Best way to enusure my homeowner's insurance co. fixes all damage to my home after a waterheater leak?

Question

My water heater leaked throughout the first floor of my home while on vacation. They're not willing to tear down drywall to "truly" assess damage/mold. They partially tore up my laminate floor...2/3rds of it. They broke half of the borders around different walls. Water was leaking out of my front door it's now partially warped and they're not willing to replace that of the garage door entryway which both had water coming out of it. Do I need to get building/health inspectors involved prior to a contractor trying to fix it to ensure the house is repaired in accordance with local and State building and health codes?

Answer 1

Well, the bottom line is, you need to have your agent working with you for your claim.

However, unless you bought "building ordinance and law" coverage, the insurance company does NOT bring your house up to code!  It wasn't up to code before the loss - you get what IS, not what SHOULD BE.  The increased cost to bring your building up to code, is YOUR pocket, not the insurance company's.

I'd agree, they don't need to tear down drywall, "just in case" there might be damage.  If you tear it down and find covered damage, then they'll pay to replace the drywall.  If not, you just vandalized your house.  

Get those building inspectors involved at your own risk - again, the insurance company likely isn't responsible for the code bit, or improvement.  And mold damage is probably excluded under your homeowners policy.  But that won't stop the inspectors from demanding that YOU spend thousands, to remediate, and keeping you from living there in the meantime.

Work with your agent on this.  That's what your agent DOES.

Answer 2

No but you will need a permit for this work to be done and then once it is done an inspector comes out them and issues a C/O. But the insurance company will do everything to insure proper fixes