Wall-to-Wall Carpet over Hardwood

December 28, 2015

I have a coverage question that has arisen with a partial loss house fire on an AAIS Form HO3. The home was an older dwelling that had hardwood floors original to the house that had been covered by wall-to-wall carpet. All hardwood flooring was ruined due to the water used to extinguish the fire. The insured is demanding that we lay new hardwood flooring throughout the house and install wall-to-wall carpet directly on top of the new hardwood flooring. At first glance, this seems ridiculous because we do not want to install two finish layers of flooring (not to mention the fact that we would be nailing tack strips into that new hardwood flooring to install the carpet). However, after some reflection, I understand the insured's point of view. The house would potentially have a lower value without hardwood flooring, and both flooring surfaces were in place immediately prior to the loss.