Homeowners insurance denying my claim...what can I do to fight it?

Question

I had a flood in the basement of the condo. To make a long story short when our snow melted last month the water came in through the brick pavers of my patio and all into the closet of my basement and has ruined my carpet. My condo association paid to pull up all my brick pavers and repair the leak, but won't put them back. I filed with my insurance company and they came out and decided that it was due to "faulty design" of my patio that caused this flood. I did not have this patio put in, the owner before me did. Why am I paying for insurance if they don't do anything for me? Someone told me there is someone I can call to investigate my claim and to try to get me some money. I have a huge pile of bricks for a patio and I had to cut out a huge part of my carpet because it was destroyed. I need help!

Answer 1

I had a similar experience. You can't do anything about it. You should move insurance companies if you haven't already. You may want to try a website that compares multiple companies at once to get you the best price. I am paying less than ½ after I did.

Go to: http://www.insureme.com/landing.aspx?Refby=616162&Type=home

Take care,
Casey

Answer 2

I'm surprised that your insurance carrier didn't tell you that any kind of flooding isn't covered in your policy. even if a pipe breaks and does damage they don't cover it or pay very little. and i think the reason the association wont put the bricks back is because if they do and it happens again they don't want to be libel. the only thing you can do is have a professional that knows what they are doing make a new deck that will drain properly without water leaking into your basement.

Answer 3

No one on the internet can advise you based upon your statements. What you can or can not do, depends upon the wording of your insurance policy. If your claim IS covered by your policy and insurance refuses to pay, contact an attorney for a possible bad faith claim against your insurance company.

Answer 4

Seepage, foundation cracks and water claims like that are usually excluded from homeowner's insurance coverage. They are usually the result of maintenance issues (like cracks in your foundation that you are responsible for repairing) or faulty workmanship. Damages from poor workmanship are usually excluded from the policy, too.

You are paying for insurance cover you for the named perils on your policy. Insurance is not blanket coverage for everything.