Now the insurance company - USAA - tells me they can't change the name on my homeowner's policy until it renews in March 2017, even after I've taken my wife's name off the deed. Consequently, this and any future claim cannot be settled until next year because they can't make any payouts.
 
In the meantime, as my credit card issuer they're making 15% interest on the replacement gear I've charged to it. Oh, they're quite apologetic, but say rules are rules. Even if I dutifully continue to pay my premiums for the coming year, I am effectively uninsured until next March. I won't be replacing my DAW this year.
 
I'll continue to update this thread if anything happens, but there's not much point in hanging out in a forum about a pastime I no longer participate in, so I'm afraid this is gonna be one of those much-mocked "I'm outa here" threads. See ya.
 
 
 
 

Sorry to hear that about USAA. We've been with them for years and have always had great service from them. What a pain. Hang in there ol pal.

bitflipper
 
 
I'll continue to update this thread if anything happens, but there's not much point in hanging out in a forum about a pastime I no longer participate in, so I'm afraid this is gonna be one of those much-mocked "I'm outa here" threads. See ya.
 
 
 

That would be a great shame Dave, you would be missed. I could name several people posting here who don't do any recording, or haven't for a long time. I wouldn't let that stop you.

bitflipper
I'll continue to update this thread if anything happens, but there's not much point in hanging out in a forum about a pastime I no longer participate in, so I'm afraid this is gonna be one of those much-mocked "I'm outa here" threads. See ya.

I am deeply saddened by your loss and ours as a result :(

Just thinking about that, and I can't help but think that's complete BS.  You shouldn't be required to be uninsured just because THEY can't fix something on their side.  I'm sure they still expect you to make your insurance payments, but why?  I'd go higher up in USAA and find someone with both a brain and the ability to fix things.  I would think you should be able to cancel your current coverage with your wife's name on it, then start new coverage with only your name.  Heck, now even more than before I think this is becoming a news story because of the idiocy!  That would pressure USAA to do something.  Right now, they're getting paid for nine months for NO reason!
 
(Oh yeah, and don't leave us!  I've been dying to get back to making music, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying music appreciation here!  )

Dave, sorry to hear of the latest snafu with USAA. This defies common sense -- not that we should be surprised, I guess. But there has to be a way around it. You can't be the first person to face this predicament.
 
Did you have power of attorney for your wife? It seems like that would give you something to work with. Maybe somebody with more legal experience could weigh in on this.
 
Good luck.

I would not take this lying down, seems like the kind of crap that features on consumer TV programmes here in the UK like "rip off Britain"

Something that is so morally wrong and unfair should be challenged.

First of all, Dave, if you have reasonable reason to suspect that a family member played a part in the rip-off, I would not hesitate to call a family meeting and air your concerns in front of all.  If there's a bad apple, this probably is not the first time that suspicions will have been aroused, and perhaps other family members will pressure the miscreant into coughing up one of your lost computers.  Getting your files back must be the most desirable thing you'd like to see happen.
 
Also, I would not hesitate to do a little sword rattling with the insurance company.  Their excuses about not paying you sound totally bogus.  I wonder what a small claims court judge would make of them.  I have found that the threat of a small claims court action almost always works in these clear-cut Goliath vs. David (see what I did there? ) situations.

I have discussed my suspicions of this being an "inside job" with the other family members, and all but one independently responded with "wow, that was my first suspicion, too!". Apparently I was the last to reach this conclusion. And still don't want to believe it.
 
If true, it wasn't done for money but for revenge. This is someone with whom I've had a great relationship for 40 years with not so much as a single cross word spoken in all that time. There must have been some psychological break, perhaps starting with my wife's passing. That trauma changed all of us.
 
Back to good news. I now have a proper steel door and deadbolt on the garage/office/studio, and that's a relief. Not only that, after my stepson installed it for me he wouldn't take money for either the hardware or his time. Not only that, I think I may have talked him out of voting for Trump. Things are looking up!