Homeowners with past water damage scrambling for insurance

Austin American Statesman ^ | July 21, 2002 | shonda novak

[Mamzelle]

Guess what--abuse your insurance, or be part of a state that allows and promotes insurance abuse, and you lose it. Insurance is about spreading risk. I guess all that's left to be done is to force Farmer's and the other insurance companies, on pain of imprisonment, to insure people who will then exploit the coverage and grant a share of the take to their lawyers.

Notice that the family in this story has already been paid $300K--and they *still* need to go to the bank and get a loan to build their new house in very house-cheap Texas--and the bank requires insurance...wonder what happened to that $300K? Or maybe they're unwilling to "insure themselves"...?

[eastforker]

On one hand I understand your position,on the other I understand the homeowner.My modest home was built 25 years ago for about 35K,today it would cost 120K to rebuild,plus to replace every thing inside,furniture,appliances,clothing etc. probably another100k.So thats already 220k.I see nothing extensive about their claim.I once purchased extended warranty protection for a vehicle.I used it to have the AC repaired.When I went to finance a new vehicle a year later,I was informed I was not eligible for a low interest loan from a particular lender because I had had a claim on the previouse extended warranty.

[Always Right]

Notice that the family in this story has already been paid $300K--and they *still* need to go to the bank and get a loan to build their new house in very house-cheap Texas--

They might had had a mortgage on their old house, but your point is valid. They should have a chunck of change to build a small house. They could build and get an equity loan out to buy whatever furniture they needed.

[Mamzelle]

Texas homeowners cannot get this insurance because of skyrocketing claims for mold damage. One family got awarded $32M against Farmer's--after that, there suddenly was over a thousand new mold-damage claims made against insurance companies. Insurance abuse, costly to the premium-payer.

Would seem to me that $300K is plenty to build a modest home in Texas when you already own the land. But now if they fail to maintain their home, and mold is generally caused by poor mainenance, they'll have to self-insure. That's what hit them between the eyes...All our home insurance is now on the rise because of how it is abused.

[is_is]

your points are valid...but....the insurance companies share the blame as well. They should have never covered water damage.....rising water yes.....damage from a leaky pipe, bad shower pan, leaky roof, are all maintence items. Insurance is not an extended warranty. Now the lawyers found another pot full of money that the insurance companies created (granted they never foresaw the mold issue) and they are going after it with a vengence. Who pays? As always you and me.

[snopercod]

Keep those dehumidifiers running, folks.

Hundreds Weigh in on Mold

New state law requires mold disclosure

Ed McMahon sues over toxic mold in L.A. home

Lawmakers Seeking To Protect Home Owners From Mold

[metesky]

Mold: The new Radon.

USA Weekend piles on, encouraging renters to get a lawyer.

[RichardW]

A real problem in Texas. I am paying about four times what my brother in Missouri pays for his homeowner's insurance. I have no claims. This is the direct result of the lawyer lobby and their stranglehold on Texas courts.

[snopercod]

...get a lawyer...

Why not get an engineer instead? Mold problems are both preventable and solvable.

But the Great American Sheeple in general are abysmally stupid about the homes and apartments in which they live. They spend more time selecting the color of paint for their walls than considering whether their dream home is properly built.

They buy the cheapest HVAC system possible then whine when their house is, depending on the season and time of day, too hot, too cold, too humid, too dry, too stuffy, or too drafty.

Sorry, but these folks deserve what they get.

[RichardW]

I'm not following your line of reasoning. The high homeowner's rates are our fault? I haven't sued anyone. We take care of our home and it is properly maintained. Why am I paying four times what my brother pays for the same or less insurance? This is a trial lawyer problem IMHO.

[Jhoffa_]

When they totaled the costs of repairing and renovating the house, they decided it made more sense to raze the house and build a new one.

Sorry, I just don't believe "mold damage" is a serious threat..

If it's mold and it's from a leaky pipe of all things then I just refuse to believe that you can't kill it and get on with your business.

I wonder if they are considered sheisters and wound up in some insurance database somewhere.

[stands2reason]

For the most part, I agree, but "very cheap Texas" does not include Austin.

[stands2reason]

Never mind, they live in Luling, and they have their own land. Gotta switch back to caffeine. ;-)

[HairOfTheDog]

They should have never covered water damage.....rising water yes.....damage from a leaky pipe, bad shower pan, leaky roof, are all maintence items.

Hmmm... I agree on a leaky roof being a maintenance item, but broken pipes are not easy to predict. How exactly does one know that they have a pipe that is about to leak inside their wall?

Rising water on the other hand, is predictable. Rivers and floodplains are known, usually, unless a drainage system breaks.

[Jhoffa_]

But I'll agree - the current crop of removal companies has been raking it in with price gouging when it could probably be dealt with more simply.

Since it was leaking anyway I would have been tempted to pull the shades and try a controlled leak with high concentrations of bleach over a couple of days..

Dead mold isn't an issue, right?

[Jhoffa_]

Hmmm... I agree on a leaky roof being a maintenance item, but broken pipes are not easy to predict. How exactly does one know that they have a pipe that is about to leak inside their wall?

Probably seepage over a long period of time as opposed to a catastrophic failure.. Those types of bursts are normally only caused by things like freezing.

[Jhoffa_]

I used to do QC in a bottling facility and had to deal with quality and sanitation issues in a restrauant..

We would plate product samples and I never say any mold that chlorine wouldn't kill.

I would have settled this with a trip to WalMart for some cheap bleach, a piece of clear plastic tubing to meter it out and a run to home depot for drywall and paint..

Maybe you could follow it up with a bleach/water solution in a pressurized garden sprayer. (you could use that to blow it back between ceiling joists and such..)

Truly, people with no mechanical ability get screwed so frequently I am amazed they can sit.

It kills me to see them reading "consumer reports" and trying to get a good deal on a toaster while the plumber is charging them a hundred bucks to unstop their toilet.