Home has water damage caused by Roofing Co my Condo Assoc. hired.Not cover by condo or homeown ins. What 2do?
March 19, 2010 by
Filed under condo water damage
Condo insurance covers foundation, roof and load-bearing beams. My particular Homeowners Insurance only covers flood and water damage caused by floods. Who do I go after, and what type of represenation do I need? I video taped the whole thing.
Thanks for the feedback so far. As an additional note, I’d like to add that the roofers had completely stripped all of the roofing materials, down to a single ply of wood boards with noticeable gaps. A tarp was then pulled over the entire condo for the weekend, which a storm blew completely off before the downpour began. It was literally raining INSIDE my house for over an hour. Yes, I need to buy the right insurance next time, but is there not a responsibilty of the Roofing Company to square things up with me?
I would contact a lawyer, and go after the roofing company. It sounds like you have all the evidence you need
You go after the homeowners association, the roofing company in court. Depending on the amount of damage, you could sue in small claims with no representation or go to superior court if more than your state’s limit.
If the roofer is licensed than go to the registrar of contractors, they will come to the house, and if he’s at fault they will require him to make repairs for damages and /or shoddy work or take his license
If you haven’t done so yet I would suggest you double check with your broker or agent because you may have coverage that you don’t think you have.
A typical homeowners policy does cover water damage. I can’t tell you how many of those claims I have paid in my years as an insurance agent. The homeowners policy does exclude damage for floods. You have to purchase a separate policy to cover flood damage.
If you purchased a homeowners policy you likely have coverage for this incident. If you just purchased a flood insurance policy you are right in that it will not cover water damage other than a flood.
Check with your agent. If you don’t have a homeowners policy get one now.
Nope, you’re not being precise.
You have a FLOOD policy, not a homeowners policy. You needed a condo unit owners policy to cover the damage to your roof.
Most condo associations these days, have either really large deductibles on their building policies – like $50,000 and up, or no water damage coverage, or both.
For representation, you need to hire an attorney ($200 an hour, good luck) and sue the roofer. If it’s bad workmanship, HIS insurance isn’t going to cover it, so likely, even if you CAN prove it’s his fault, you’re not going to get any money out of it.
Then, also for representation, you need a local insurance agent, who can review your insurance needs, and get you a condo unit owners policy that will COVER YOU.
I have NO idea why you didn’t buy your own unit owners coverage. Someone obviously told you, you could rely on the association policy. No doubt, it was NOT a professional opinion. NEVER take professional advice from unlicensed people.
Effectively, you’re uninsured for this.