A leak damaged Gary’s kitchen so badly that the joists rotted and collapsed but his insurer only accepted part of his claim.
What happened
A washing machine leak caused water damage to Gary’s kitchen walls and flooring. It also caused the joists beneath the flooring to rot. Eventually, the floor collapsed, and all the hidden damage was discovered.
When Gary called his insurer about the situation, it agreed to pay for some of the damage that the leak had caused. It said it wouldn’t pay for the rotten joists or any damage that was gradual, though. This was because both gradual damage and rot were excluded from Gary’s insurance coverage.
Gary complained about this, but his insurer stuck to its decision. He came to us to see if we could help.
What we said
Looking into Gary’s situation, we learned that the leak was coming from a spot behind the washing machine, hidden out of sight. This meant he wouldn’t have been able to see the problem until it was too late.
We decided that the damage to Gary’s kitchen started with this leaking pipe, which was covered by Gary’s policy. We agreed with the insurer that the damage had happened gradually. However, we didn’t think it was reasonable to say that Gary was aware of the damage before his floor collapsed and he made a claim.
We decided to uphold Gary’s complaint and ask his insurer to accept his full claim, not just parts of it. We could understand the insurer’s original decision and how it connected to the exclusions listed for his policy. But we didn’t think the decision was fair to Gary, who wouldn’t have been able to do anything about the damage.