INKSTER, Mich. – An Inkster family was nearly out $38,000 for damage to their deceased father’s cabin after AAA refused to cover their claim for nearly a year.
They turned to Local 4, and now the insurance company says their claim is eligible and will be processed accordingly.
We had just gotten to the car after speaking to Jeffrey Woodruff and checking their email.
There it was: AAA now said the claim was eligible.
They turned right back around to deliver the news Woodruff had been waiting nearly a year to hear.
“You solved it for us,” Woodruff said. “Thank you so much. There you go, Channel 4 News, the best.”
Just five minutes earlier, Woodruff had told us how this all started.
“My dad bought a house out in Jackson in 85, I believe it was,” Woodruff said of his dad, Alvin. “It was just a small, one-room summer cottage.”
For 40 years, Alvin and the entire family turned that summer cottage house into a home.
“We went out there all the time,” Woodruff said. “We have many memories of camping in his backyard and fires.”
Alvin died at the end of 2023.
Heartbroken, but determined to protect what he left behind, Woodruff says the family still checked on the place week after week.
“We had a lifetime neighbor over there that would mow the lawn and check on the house and stuff like that,” Woodruff said.
As the winter crept in, the gas furnace was left running at 60 degrees. The bills for the house show the furnace was on.
All other appliances had been removed from the house the summer before, aside from the dishwasher, because it was electric.
The family says the house is also heavily insulated.
In January of 2025, the family says there was a -25 degree cold snap, and the furnace stopped working.
“They walked into a waterfall,” Woodruff said. “Over the course of a week, the house got colder and colder and burst the pipes.”
The damage was devastating. The family immediately told AAA.
“I am pretty sure, from the time he bought that house in 85, he insured his car through AAA, he insured his girlfriend’s car through AAA, and the home, and he only filed one minor claim, a couple thousand for siding damage,” Woodruff said.
They had everything repaired. All told, it was $38,000. They got a denial letter from AAA in the mail.
“You guys filed this claim, and then they denied it for what reason?” I asked Woodruff.
“They said we didn’t take ‘reasonable precautions,’” Woodruff said.
We asked Woodruff why this denial felt so personal.
“That’s our inheritance from my father,” Woodruff said. “That’s what he left us. They are taking part of our inheritance is how I feel about it.”
Now, he’s grateful to have a piece of his dad back.
“Kyla Russell and Channel 4 News, they get it done,” Woodruff said.
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention,” AAA told Local 4. “Upon further review, we confirmed the claim is eligible under the policy and will be processed accordingly.”
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