I own my condo. It was built in the 70’s. A few of my neighbors have had water leaks from the old pipes under the foundation. (It appears that some of the pipes are shared between condos too)… anyway, my main concern is I want to obtain insurance that will cover me if there is water damage and I am reading my policy now. It is so confusing I can’t make heads or tails out of it. It is very ambigious and there are exception clauses throughout the entire policy.
So how do I protect myself? What questions do I ask? I spoke to my insurance agent. Well, he said, water damage is hard to talk about because it depends where it is coming from. If a hydrant is hit by a car, and it floods your condo, you aren’t covered for the damage…… My head is spinning.
I live in San Diego. I have Farmer’s Insurance curently.
PICKLE2728 12:01 pm on November 12, 2009
I totally understand; insurance policies are a joke to read.
First…I would get as far away from Farmers as you can. I do mainly insurance work (restoration from fires and water damage) and consistently see Farmers customers who are unhappy that they are not covered by a simple leak behind the wall. In addition, they have a hard time getting Farmers to pay what they owe per the policy. I would recommend State Farm, USAA (if you qualify), Germania or Liberty Mutual. They seem to always stand by their customers. And if a claim is denied, at least they explain why in English.
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Secondly…when you purchase your Homeowner’s policy make sure you add the "water damage endorsement" and also the foundation endorsement. Fairly inexpensive endorsements that give you piece of mind.
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Also having your Auto and Homeowner’s under one company can give you a substantial discount (multi-line discount as its called). Good luck!
bbwebpuppy 12:01 pm on November 12, 2009
I think you need a better agent – one that speaks English.
In my book, I can’t stand someone who uses the jargon and mysteries of their business to snow me. My agent is suppose to take their knowledge of their industry and help me apply it to fixing my real world problems. This is what I do in my areas of expertise, one of which is in Life Insurance.
I prefer to work on referral basis. Ask your friends and neighbors who they use for property and casualty. If you update your post with your location, someone here might be able to better refer you to a good agent.
Paul in San Diego 12:01 pm on November 12, 2009
With homeowner’s insurance, your house is protected against the event of pipes leaking or bursting, but not the damage it causes. That is, if you have a pipe leak or rupture that causes water damage, the insurance company will pay a claim for the plumbing to be repaired, but they don’t pay to have the water damage fixed.
If a car takes off a hydrant and the water damages your condo, you go after the insurance company of the driver.
If you have a problem with common plumbing in your condo, that should be covered by the HOA’s insurance. Contact your HOA to verify this.
BTW – avoid making inquiries of whether your insurance company will cover some kind of damage. I had a leaking water main out at the street a couple years ago, and called my homeowner’s insurance company to ask whether my policy covered that or not. They said no, so I had it fixed as part of a remodel.
A year later, I was denied a renewal of my insurance because they said I had "made a claim" earlier in the year about a leaking water main. I told them that I did not make any such claim, that I merely asked if I *could* make such a claim on my homeowner’s insurance. They said that, just by inquiring about whether something is claimable counts as much as actually making the claim (this was State Farm insurance).
So, I went with another company (Travelers). And, it actually saved me money for more coverage.
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