Livonia neighbors battling insurance companies following June tornado

It’s been nearly two months since a tornado hit Livonia but repair work is still underway.

Friday, several tree companies were in the neighborhood near I-96 and Newburgh working to grind down stumps and repair roofing.

The storm hit back on June 5 bringing down countless trees, taking out power, and resulting in the death of a 3 year boy.

RELATED STORY: Tornado kills toddler in Livonia, mother in critical condition after tree crushes home

Tornado kills toddler in Livonia, mother in critical condition after tree crushes home

Weeks after going through the traumatic storm, some neighbors say they’re still struggling to get insurers to pay for damages.

" I was about to go get some carry out and I just thought I was going to be driving in a thunderstorm and I’m sitting in the car and next thing I know these trees are falling into the yard," said Niko Anagnostopoulos whose home was damaged. "It happened so fast it was hard to even know what happened."

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Anagnostopoulos says two massive trees fell on top of his home - ruining gutters, his fence, his kids' play playscape, and his already aging roofing. Agnagnostopoulos also lost a window.

"I’ve probably had a dozen roofing quotes, windows, fence. Obviously got more quotes on the roof than anything. That’s the most important thing," said Agnagnostopoulos.

The Livonia resident says when he went to his insurance company to get it all fixed, they only offered a percentage of what he would need to replace the roof at the lowest possible price.

"You pay and pay and pay and then when you need something not only do you have to still pay the deductible but now it’s going on two months and we still don’t know what’s going on," said Agnagnostopoulos. "I just want everybody to get what they deserve. You pay for this stuff for a reason."

RELATED STORY: Driving through Livonia neighborhood after Wednesday's tornado

Driving through Livonia neighborhood after Wednesday's tornado

7 News Detroit reached out to the Flint Township-based insurer that Agnagnostopoulos uses, Pioneer State Mutual Insurance, but they declined to comment on our story.

Agnagnostopoulos says while he has a check from the insurer, he’ll still have to spend thousands of dollars of his own money for other necessary repairs. He also says he’s not the only neighbor dealing with this issue.

"What made you want to share this story today," 7 News Detroit Reporter Whitney Burney asked.

"Mainly the people who are getting nothing. Yeah I want help too but I want other people to step forward," said Agnagnostopoulos. "There’s people who are getting denied altogether and that’s not fair at all."

For more information on claims related to severe weather, click here https://www.michigan.gov/difs/consumers/disaster-prep/tornado-severe-storms

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