Water Damage

[Viorica]

Hi,

In June 2009 the hot water supplies broke and I filled a claim with my insurance company.The second and first floor was damaged. The insurance response toward the damaged owners was "Please be advised that we are unable to cover the claim for your damages as a result of a sudden and accidental break of the water supply line. Our customer had no foreknowledge of this problem and is not negligent for a sudden and accidental leak. In addition, the association and/or its carrier are primary for covering drywall through the primer coat of paint according to the Condominium Property Act" After I received the bill (amount of $3500 for the the condo from second floor)from the association I called them back to find out what is the insurance company and the deductible for the common insurance. They told me to call the Property Management because they don't know. I called the property management and I found out the insurance company and the deductible is $5000. I called the associations insurance and there was no claim filed for the water damage. I don't know what to do ....I don't have this kind of money and where the bills are going to stop knowing that the Association did not even file a claim? Thank you for any advice!!

 

[LeslieD]

Maybe I can make some suggestions here as our HOA just went through this same issue.

Your association should have filed the claim. If they didn't, you should. Possibly, the reason why they didn't was because they felt that since there was not $5,000 worth of damage, the insurance company would deny it anyway. Although this is correct, as water damage is normally covered under the "Differences in Condition" clause for which there is a $5,000 deductible, they should have filed the claim so that when you received the declination letter, you could have provided a copy to your interior insurance company (provided that you do have interior insurance) and they should cover everything except possibly your personal deductible.

If you've not had the damage taken care of, either leave it alone or take extremely good pictures with a date stamp and then call the insurance carrier for your condo association. They should take your claim. If not, they should contact your condo association and ask them why a claim was not filed on your behalf. If you have had the repairs done or are planning on doing so, make sure to keep the receipts and photos.

If all else fails and they refuse to process a claim on your behalf, I would contact an attorney.

Good luck.