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Insurance companies paying up for Big Dreams losses

Although their winter vacation plans were squashed and the owner of the company is sitting in jail, some area residents are seeing a glimmer of hope on the horizon in the Big Dreams fiasco. Some insurance companies are – at least partially – reimbursing them for vacation payments for trips that never took place under their homeowner’s insurance policies. The idea to file a claim built steam after several contacted the Attorney General’s office and noted the success they had in getting reimbursed. Future calls were followed up with a letter from Mike Hatch’s office, indicating that those who had been swindled by Big Dreams may &uot;wish to contact your insurance agent to find out whether your loss is covered under either your homeowner’s policy or renter’s policy and whether you should submit a claim to your insurance carrier.&uot; State Farm Insurance has paid claims, said Debbie Johannson, a claims representative with the corporate office. &uot;We are definitely paying claims to our policy holders,&uot; she said. &uot;The majority of them have been credit card-related and filed under a fraud claim.&uot; Most of the customers were not able to dispute their charges due to time limitations with their credit card companies, she said. &uot;With a credit card fraud claim, there isn’t a deductible to be paid first,&uot; Johannson said. &uot;However with cash or check payments for the Big Dreams vacations, there is a deductible that needs to be met prior to payment by our company.&uot; While State Farm doesn’t keep track of the numbers of claims filed for Big Dreams fraud, there have been quite a few filed. &uot;Customers from all over the state are filing,&uot; she said. Other insurance companies have had mixed results with claim filings. American Family has sent in some claims, but only one reply has come back … and that was denied. However, the corporate office of American Family was investigating further the possibility of coverage as more claims come in, said public relations associate Judy Lowell.