Contacting Homeowners' Insurance...?

In My Humble Opinion
1

A couple of months ago, we had a new dishwasher installed in our middle-floor condo. The people who did it were sent by a nice Mom & Pop appliance store, but it’s a national brand.

My wife has noticed water damage under the sink where the dishwasher is.

Caveats: we know the flooring under the sink is old and cruddy. My wife has always wanted to replace it. She’s always talked about how “damaged” it is. I do see some dampness when we run the dishwasher, but to be honest, I don’t see a lot of obvious new damage. I am not a household handyman type, though, and might not know what I see. We have not run the dishwasher since detecting the dampness.

I’m told her favorite contractor is coming out to assess the cost. The cost of what? Well, my wife really longs to rip out the entire kitchen floor, so that could be what we’re talking about.

The question: the contractor told her to “contact our homeowners’ insurance” about payment.

Is even that a good idea? I’ve heard stories of people being dropped after a single claim. We don’t have very comprehensive insurance coverage. And anyway, if the dishwasher was installed and it immediately leaked under normal use, wouldn’t that be an issue for the installers to cover, assuming they’re “licensed and bonded?”

I am concerned that the contractor smells money and my wife smells a new kitchen.

We have NO money at all right now – we are in fact heavily in debt, and were we to come into money, have a long list of things to pay off first. Note that she’s also detected a mildew smell in the air-conditioner and has someone coming out today to price, well, God knows what. The ducts were cleaned a couple of years ago…

I am willing to get stuff fixed, but we can’t just imagine money into existence.

2

I have pretty good home insurance from State Farm. At some point, my toilet was leaking and it ruined the floor and I had to have the floor replaced in my little 5x5 bathroom. I called my very nice and very helpful insurance agent and he said no-can-do. I totally forget why they said no, but if there was a way to cover it for me, he would have.

I can’t imagine that you’ll get anyone to pay for this. I think my agent may have said that if I sat on the toilet and ended up on the basement floor, then we could talk. So unless your dishwasher is through the floor, and maybe disconnected and squirting water all over the kitchen, I don’t see you getting anything covered by insurance.

That’s just based on my experience, though.

3

It’s probably pretty easy to spin it into ‘dishwasher leaked and ruined hardwood floor, estimated replacement cost $4500’ and there’s you’re new dishwasher and floor.

Just getting the area under the sink fixed up probably isn’t even enough to go past your deductible. There’s probably just a bad connection somewhere in the plumbing. A few drops a day will create some rotten wood or some mildew over the years. If I were you, I’d sooner figure out where the leak is coming from then deal with getting rid of the mildew and drying out the wood and everything else down there.

4

Wait, is the dishwasher really right under the sink or is it off to the side? The setup I most often see (my experience is with new construction and appliances, though) is to have the DW just off to the side of the sink with a hole connecting the under sink space and the DW space through which you run the water line and drain hose. If there is damage/moisture under the sink then the DW is only one possible culprit, as it could be the sink lines, garbage disposal, or something else that is leaking. Grab a flashlight, turn on the water, and have a look around.

Another possibility is that the water line or drain hose connections under the DW are leaking and water is spreading under the sink causing the damage you see under there. There should be a removable panel at the base of the dishwasher. Take it off and use a flashlight to look into the few inches of space between the DW and floor and see if it looks wet and rotted under there. Could be the water line isn’t all the way screwed on or the drain hose clamp worked loose. I’d certainly determine the source of the moisture before tearing everything out.

5

Not necessarily specific to your situation, but generally: if improper installation of the dishwasher caused damage, you should talk to the insurance company of the installer. They (should) have Completed Operations coverage for this sort of liability issue. But I wouldn’t expect them to pay for an entire new floor; just to “make you whole” regarding the damage done.

6

If you have an agent, you can ask them a question without filing a claim and without notifying your insurer. If you don’t have an agent, I wouldn’t call the insurance company about this. Unless you have water damage caused by a storm or wind, it’s incredibly unlikely that this claim would be covered.* They’d probably say it falls under failure to maintain the property, which is your responsibility as a homeowner, and deny the claim. If I may make a car analogy: would you expect your auto insurer to pay for a new engine if you never changed your oil? Insurance doesn’t work that way.

But, for the sake of fighting ignorance, let’s say they cover it. They’re not just going to rubberstamp some random contractor with dollar signs in his eyes. They’ll almost certainly send out someone they have a relationship with to do an estimate, if not the actual repair. This is especially true if your wife’s guy sends them an inflated estimate. So in the end, the damage may not exceed your deductible by much–or at all–in which case, you’ve filed a claim for nothing. On top of that, you’ll pay increased rates for the next who-knows-how-many years, because you’ve filed a claim. And a strong indicator for future claims is a history of prior claims. Or they may drop your policy entirely. Is it really worth the risk?

And, this is extracurricular advice, but perhaps it would be good to have a discussion with your wife about your family’s financial priorities. Unless the floor is literally on the verge of caving in–in which case, repair is a more frugal option than replacement–it’s better to pay your existing debts than to take on new ones.

*YCMV (your coverage may vary)

7

My friend got an entirely new kitchen paid for by her insurance company, courtesy of an upstairs toilet that busted and leaked through to the kitchen below. However, the damage was severe. If you do pursue this, be aware that insurance companies keep tabs on you, and you risk having your insurance canceled if you file another claim in a short amount of time. That’s why most people don’t nickel and dime their insurance policies, because you’ll want it to pay out should you have a really expensive catastrophe.

Many home improvement stores and flooring shops offer very attractive long term interest rates for purchases over x amount. Just sayin’.

8

After a windstorm, our agent called us to see if we had any damage. We did, and they paid.

9

Welll, the wife’s contractor came out and alleged that the damage is due to old pipes running under the sink to the dishwasher, which leak or drip, and that it was “really irresponsible of the installers to put in the dishwasher and say nothing” about replacing said pipes.

The insurance is a bare-minimum policy obtained through the mortgage holder, so we probably don’t have an agent.

Meanwhile the pressure is on to notify the insurer and get all this taken care of.

10

Rachellelogram knows what she is talking about, she’s been in the biz for a very long time.

I was only in the insurance biz for a couple of years and I can tell you that from my experience, slow leaks are not covered. You as the home owner are responsible for fixing leaks, insurance won’t pay for that. Damage due to inattention isn’t covered.

If your dishwasher suddenly blew up and ruined the floor, it would be covered, but don’t try to game the adjuster…he or she will be able to tell if the damage is new

If I was you, I wouldn’t put a claim in.

11

So then do it, and they’ll say no. Pressure released.