Crosstown Engineering CEO & Principal Engineer Adam Green, is a licensed structural engineer and as an independent insurance adjustor licensed in 10 states, he has mediated insurance claims for thousands of cases. Below, Adam outlines the most common examples homeowners have about warranty vs. insurance claims.
Slab Foundations
A classic example of warranty vs. insurance claims deals with slab foundations. Slab foundations are built to a certain specification and the contractor is required to warranty its performance (typically for the first 10 years depending on the state). This is part of the builder & home warranty. If the foundation becomes unfit for service because of poor workmanship, a claim should be made against the builder’s warranty.
Plumbing Leaks
In many cases, foundations are classified as ‘out of tolerance’ due to a plumbing leak. These cases are quite common and require thorough inspection to determine what type of claim must be made. For example, if the plumbing leak was the cause of the foundation damage, it would be a home insurance claim as home insurance insures the homeowner against a covered loss.
A storm, flood, accident within the house and even a plumbing leak would qualify as a home insurance claim because it is generally an incident that is out of control of the home builder.
Warranty vs. Insurance Claims
The difficulty in warranty vs. insurance claims lies in proving the cause of damage. In order to obtain an unbiased opinion, it is recommended to hire an independent forensic engineer to conduct the engineering inspections and report. This will allow the homeowner to uncover the exact cause of damage and file the appropriate claim for the responsible party.
If you have questions about warranty vs. insurance claims, or if you would like to speak to a licensed structural engineer, please contact Crosstown Engineering at today.
