Claim Question with Allied Insurance

[abcsales]

I'm hoping that someone can help. I sell health so not too up to par on homeowners.
We have Allied insurance and are having "issues" with out claim.
Our dishwasher hose became disconnected and we discovered this when we saw water running down the wall in the basement. No damage was discovered at that time.
A few weeks later I decided to have the area inspected for mold. The contractor came out and discovered mold under the counter and in the ceiling of the basement.
We went ahead and filed the claim and the claims adjuster came out and said that he was not going to be able to process the claim due to the fact that the damage occured due to long term water damage vs a one time event.
We are now arguing with them on how can they determine that the damage ocured over a long term vs a one time event. The contractor is saying that the only way to determine this is to rip open the walls and ceiling otherwise it cannot be determined by a visual inspection.

I spoke with the adjusters manager who told me that insurance companies love to pay claims, but they just can't because there was long term water leakage.

We have no idea as to the cost, it could very well be very expensive.

Suggestions??

 

[djs]

Re: Claim Question

The inspector is probably correct, if there really is mold.
Mold takes a while to grow and become noticable, unlike mildew which happens virtually overnight.

If there really is mold, chances are that drain was leaking for a long time, allowing mold (and probably rot) to build over time. You just noticed the end of it, not the beginning.

If it was me, I'd buy one of those full painters suits, a mask and cut away part of the downstairs ceiling and take a look. Have some plastic to cover it back up when you are done.

If its mold, talk to your home improvement store on how to get rid of it. They usually have stuff to treat it. You might have to bring in a crew to do it for you though.

Dan

 

[abcsales]

Re: Claim Question

We were told that mold spores can form within 12 hours of water exposure in an enclosed space. Our dishwasher hose is under the kitchen sink so if it had been draining there we would have noticed it sooner.
We paid extra for mold coverage and I just want them to do the proper investigation before they deny the claim.
Why would a policy include coverage for mold, but then not cover removal?

We were told by a contractor that another agent uses that the only way to determine the age of the mold and how long the water damage went on---weeks, vs days, was to tear out the floor and ceiling to fully inspect.

 

[Texasproducer]

Hopefully you can work out this claim with Allied. In the future a lot carriers, including Allied, offer a 'water damage' endorsement that specifically covers claims like this. I usually refer to them as slow leekage or seepage claims. I would always recommend that endorsement.

 

[JeremyTX]

Hopefully you can work out this claim with Allied. In the future a lot carriers, including Allied, offer a 'water damage' endorsement that specifically covers claims like this. I usually refer to them as slow leekage or seepage claims. I would always recommend that endorsement.

+1 on the Seepage endorsement, most have no idea they need it!