Home Owners Insurance Info.?

[alphamommy]

We moved into this house in Aug., 2006. It was built in 1998. Our home warranty expired in July, 2007.

Yesterday, we noticed that some of the tile in our shower stall looked loose. Upon further inspection, we discovered that lots of them are loose, and the drywall compound near the shower (not in it) is peeling off. There is evidence of mold. Our fear is that the tile was laid directly on "normal" drywall instead of cement board (or whatever it is they're supposed to put behind it).

We could tear this out and replace everything, but my sinus problems would make the job dangerous for me. We have decided to "throw money at the problem." It needs to be torn out, as opposed to just covering it with an enclosure.

Is this something we can claim on our home owner's insurance? What are the pros and cons to doing this?

If you live in SE Michigan, and do this kind of work or know someone who does, PM me!

Thanks!

[merlinmagic4]

Around here, the big "CON" is that when you make a claim, your insurance goes up. The other kicker is that they can also cancel you if you make another one. This has happened to people here but we are in Massachusetts and there are lots of issues. The insurance companies are pulling out of Cape Cod because they fear we are a target for a huge hurricane in the future so that might have something to do with it.

[DizneyRox]

I doubt it's something covered under homeowners insurance. You can check, but I really doubt it.

A job like that is a pretty big undertaking, if mold is a problem, you're looking at possibly having to deal with BOTH sides of the wall. Drywall is realtively cheap, it's the labor, etc. Youdefinitely don't want to put an enclosure over it, I'd do a tear out and look at installing a one piece after that. Tile in a shower, while I like the look, is a huge maintenance nightmare, otherwise you can end up with issues like this.

I would suggest a qualified contractor however, not a do-it-yourself job in my book.

We had HUGE claim about 6 months after we moved into our last house. The bill was close to 13,000 which out homeowners insurance covered all but about $627. Haven't seen an increase in the 6 years since then. I don't mind recommending Amica for everyones insurance needs, they have always been great!