By Tia Ewing
Publication Date: 2026-03-31 21:28:00
CHICAGO – A Chicago homeowner said her insurance company used Google Images to deny her claim after her porch collapsed.
Now, she’s asking if the problem was already there, why was she insured in the first place?
What we know:
Taneika Smith, a letter carrier on the South Side, bought her home on the 6800 block of South Indiana in August 2019.
“I was always scared to do a home-owning,” Smith said. “I went to this class, Dream, over on Stony Island, and I met this lady named Amanda. And she said, ‘you should buy an investment property.’ And I’m like, ‘do you think I can afford it?’ And she said, ‘yes.’”
After touring several properties, she fell in love with her building.
“Every time I came, no one was outside. Everybody that is on this block works. It was quiet, and I was just ready for a move. And everything was up-to-date in the building,” Smith said.
Smith secured homeowner’s insurance and passed inspection without issue. But nearly five years later, her…
