaluate the condition of the heating system. 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. During all of this time, telephone calls and emails were not returned at all in many cases and very delayed in others.
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 the entire kitchen had been torn out as well as the floor and bottom half of the walls in three rooms, this amount was absurd so we did not accept it.
After being referred to Gary Gallo by my brother, who had also had an excellent experience with him, I hired him in January, 2014. 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.
Once Gary took over, our stress levels went from a 10 to a 1. 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
