Subsequent Damage When First Repairs Have Not Been Made

November 12, 2012

During the recent hurricane, our insured's home sustained damage to her roof. This damage has caused leaks to the interior of the home. She has a Form #3 AAIS policy. However, the company paid to have a new roof installed over a year ago, due to a hail storm that caused damage to the existing roof. The payment was issued to the insured and her mortgagee. The insured then made payment to a local contractor that never replaced the roof. Now that there is further damage, would the company be responsible to repay this claim? No temporary repairs have been done since the 1st claim and the company has never been notified of the circumstances until additional damage has occurred.

Pennsylvania Subscriber

The carrier owes only the difference between the new claim and the old claim since the damage was not repaired. The insured should have gone after the contractor for the funds or the new roof, and that may still be possible since it's only been one year.