2014 Year in Review (Part 3)

The year of insurance

Before 2014 our only real experience with insurance companies was writing checks. As a married couple we had never turned in a claim either our homes or cars. That changed in June with the wanton destruction of our Vibe by a North Dakotan deer. Then we had to have our roof replaced. Then we were rear-ended in our new car. It was the year of insurance, and I'm glad it's over.

I wrote about the car destruction earlier. Getting a replacement was much more difficult than we would have hoped. It required hours of Jill's time on the phone arguing the condition and quality of our car before the accident. The process was unpleasant. We replaced the Vibe with an almost new Ford Focus which looks nice but will never hold the same place in our hearts.

A storm came over El Dorado Springs in August which did approximately 200 billion dollars worth of damage in our town. Our house was not exempted from the destruction. Again too much time was spent hassling with the insurance company for payment, but at least we were able to spend hundreds of dollars so that our house could look exactly the same.

In October we were headed to Independence so that my son could meet his all-time favorite Royal, Willie Wilson. On the exit to Highway 50 and were rear-ended waiting for traffic to clear. It felt and sounded much worse than hitting a deer at 70 mph. The damage was not extensive, but it was fairly expensive. We didn't have to pay for it except in a lot of time spent talking to yet another insurance company.