previous owner's insurance pays for damage?

March 7, 2007 5:23 PM

I bought my house nov. 1 (in Ohio), hail storm did some damage in October...roof company sends me a letter that says previous owner's insurance will pay for this....bogus or for real?

Ok, again, hail storm back in early october, pimpled the siding on one side of the house, knicked up the somewhat older roof and it'll need to be replaced. Homeowner then didn't want to fix stuff, he had to move quick and get the deal done, and so he gave me some cash that would cover at least some of the roof. I buy the house Nov. 1. So i get this letter today from a roofing company that says for 6 months after the damage is done the previous owner's insurer is still on the hook to pay for roof, siding etc. That seems bogus to me! I just don't see how they can bill the previous owner's insurance, now that I own the place, w/o the previous owner signing off on it and paying a deductible etc. It looks like this roofer is just trying to get me on the hook for the repairs. I am in Ohio by the way.

Anyone know anything about this?

posted by Salvatorparadise to home & garden (6 comments total)

If it's true, YOUR insurance company will go after the previous owner's insurance company via subrogation... NOT the roofer.
posted by SpecialK at 5:33 PM on March 7, 2007

You can do one or two of a few things.

Call them and simply ask what the hell they are talking about. If they state any insurance statutes or laws on the books, ask them to put it in writing and send it to you. If they won't do that, or they insist you must commit to something before you tell them anything, they probably aren't on the up-and-up.

You can also call your state department of insurance, your Attorney General Consumer Protection Office, your applicable Better Business Bureau and see what they say. State what you told us here and that you find the roofing contractors claims dubious. I am positive one of those bureaus has heard or knows of this practice, if it's legit or not.

My personal feeling on it? They get you to commit to the repairs with the feel-good reassurance that they are going to go after the previous owners insurance and in small print imply that you're still on the hook if the previous owner's insurance tells them to take a hike. Someone's going to pay the roofer, and if the insurance company won't do it (and really, why the hell would they if they don't have to legally?) the contractor is going to come after you or your insurance.
posted by jerseygirl at 6:31 PM on March 7, 2007

Do consider that the money you received for the roof from the previous owner... that was given in lieu of repair. Instead of previous owner filing a claim on his insurance and holding up the closing of the house, he gave you cash. It saved the hassle and time of appraisers, individual contractor estimates, negotiating with insurance companies and processing out the claim. I would certainly think if you attempted to file a claim with his insurer, especially if the money given to you is detailed in the closing documentation, this agreement would come up and your claim denied flat out.

The roofer would not be privy to this agreement you entered in, and could still be acting in good faith.
posted by jerseygirl at 6:42 PM on March 7, 2007

The last owner may have made no claim or made a claim and kept the money. The last owner may have had no insurance. It has nothing to do with you. It was his house and his insurance. The roofer is trying to drum up business.
posted by lee at 7:21 PM on March 7, 2007

Homeowner then didn't want to fix stuff, he had to move quick and get the deal done, and so he gave me some cash that would cover at least some of the roof. I buy the house Nov. 1.

This will likely be interpretted as settlement for any damages that occurred to the property prior to closing yet after signing the agreement for sale. I think you are hosed, but if you would like talk to your lawyer who did the closing. You did use a lawyer didn't you?
posted by caddis at 7:31 PM on March 7, 2007

This will likely be interpretted as settlement for any damages that occurred to the property prior to closing yet after signing the agreement for sale. I think you are hosed, but if you would like talk to your lawyer who did the closing. You did use a lawyer didn't you?

no, i didn't, the house was 50k and the mortgage payments are like $320/month, so this is sort of in another league than most home busy...and a lot of the normal house buying stuff didn't really apply since it was a cheap place

the cash wasn't written up in the contract, he didn't want to put it in there, don't know why, don't care.

everything else is fine and i don't mind paying for the roof, it's just curious, this potential scam from the roofer

i work full time as a writer covering finance and insurance, and it's sort of of interesting to see this kind of thing in action.....mostly biz stuff is what i cover, not too much from the consumer realm, but still, i'll have to look into this more
posted by Salvatorparadise at 9:53 PM on March 7, 2007