Here's a brief description of the situation:
I bought my house 2 months ago. About a week ago, I noticed that the carpet was wet in my den next to my kitchen. I called American Home Shield (home warranty company) and have had several technicians come look at it. One technician said it was the dishwasher (it wasn't). Another technician said the HVAC unit is leaking (not sure if this is the cause, b/c HVAC hasn't come to look at it yet)
The water leak that I thought was confined to this area next to the kitchen, has extended through my den, and into the hallway outside of the utility closet. The kitchen sink, dishwasher and HVAC, washing machine all share the same wall.
I filed a homeowners claim today. They sent a company specializing in mold mitigation and clean-up out to my house already, where he has setup fans and a dehumidifer to dry it out, and is awaiting further instruction from adjuster.
(Adding additional details)
He pulled up the carpet, and the wood around the perimeter is completely rotted. This tells me the leak has been there for a long time, though I'm not sure how long. I have tons of questions, I hope someone can answer.
1) Will my homeowners policy cover this.
2) I had a home inspection before I bought the house, and there was no mention of a water leak in the inspection report. Is it possible for me to ask the home inspector to cover some or all of my deductible ($1000)
3) What do I need to look out for while making the repairs and going through insurance. What are the pitfalls?
1 - regarding the rot — rot is usually excluded from most homeowners insurance policies. It depends how your company approaches a situation like this. Each company interprets the policy differently. So I can't tell you what your company will do.
I can tell you what I would do.
The company I work for would probably handle it this way. — not cover any of the rot damage. Also damage that happens over a period of weeks/months/years is excluded.
But, I could make the argument that the first time the leak happened (or the first days following) the water would have damaged the carpet/pad. So, I could pay you for the damage that would have happened in the first few days of the leak. That would probably be clean up, carpet, pad. I would not cover the entire claim……and probably not even most of it. But I'd cover what I could to help you out.
It all depends on what type of policy you have and the language in it.
2. regarding the home inspection — it depends on what the source of the leak was. The inspector can't see every thing that could possibly be wrong. Since you don't know the source of the leak, we can't say if its something he should have caught. From what your saying, you have lived there 2 months and just now see water on the floor. It's possible (that depending on the source of the leak) the inspector may not been able to see it in the few hours he was inspecting the home. Was water turned onto the home when he looked at it? If the home was empty - then the water was probably shut off and if there is no water going into the home, the leak will not show itself. You will have to read the paperwork you got from the inspection and talk to the inspection company.
3. There's not really any pitfalls to look out for. The best thing to do is ask the adjuster questions. There is a good chance that the homeowners policy will not pay for all of the damage.
It's not because insurance companies don't like to pay. As an adjuster, it's much easier for me to pay your claim than to deny it. I'd rather pay it. But….
There are 2 exclusions in many homeowners policies that could apply 1. wet and dry rot are excluded, 2. damage caused over a period of weeks/months/years is excluded.
Insurance policies are intended to cover things that are sudden and accidental. (Your hot water heater goes out while you are in the shower and floods the house). Things that happen over time are excluded. If insurance companies did not exclude this type of damage, people would have no reason to do maintenance on the home "because the insurance company will take care of it." So a slow leak that you know about would not get fixed.
This also means, hidden leaks that you did not know about are also not covered.
Make sure you get a good contractor. The insurance company will be able to provide some names of reputable ones in your area. But you can use the contractor of your choice.
You can also do some of the work yourself. So, the insurance company will pay to paint the walls. But if you don't mind grabbing a paint brush and doing the work yourself….that's ok. Many people will do some of the work themselves as a way to try and off set some of the deductible.
My attitude is more power to you if you (or someone you know) can do the work. I'm going to pay the same amount either way.
Sorry you are having to deal with this and that I'm probably not telling you what you want to hear.
The adjuster handling your claim will be better able to answer your questions — since they know what policy form you have and the language in that policy.
Good luck.
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