Help! My insurance company is trying to screw me (big surprise)?

Question

I live in a condo in CT. On Thursday, my neighbor upstairs used Drano to fix a clogged drain. He left his water running and him and 3 other adults left the house. While they were gone, the sink over flowed and flooded my condo (right below his). He said he did not have insurance and I was unable to get ahold of the condo association. I then called my insurance and asked them what to do. They told me to open a claim with them because it was critical to get the water cleaned up ASAP to minimize damage. (rule 1: never do anything your insurance company tells you to without first researching it). I opened my claim with them. They sent a clean up crew out. On Monday afternoon, my condo association got back to me saying they contacted the condo insurance and someone would be getting ahold of me (i am still waiting). In the mean time, my insurance sent out their adjuster to look at the damage today (Monday). She did everything in her power to devalue the damages. At first I could not understand why. She said the sheet rock did not have to be replaced (the clean up crew punched holes in it to increase air flow for drying). She said, once the baseboard is put over it noone will notice. I told her that was unacceptable and that I wanted my unit restored to its original condition prior to the accident. She said that was not going to happen. She basically said I would be compensated for 2 hours of my time (even though I so far have missed 1.5 days from work over this) and they would do a patch job. I finally realized why she was doing this. The condo insurance (primary insurance has a $10,000 deductable). As a result, my insurance says they wont be covering this damage. My insurance will. There is also apparently a condo bylaw that says my insurance company can not go after my upstairs neighbor for reimbursement. In other words, my upstairs neighbor negligently destroys my home as a result I am forced to file it with my insurance (my association insurance is out to lunch and the guy upstairs has no insurance... or so he says). My insurance refuses to restore it back to original condition and wants to do a half *** patch job. The accident goes on my insurance record and I was told by my insurance my rates will most likely increase because of this. Any advice? Apparently, I am getting royally screwed over here.

Answer 1

Look, on the standard policy, YOU PICK what coverage you get, when you buy the policy. You can't unilatirally upgrade, AFTER the claim.



If there's no water damage, it's UNREASONABLE for you to expect to have brand new sheetrock put up - your insurance owes you the cost of repair or replace, whichever is LESS.



YOUR unit coverage does NOT pay for your lost wages!! You have NO lost wages coverage, under a standard condo policy. The 2 hours of time, would be LABOR, for your direct cleanup time. They'll pay the contractor for their time, or if you do it yourself, you are entitled to be paid for cleanup time.



Of COURSE your association won't cover this, it's under the deductible! And whether or not there's a BYLAW involved, stupidity is not the same thing as negligence. That won't stop you from suing your neighbor, but you'll probably not WIN that lawsuit, in court.



My advice, is sell the condo. Water damage claims like this happen ALL THE TIME. So much so, that MOST master policies flat out won't cover them, AT ALL. If you don't want the hassle of dealing with possible damage to your unit from a neighbor, you'll have to buy a stand alone home.



My other advice is, read your policy. You really need to understand what is covered. Waiting until AFTER claim time to find out that you have a deductible, and your damages are only $200 over your deductible, and you'll see a rate increase (and worse, another claim will likely get you NONRENEWED and you'll be uninsurable), is, well, you not reading your policy. So go read it.

Answer 2

I have 15+ years experience handling condo insurance claims (not in CT though) and each and every on eof them has sucked. I would never live in a condo association after dealing with the claims.



OK, as you have learned condo claims are complex and a pain in the neck. I want to throw out some info for you to consider.



1. Every condo association I have dealt with has a bylaw that has a "subrogation waiver clause" which basically means just what they are telling you. Neither you or your insurance can go after the idiot upstairs for any reimbursement. So you will be stuck paying your deductible. This drives me nuts because negligent people get out of being responsible for their actions.



2. Unless the wall with the holes is a firewall between units, leaving the holes behind the baseboard is perfectly legal and acceptable. I have done this dozens of times on claims where we could dry the sheetrock early enough to keep it from being damaged. If it is not a firewall the holes do not hurt structural integrity at all.



3. If you have not already done so, you should read your condo bylaws. In EVERY condo association claim I have handled everybody has had to sit down and read the bylaws that pertain to who is responsible for repairing what portions of the damages. For example, I am working on a condo claim right now resulting from a defective water pipe in the wall of one unit. It leaked and caused water damage to 2 different units. Sheetrock, baseboard, insulation, paint and carpet were damaged. The bylaws state that Condo Association or their insurance are responsible for the drywall, the texture on the drywall and the insulation. The condo unit owner or their insurance is responsible for the wall paint and the carpet. This type of breakdown applies regardless of what or who causes the damages.



Good Luck

Answer 3

No condo or homeowners policy owes you for lost time from work. They will only pay you for the time you would have spent doing repairs or clean up and the cost of the materials.



You will also be reimbursed for clean up and repair or replacement (whichever is less). The insurance company is not responsible for all new anything if it can be repaired. Period. That's what most policies say.



It works the same when you wreck your vehicle. You will not get a new bumber if the one you have can be repaired. Period.



Another note: If the insurance company has a preferred contractor service, use them. Don't go it your own because you will be stuck dealing with the contractor if they do a poor job. Most companies will not guarantee the work of someone not on their list.



In order to get any of this reimbursed by your neighbor, you'll need to sue him in small claims court and prove negligence (that is if you can't locate his insurance carrier).

Answer 4

I can relate to the insurance sticking it to you, but not to discuss my situations.

I'd talk to the condo association they may be able to offer assistance in restoring your condo to pre incident condition. They may even be able to help you convince YOUR insurance to pay if they think they may end up on the hook for the bill if your insurance doesn't pay.

Also get documents , receipts, advertisements of the items for sale in stores etc, showing today's replacement costs of EVERYTHING that is damaged.

Some insurance companies don't itemize your property and contents and low ball you by selectively picking items to replace at their lower value.

As far as the drywall and carpets etc if there are items that mold can grow they MUST be replaced or your insurance company ends up liable. My insurance company told me I had to completely gut a room in my house because I had a small leak that had been unnoticed and ensure them that ALL of the wet drywall and mold had been removed.

If you are not afraid and have the time to do some leg work it will be in your favor, and the more people you have on your side the better.

Does your condo association REQUIRE tenants and owners to carry damage insurance, If not they are the exception, If they do then you can have a claim against the tenant and maybe the condo association for failure to maintain insurance and failure to enforce tenants / owners to maintain insurance.

Good Luck it is a pain in the a but, If you stand up to them you are going to find you make out better,

Your insurance premiums are likely to go up regardless so you get a fair amount from them.

You may even be able to get the upstairs tenants and or the condo association to cover your deductibles and or your increase in insurance due to this claim.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

The first thing you need to do is to get copies of that supposed condo law which prevents your insurer from seeking reimbursement from the guy upstairs. I suspect that such 'law' does not exist. You need to contact an attorney relative to bringing suit against the clod upstairs for reimbursement of your damages.