Nothing can be more damaging to your home that water, resulting in huge financial and emotional loss and stress. Property damage from water may occur in several ways. Hurricanes or wind storms can cause damage to your home or business, allowing water to enter from openings created by high winds or projectiles. Broken pipes and bad plumbing are also common causes of water damage.
When water damage is detected, you must swiftly act to locate the water damages source and attempt stop any further water intrusion to your home or business. You should also swiftly act to try and dry out the areas where water is intruding. Even if you need to hire a reputable water remediation company to dry out the area affected by the water intrusion and apply a Mildewcide to prevent mold growth.
What is “leakage and seepage” and why does it matter?
If there is a slow leak in your home, such perils are typically covered, but they can be tricky. First and foremost, you as the home owner obviously have a duty to monitor your home and take due care that there are not leaks that are known (or capable of being known) but are left unattended. Most policies and the governing Florida law will only protect slow leaks or water that is seeping out of your plumbing systems for the first fourteen days. Once you hit fourteen days, however, the damage for your water leak—it not reported and/or mitigated—may not be covered under your policy. As such it is important that you:
- Look for active leaks
- Investigate any discoloration in walls or floors
- Investigate any smells
- Investigate unusually large water bills
If you find any leak or seeping, you must immediately (1) notify your insurance company, (2) take pictures, and (3) mitigate your loss/stop the leak. Then, call LeavenLaw to discuss your case and know your rights.
Is Mold Damage Covered Under My Policy?
Mold in Florida is common. Mold can arise from a water loss and is typically covered but “capped” as to how much is covered under a Florida property insurance policy. To reproduce and spread, molds use tiny spores that continually float through the air. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, the spores have found an environment perfect to grow and reproduce.
As such, when moisture accumulates indoors, mold growth may occurs, particularly if the moisture remains undiscovered and not handled properly. Unfortunately, eliminating all mold in an indoor environment is hard to do, absent attempting to control the moisture levels in your business or home.
Can a Florida Property Insurance Attorney Help?
If you are proactively seeking legal advice or need litigation counsel because your claim has been denied Whether you need legal advice or your claim has been denied, the Florida insurance dispute lawyers at LeavenLaw have upwards of 100 collective years of litigation experience helping consumers throughout Florida with their water and mold-related insurance claims. LeavenLaw’s attorneys help you by:
- Gathering evidence of water and mold damage (e.g., pictures, receipts)
- Reviewing the insurance claims adjuster’s inspection report
- Traveling to your property when needed
- Assisting with independent analysis of your water and mold damage
- Filing a claim or “Proof of Loss” on your behalf
- Offering A/V Rated Legal Representation
- Offering legal service in both English and Spanish
Many Florida insurance policies have specific mold and water damages exclusions. Our Florida insurance dispute attorneys can help you understand your policy and determine whether your damages are arguably covered by your insurance policy.
If you are ready to aggressively pursue your water damage or mold claim, call LeavenLaw’s policy holder advocates, statewide and toll free, at (866) 514-0556 today!