Question:

Is my insurance liable or not?

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Back in the fall I called a profesional paint co. to get my vinyl sided house painted. they came out in the spring and said " Good news we have a new product that makes it so we can paint your vinyl any color you want". we chose a nice brown and they did an awesome job very profesional. we paid the $2000 and was pleased until this summer when the weather got hot like it does in eastern oregon and my vinyl siding started to melt off from my house. I contacted the painter and he looked at it and said "wow you must have had bad vinyl". He said I needed to contact my insurance co. as he felt he had no fault in this. I have before and after pics and in them they show the damages done with the new paint. my question is; is this something that I have to turn in to my insurance or is it more something I need to turn in to my lawer?

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6 ANSWERS


  1. Report it to your insurance company. They will send out an adjuster to make a determination as to who is at fault.

    If it's the painter's fault, they will contact the painter and get his insurance information. Also, they will contact the paint company for their product liability insurance.

    Keep the photos because your adjuster will need them.

    If it's not the painter's fault, your insurance should pay for the repairs.( If it is determined that the heat would have done the damage without the paint)

    But, with knowing that vinyl is supposed to withstand all weather and temperature, I would say that the chemicals in the paint melted the siding.

    How old is the vinyl? If you originally had it installed, it might have a lifetime warranty. But it may not be in effect now, since you had the siding altered.


  2. It's the paint and the painter.  The insurance company wouldn't cover something along those lines.  The damage wasn't done by fire, wind, hail, etc.. It was done by being painted.

    http://www.askthebuilder.com/427_Paintin...

  3. Most likely your homeowners insurance will not cover this. Homeowers insurance policies do not cover manufacture defect (which is what the paint company is saying it is) or product liability (which is what it would be considered if the paint company application is the problem).  Most likely, this is a situation to be turned into the insurance company for the paint company. They should have a product liabiltiy policy. Or, under any warrenty for the paint product issued by the manufaturer.

    You can notify your homeowner company- but I doubt they would cover this (based on the info you have provided).

  4. Vinyl siding is made to be installed loosely. That is so each "run" of siding can move freely as the temp changes, expanding and contracting. It is very likely that when it was painted , the paint "glued" all the pieces together. This would cause the siding to buckle in the hot summer months due to the fact that it cannot expand. Poor installation ( installing siding to tight) would also cause this. If this 'buckeling' has not happened in previous years then I would say it was installed correct and lean toward laying the blame on the paint. I live in the southern states where temps reach 100* or better and I have never heard of "Bad:" siding, and definitely never heard of it melting .

  5. This would not be covered under your Homeowner's policy. The loss occurred not because of the heat (if it's hot enough to melt normal vinyl siding then it would be hot enough to kill every living thing in the area, and I doubt this happened since you're alive to write about it), but because either the vinyl was defective, the coating was defective or the coating was applied improperly or to something that should not have been applied to. The cost to make good faulty material or workmanship is always excluded under any property policy.

    Saying that it might be possible that the insurer can pay for the repairs and then sue whoever is actually is responsible for the damages. However in this case it is not apparent what caused the vinyl to melt, therefore they might have a tough time proving their case in court, which means they would be more inclined to deny the claim based on what I said earlier. You can try filing the claim, however I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. I would recommend calling the company who installed the siding, or a siding contractor, and get their opinion on why the siding melted.

  6. Your Home Owners insurance may or may not cover it.  You should file a claim with them any way.

    By the way, I bet the damage is worst on the side of the house that gets the most and brightest sun light. right?

    Here's the real deal. =>  

    1. the vinyl siding probably said don't paint it. and, you painted it.  If there is no Product warning about painting the vinyl siding from the manufacturer,  there may be a product liability on the original manufacturers product.

    2.  The Painter who performed the job is probably liable, and the manufacturer of the paint definately is.  I suspect the paint has chemicals in it to soften the vinyl surface and allow it to stick.  Those chemicals probably reacted with the siding, weakening it, and the brown color made the siding absorb a lot more heat from the sun, making it even worse.

    I would consult an attorney immediately.  The insurance will probably not want to help, and the contractor certainly will not.  You have a very expensive repair bill looming in your immediate future, and you are going to need help.  A good lawyer is the best place to start.

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