Plumbing Claims
When you are at home, you expect everything to work as it should, from a roof that gives you protection, to electricity to power all of your devices to the plumbing that brings water in and out of your home. This is the quality of life you are used to and what you expect every day. However, things tend to break down, and things do stop working as they usually do. Pipes break, shower pans fail, underground plumbing clogs, leaks spring up, and when you least expect it, you find yourself dealing with a plumbing emergency that upsets your life and that of your loved ones.
Figuring out the cost of repairs and adding to that the cost of finding temporary housing for your family while the repairs are carried out is probably stressful enough to rob you of sleep. This is when you need to determine your insurance and legal options and what compensation you can expect to receive to get your house to work and look as it did before the plumbing disaster struck. The legal team at Florida Home Claim is the first place for you to find this information. Give us a call today, and let’s talk about your problem and clarify any questions you may have regarding your rights to receive compensation.
Putting Your Life Back Together After a Plumbing Break
It’s hard to visualize how much water can come out of a washing machine, a dishwasher, an air conditioning unit, or even a refrigerator when they break down. The damage to your home from one of these appliances springing a leak can be hard to grasp. Plus, if you need to access pipes behind walls or underground, the cost can multiply many times over.
Feeling confident that your insurance company will respond as you hope -after all, you have been making your premium payments faithfully for years- you will initiate a claim only to discover that they are giving you the runaround or start trying to convince you that what they would need to do to repair the damage is something that is not permitted in your city or town. Or they may tell you that your belongings are worth much less than what you think they are, or that they will not cover the replacement of the kind of flooring you want, or that they will not replace your cabinetry. Before you lose your cool completely, give us a call. What you need is an experienced plumbing claims lawyer from Florida Home Claim by your side.
Should you expect your homeowner’s insurance to cover damage to the home caused by leaking pipes?
The damage a home can suffer due to water is such that it may require you to need to repair part of your home’s structure. It may also destroy your furniture to the point where you need to replace it, and it may make it impossible for you and your loved ones to remain in the home under these conditions. Going over your homeowner’s insurance policy, you might find three clauses that may provide coverage due to water damage:
Dwelling
The dwelling coverage clause insures the home’s roof, walls, and floorboards. This coverage will reimburse you when the damage is due to a leak. It should allow you to repair the leak and replace built-in appliances and water heater if needed.
Property
This coverage is for personal property such as your clothing, electronics, furniture, and other items destroyed by a plumbing incident. You may find that some items, like jewelry, are under a limit that may range from $1,000 to $2,000 if no rider was added to the policy.
Additional Living Expenses
This coverage is also known as loss of use and is meant to reimburse you for expenses related to staying in a hotel, food, and transportation while you are temporarily displaced from your property.
Once you read about these clauses, you may feel confident that your policy will cover your water damage. However, you may be surprised to discover that there are certain situations where your policy will not work. For example:
Wear and Tear
Your homeowner’s insurance policy may not cover damage when it results from normal wear and tear. It also will not pay for damage when it was the fault of a backed-up drain or a flood unless your policy has an endorsement.
No Maintenance
Your policy will also not cover damage due to a lack of maintenance. This means that the small leak that you had detected in your bathroom but did nothing to fix or control it until it created a bulge in a wall or resulted in a flood will not be covered by your insurance.
Floods
For your homeowner’s insurance to cover damage caused by a flood, you would need to have purchased separate flood insurance coverage. There are ways for you to evaluate the potential risks of flood in the area where you live. With this information, you can make an intelligent decision as to whether this is something worth purchasing or not.
Mold Damage
As long as the mold results from a leak covered by your policy, you may find that mold damage is covered up to a point. Otherwise, you may have to purchase separate protection against mold damage.
Get Legal Help
Filing a plumbing claim with your insurance may leave you dissatisfied with the result. You may find your claim denied or that the amount that they are offering is insufficient to cover your damages and losses. Having the support of a plumbing claims lawyer from Florida Home Claim can be precisely what you need when it comes to fighting for your rights and receiving the compensation you deserve. Give us a call today, and let us hear about your case. Don’t worry about losing more time on the phone trying to get an answer. And don’t worry about our fees because we will not get paid until you do. We will even fight in court for you if that is necessary.