Should I file a claim on my homeowner's insurance?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ok, so at some point I think my air conditioner leaked under my hardwood floor. The wood’s a bit warpy, AND apparently my neighbor underneath is complaining that there seems to be some staining of her ceiling (I haven’t seen it). The A/C is not currently leaking. I haven’t had homeowner’s insurance so I’m not sure if I file a claim, or wait and hope the wood goes back to normal as it dries out, or what. If the wood does need to be fixed, it’d be a pain since they’ll need to replace about a 6’x3’ section and then refinish everything.

  1. Would an insurance company just give me the cash for fixing it and then I can give that to the buyer when I sell (in a couple years)?

  2. Are my premiums going to jump up so much that it’s better to take care of any repairs myself?

Current premiums: $289/yr. $500 deductable. 56k building property coverage. $500 damage to property of others (hm, this seems low). Claim free for 3 years.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

2

Your policy may differ, but in most policies there’s a paragraph, sentence or clause which reads along the lines of;

Read your policy. IMHO, any repairs will be at your expense.

3

I’ll second Fir na tine from personal experience. We had water damage in the basement caused by a leaking pipe under the kitchen sink. The damage seemed to appear quickly to us, but when the insurance guy investigated it he could see that it had been leaking for quite a while and just hadn’t been obvious. Therefore, no payment. Of course, a month later, we had the sump pump go out and flood the basement and damage everything even worse. This was a sudden event and the insurance paid no problem.

4

Thanks for the input. The reason I thought it would be covered is that the person who had the condo before me had that section of floor replaced – covered by insurance – for water damage in the same spot. The maint guy told me when he checked the A/C (after neightbor underneath complained about stains) that if the A/C isn’t run all the time in summer, condensation will form and collect under the floor–it’s NOT technically a leak, I guess. And here I thought it was virtuous to not run A/C when you didn’t need it! What you guys are saying makes sense, but how come the last guy gets the floor fixed by his insurance company and I can’t?