Article Courtesy of
A CONDO LAW FIRM FOR CONSUMERS
By
Herb M. Milgrim, Esq.
Published October 26, 2016
As a Florida Condo Lawyer with
offices near Miami, South Beach, Sunny Isles, Aventura and Fort Lauderdale,
I get hundreds of calls from condo owners that have suffered some type of
damage due to toxic mold and water intrusion from the condominium common
elements like the roof and plumbing as well as damage from other units.
Most people think that the
Condominium Association Insurance
will cover all of their damage. While it is true that Florida Condominium
Associations are responsible for maintaining the common elements and are
required to provide insurance for the building, most Condominium Insurance
Policies have mold exclusions or have very limited coverage for damage due
to mold. In addition, most people don’t know that Florida Condominium
Owners are required to have insurance on their own units. Section
718.111
of the Florida Condominium Act sets forth the insurance requirements for
Condominium Association and for the Individual Condo Owners. Typically the
Association is responsible from the drywall out and the individual unit
owner is responsible from the paint inward. That means, if a common pipe
bursts without any warning and all of your furniture and personal property
gets damaged, you won’t be able to recover unless you have insurance on
your condominium unit or unless you can prove negligence on the part of the
condominium association or some other party. The standard insurance policy
that individuals usually obtain for their condominium unit is what is called
an “HO6” Policy. This policy provides coverage for the
Dwelling
and for the Personal
Property
or contents of the unit. The difference between the two coverages is best
explained by the following: imagine if you could turn your condominium unit
upside down… everything that does not fall downward would be considered part
of the Dwelling and everything else would be considered Personal Property.
Some individual Condominium Insurance Policies also provide coverage for
Mold and for Loss of Use. If the water or mold damage is so severe that the
unit is not livable then the Loss of Use portion can provide benefits for
you to obtain temporary housing somewhere else. The Mold coverage is
usually significantly less than the coverage for the Dwelling or even the
Personal Property. Many Insurance Adjusters dealing with condo owners will
try and take advantage of this and blame the entire loss on the mold and
thereby attempt to limit the amount they ultimately pay out to their own
insureds.
In cases
where the Condominium Association’s Insurance Carrier is involved, they
typically send out Inspectors and other Experts to go in and view the
damage. In past experiences we have seen these Inspectors hired by
Association Insurance intent on looking to blame the cause of the water
intrusion or mold damage on something that the Unit Owner is responsible
for maintaining; like the Air Conditioning or the Windows. Moreover, these
Inspectors rarely share their findings with the Unit Owners. Therefore,
it is important for Unit Owners to hire their own experts to go in and
assess the damage and obtain the evidence necessary to confirm that the
cause of the water intrusion was due to a failure to maintain the common
elements by the Association.
An experienced Florida Condo
Attorney that represents the individual Condo Owners will know what experts
to bring in to prove the loss is due to a failure to maintain the common
elements. In addition, he will know the arguments to make to show that the
original cause of the loss was due to water intrusion and will argue in
favor of the greater coverages for the dwelling and personal property.
The Law Offices of Herb M. Milgrim,
P.A., is
one of the only Florida Condo Law Firms that
does not represent the Associations.
We will guide you through the process step by step and coordinate with the
various experts and inspectors to make sure that your interests are
protected.
We
represent individual unit owners (Condo Owners, Homeowners and Cooperative
Owners) that have disputes or are contemplating Litigation or a Lawsuit
against their Association or another owner. We provide prospective clients
with a *Free
Case Evaluation.
You can call us and tell us about your case to see if we can help you. Once
we have been retained we review all of the relevant documents and governing
Florida Laws and advise our clients on the best course of action. Call
us now (954) 966-3909!
If you have water or mold damage in your condominium, townhouse or
cooperative in Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Sunny Isles, Downtown Miami,
South Beach, Aventura, Davie, Dania Beach, Cooper City, Pembroke Pines,
Tamarac, Coral Springs, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Naples or anywhere in
Florida be sure to contact us for a free case evaluation.
* FREE
CASE EVALUATION IS BY TELEPHONE AND DOES NOT INCLUDE LEGAL ADVICE. OFFICE
CONSULTS WITH LEGAL ADVICE ARE AVAILABLE ON A FLAT FEE BASIS.
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