Water damage can be one of your worst nightmares. Mitigating it involves removing and repairing the source of the water, cleaning up the damage that the flood left behind, and dealing with mold remediation and other things. All of these can add up to a very expensive fix.
Then there’s the dreaded question: Will your condo association insurance policy cover it? That depends on a number of factors, ranging from where the water came from to where it’s located, especially if it’s in a tricky space between units.
Common Sources of Water Damage in Condominiums
Since condos are built like apartment buildings, there are both common spaces that are shared by all of the residents, as well as individual units where each homeowner lives. That’s a lot of potential spaces to be damaged by water. The typical causes of this damage include:
- Bursting or frozen pipes
- Leaking supply lines to washing machines, refrigerators, or dishwashers
- Overflowing toilets or bathtubs
- Water heater failures
- Roof or plumbing issues affecting multiple units
A small leak can quickly become a big one, and problems occur when the water spreads to other units through spaces between the walls, floors, and ceilings, leading to multiple flooding events that need to be dealt with.
Who Is Typically Responsible?
As far as who’s responsible for the leak, this depends on several things, like where the leak originally came from and whether or not that was caused by negligence of a lack of care. For example, a leaky pipe in one tenant’s bathroom that gets ignored for a while before it becomes a larger leak that floods multiple units, is a good case of negligence. However, whose fault is it if that leak comes from a common space? That often falls on the HOA or condo association.
In cases where the cause of the damage needs to be traced, your insurer will conduct an investigation. There are situations where this isn’t needed though, like water damage caused by a heavy storm that brought flooding along with it.
There are also situations where your insurance may get picky about coverage. A first-floor flood caused by a huge rainstorm that overflows a local creek may not be covered unless you have special flood insurance. It all depends on the circumstances.
Understanding the Master Insurance Policy
In general, a condo association’s master insurance policy covers the common spaces. These include things like hallways, laundry rooms, the lobby, and, of course, the exterior walls and roof of the building. The spaces between those shared walls might also be covered, and your policy might have provisions in it for the building’s pipes. It all depends on how the policy was written.
Have Questions? Contact Charlotte Insurance
Want to learn more about the importance of having the right insurance policies in place to help your HOA mitigate water damage? Contact Charlotte Insurance. Our agents can explore and explain all available options and put together the insurance coverage plan you need.