Is Water Damage Coming From Upstairs Apartments Covered by Insurance?
Does Insurance Cover Water Coming From Upstairs Apartment?
When you’re moving into a new apartment or condo unit it may be exciting, but there’s also a lot of work and thought that you have to put into it. You have to know where you want to live, what kinds of entertainment you want to live around, what part of town you want to be in. Then, once you have those things figured out, you have to decide how big or how small of an apartment you want and what amenities you want your complex or condominium to include. You must also make sure you have the funds to move into the apartment you’re looking to move into and ensure that you will be able to maintain employment.
With all the commotion surrounding other things when it comes to moving to a new place, people forget about emergencies such as if your apartment were to have a leak from the floor above you in your ceiling. This also means that one thing a lot of people overlook is the type of insurance coverage you can obtain for your home if you’re moving into an apartment or condo unit. It’s important to think these things through in case this type of emergency was to happen to you and plan ahead to ensure you’re covered and protected.
Storm Season
Florida is in one of the worst areas to experience tropical storms due to being so close to the water, which means they are no stranger to water invading their homes and causing water damage to their belongings. Storms rip through homes every spring and summer season causing related storm damage. Some people have even experienced tornadoes in Florida. Since there is such a likelihood of experiencing water damage in Florida, there are more and more developments in the way that they handle their insurance policy claims, as well as the insurance policies that are now offered.
Water Damage From Upstairs
If you’ve ever had a leak in your ceiling, you know how stressful it is. It can be even more stressful when you don’t know who’s responsible for repairing the damages. If you rent, then this is the landlord’s responsibility. However, when you own your unit, you must figure out who is responsible for paying for repairs, you, or your neighbor. When water damage is coming through the ceiling from another floor, things can get complicated. In Florida, there are laws that state that the complex is responsible for any damages that are unusual, unforeseeable, and unexpected (Is there a link or reference for this statement?).
If you are experiencing water damage from a leak in your ceiling caused by an upstairs apartment, those water damages can be considered unforeseeable. Nobody had the ability to know or predict that the apartment above would start leaking through the ceiling due to an issue in an upper apartment. Therefore, some of these damages do become the responsibility of the apartment complex or condominium association. However, there are some damages that a complex won’t cover.
Insurance in Florida
When you’re looking to own a condo in Florida, it’s good to know whether you can get insurance for your home in case of a leak, especially if you are going to have neighbors above you. The good news is that Florida does have insurance for water leaking into condos from other units and you can file a claim if these types of damages are to occur.
Coverage for Water Damage
There are insurance policies that provide coverage for water damage caused by a leak through your ceiling from an upstairs neighbor. Renters’ insurance will only cover damage done to personal property or the cost to move out temporarily. However, if you own the unit and have condo HO6 insurance, it offers coverage with a broader spectrum of the damages that they will cover. When experiencing water damage of any kind, including the damages experienced from a ceiling leak from upstairs.
It’s important to have insurance, but it is equally important to know what your policy covers. If you live on the bottom or middle floor of an apartment and you have people living above you, there’s no telling what can happen, so it’s always good to be prepared. Water damage can be devastating. If you don’t have a form of insurance outside of renter’s insurance, then the damages done to anything on the interior of the apartment won’t be covered.
Florida is an unpredictable place to live considering all the weather they experience and through the years, they’ve had to come up with more and more broad insurance policies as water damages are such a common occurrence. If you’re looking to live in a condo or apartment in Florida, it is detrimental to have insurance or as a renter renters’ insurance to ensure that if there’s ever a leak from upstairs or a flood, you’re covered and so are your belongings.
