I am a Public Adjuster handling a water damage claim in a co-op apartment building. The water caused damage to multiple apartments in the building. A mitigation company was brought in to demo and dry out where necessary. My question is this:
To get to the damaged walls which are wet the kitchen cabinets have to be removed. The cabinets are a betterment installed by the unit owner who unfortunately does not have Insurance. I am stating that to get to the damaged walls which are part of the building, we should be covered under the building's policy to remove and reinstall the cabinets. The building's policy would not cover any damage to the cabinets caused by the water. Also removing and storage of the contents to facilitate the mitigation and building repairs would that be covered under the building's policy also.
New York Subscriber
The commercial property coverage should apply to removing and reinstalling the cabinets, as that is part of the repair process from the covered water damage loss.
If the cabinets are damaged during the repair process then that damage would fall under the CGL property damage coverage. However, the exclusions for Damage to "your product" and damage to "your work" would likely preclude coverage for the damage.
It should be noted that even if the apartment owner had insurance, it would not cover damage done by the apartment building owner, as that would not be a covered cause of loss under the property coverage for the improvements and betterments.
If the cabinets or contents are damaged during the repair process, the insured will need to cover those repairs or replacement on their own, without the aid of insurance. Otherwise, the apartment owner can sue for damage as the insured is liable for damages for their work.