Water Damage Insurance Claim Tips
March 6, 2019 12:43 PM Subscribe
I'm seeking tips on navigating a water damage insurance claim—one with some building-science and commercial-interest nuances.
My family owns a 2016 prefabricated manufactured home built to spec—which we let as a short-term/vacation rental on the same property as our main house. This secondary structure and its operations are covered by a commercial policy that supplements our homeowner's insurance.
While the upper US Midwest has had an especially wet and cold winter, we've recently discovered this prefab has seen a systemic failure to its envelope—with literally gallons of water pouring down ceiling and into the walls with the year's first thaw and with gallons more likely still frozen inside the roof assembly. (The outside temperature's been well below freezing since.)
We've studied the policy, and a claim here looks to be coverable. We can't yet get an adjuster to take an assessment for several more days at least (when outside temperatures are expected to again rise above freezing, in fact). We're taking the recommended measures to dry out the space—opening up the cavities, dehumidifying, moving the air, increasing the heat, etc.
And we've had a couple water-damage restoration professionals take a look. Perhaps importantly, they see (and we agree that) the moisture issues stem more from condensation than from ice dams.
That makes sense—because, upon tearing into the construction, we've seen the build to be substandard for even a manufactured home, so far: no vapor barrier (in the ceiling or walls); no insulation above the can lights, below the ridge, or at the top plates; no ice shield or drip edge; no metal sheeting offset or ridge cap overlap; etc.
And there is our primary concern. While we're fairly confident the prefab theoretically could be gutted, dried, and restored and then be serviceable for a time, we fear it being rebuilt similar to how it is now (or it being rebuilt without a whole-house systems consideration) only inevitably leading to recurring failures.
In short, we want the insurer to see that the damage may not be worth addressing unless the vapor barriers, insulation, and water barriers of both the roof and walls can be continuous and otherwise systemically improved upon.
That said, there is practically no chance of recourse taken against the out-of-state manufacturer—which by all appearances has been Chapter-7 liquidated and shuttered.
And another point of contention with the insurer may involve any claim to lost income, especially if the interruption is to be protracted for any extensive remodeling. (We're already losing revenue canceling bookings, blocking off openings, and rescheduling at a discount to summer when demand would otherwise see rates double.) To us, the venture's certainly viable long-term, but it's also quite new and not at all flush. And we wouldn't personally be able to carry the business's ongoing hard and soft costs for more than a couple months—let alone covering construction expenditures out-of-pocket much beyond our deductibles.
So, how can we be our own best advocate while making a claim like this?
My family owns a 2016 prefabricated manufactured home built to spec—which we let as a short-term/vacation rental on the same property as our main house. This secondary structure and its operations are covered by a commercial policy that supplements our homeowner's insurance.
While the upper US Midwest has had an especially wet and cold winter, we've recently discovered this prefab has seen a systemic failure to its envelope—with literally gallons of water pouring down ceiling and into the walls with the year's first thaw and with gallons more likely still frozen inside the roof assembly. (The outside temperature's been well below freezing since.)
We've studied the policy, and a claim here looks to be coverable. We can't yet get an adjuster to take an assessment for several more days at least (when outside temperatures are expected to again rise above freezing, in fact). We're taking the recommended measures to dry out the space—opening up the cavities, dehumidifying, moving the air, increasing the heat, etc.
And we've had a couple water-damage restoration professionals take a look. Perhaps importantly, they see (and we agree that) the moisture issues stem more from condensation than from ice dams.
That makes sense—because, upon tearing into the construction, we've seen the build to be substandard for even a manufactured home, so far: no vapor barrier (in the ceiling or walls); no insulation above the can lights, below the ridge, or at the top plates; no ice shield or drip edge; no metal sheeting offset or ridge cap overlap; etc.
And there is our primary concern. While we're fairly confident the prefab theoretically could be gutted, dried, and restored and then be serviceable for a time, we fear it being rebuilt similar to how it is now (or it being rebuilt without a whole-house systems consideration) only inevitably leading to recurring failures.
In short, we want the insurer to see that the damage may not be worth addressing unless the vapor barriers, insulation, and water barriers of both the roof and walls can be continuous and otherwise systemically improved upon.
That said, there is practically no chance of recourse taken against the out-of-state manufacturer—which by all appearances has been Chapter-7 liquidated and shuttered.
And another point of contention with the insurer may involve any claim to lost income, especially if the interruption is to be protracted for any extensive remodeling. (We're already losing revenue canceling bookings, blocking off openings, and rescheduling at a discount to summer when demand would otherwise see rates double.) To us, the venture's certainly viable long-term, but it's also quite new and not at all flush. And we wouldn't personally be able to carry the business's ongoing hard and soft costs for more than a couple months—let alone covering construction expenditures out-of-pocket much beyond our deductibles.
So, how can we be our own best advocate while making a claim like this?
Since you have a commercial policy, I would expect there to be clear coverage for lost revenues that would be the starting point for that part of the negotiation. What does the policy say?
posted by metahawk at 2:00 PM on March 6, 2019
posted by metahawk at 2:00 PM on March 6, 2019
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Whether your insurance company will cover it fully, whether you have legal claims against the manufacturer, are outside of your repair decisions.
I feel bad for you. What a crap system we have that you have to prepare for battle to ask the company you send checks to every month for what you're due.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:31 PM on March 6, 2019