[SandyJet]

if you dont fix it yourself and association pays it messes everyone up with higher insurance rates or they take it out of reserves.

[Scott456]

Originally Posted by SandyJet

if you dont fix it yourself and association pays it messes everyone up with higher insurance rates or they take it out of reserves.

And that is not his problem.

[pwrightt]

You need to tell your insurance company there is a possibility of being sued. Also what do your CC&R's state? There should be specific wording on who is responsible for pipe leaks. Every condo association has different wording so what is good for someone down the street may be totally different then yours. If you are sued then your insurance company will be the ones that will fight this since they have denied that you are responsible for any additional damage. What has me concerned is that mold was found. So even though you just found the leak and repaired it this has been ongoing. Usually when a pipe breaks, and does ensuing water damage to the unit below, you would be responsible for the damage. You may want to call your insurance and request an adjuster come out to inspect the damage.

[SandyJet]

Originally Posted by Scott456

And that is not his problem.

That is his problem.

I had some guy in building with same issue. Out condo master insurance policy is based on claims history called "loss runs" Policy goes up for everyone with every claim. In particular claims within last 36 months hurts you when you got out to bid so you get higher rates.

One guy tried to force the association to file a claim after going 30 months without a claim. Our policy is up in 38 months so we were looking forward to lowering the rate and perhaps lowering maint or building reserves.

I told them unless it is a "clean kill" we are not paying. Our plumber came opened wall and the interior pipe burst due to guy turning off the heat in the winter. I asked him to produce electric bills and we video taped inside temp same as outside temp.
He should have turned off water, winterized unit or kept electric heat on. Later guy admitted he was checking up on unit regularly but went on a ski trip when we had a cold snap and did not have time to swing by and turn up heat or drain water so pipe froze so he tried to stick condo with bill.


We paid cost to diagnose problem and shut off water to unit and told him to fix it. He ended up not fixing it as it was for sale anyhow and new owner fixed it.

If I paid everyones claim our maint would double and units would become worthless over time.

[pwrightt]

You stated the neighbor has spoken with your adjuster. On what grounds did your insurance company deny his claim. There has to be something written specifically in your CC&R's that state who is responsible for what. Also PLEASE remember. Your condo contract is probably different then the guy down the street. So what is good for someone else may NOT be the same for you. You need to have a very straight forward conversation with your insurance company, explain again what is going on, and do not pay out of pocket for your neighbors expenses unless you have been given good advise. If you are taken to court your insurance company will represent you. As for an umbrella policy that pays for above and beyond what you may be liable for that your homeowners insurance did not cover, and it will never get that far. So I wish you the best and too let you know I just retired in March from a large insurance company as a property adjuster. I probably handled over 100 condo claims a year.