BrutuStrength
It's time to bring it!
My wife and I recently found out that my daughter's room has mold in it, due to a leaky window. We suspected that my son's room does too, due to the same type of window, and cracks in the drywall/plaster underneath his windows. Well, we had already replaced all of the original windows in our home, except for 6 that were installed about 5 years ago by the previous owners, which happen to be the ones in their bedrooms.
We did some research with the window company that made the windows, and found out they sold them to the previous owners' nephew, who installed them. It turns out that he installed them wrong and water has been getting into the walls from rain and snow. We had a window guy out to the house this morning to install the new windows. When he went to remove them, he said that the wood is moldy and rotted, and that he can't install the new ones until they build new frames for the windows. It sounds as though the mold damage is much worse than we originally thought, and it might be in the walls below their bedrooms as well. Initially, we figured that the repairs would cost around $5,000+, but it might now be much higher.
When my wife has called the insurance agent, she can't get a straight answer regarding the likelihood that it will be covered by a claim. When she calls the Insurance company customer service number, they also won't give her any sort of a straight answer, other than to file a claim to find out. We are only allowed 3 claims in a 3 year span before we are dropped, and we had to make a claim last year when our basement was flooded. I don't want to make a claim if the probability of their covering it is really low.
Has anyone had experience with a mold claim on a homeowner insurance policy? We can't afford to pay for extensive repairs, and we really need some advice as to whether an insurance company is likely to cover this damage. Our main concern is that they won't because it didn't result from a single occurrence like a flood. Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated.
We did some research with the window company that made the windows, and found out they sold them to the previous owners' nephew, who installed them. It turns out that he installed them wrong and water has been getting into the walls from rain and snow. We had a window guy out to the house this morning to install the new windows. When he went to remove them, he said that the wood is moldy and rotted, and that he can't install the new ones until they build new frames for the windows. It sounds as though the mold damage is much worse than we originally thought, and it might be in the walls below their bedrooms as well. Initially, we figured that the repairs would cost around $5,000+, but it might now be much higher.
When my wife has called the insurance agent, she can't get a straight answer regarding the likelihood that it will be covered by a claim. When she calls the Insurance company customer service number, they also won't give her any sort of a straight answer, other than to file a claim to find out. We are only allowed 3 claims in a 3 year span before we are dropped, and we had to make a claim last year when our basement was flooded. I don't want to make a claim if the probability of their covering it is really low.
Has anyone had experience with a mold claim on a homeowner insurance policy? We can't afford to pay for extensive repairs, and we really need some advice as to whether an insurance company is likely to cover this damage. Our main concern is that they won't because it didn't result from a single occurrence like a flood. Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated.