My client notice water staining on his first floor ceiling. His home was a two story house. He is a building contractor and opened up the ceiling and found significant damage to the wood member and floor joists supporting the second story. All of this wood damage was hidden from sight before he opened up the ceiling.
He reported the claim to his homeowners carrier. The insurance carrier paid only $10,000 under a "mold and fungi" limitation endorsement. The amount of the damage is significantly more than $10,000. I believe that the damage is so significant that it should qualify under another coverage – collapse. Collapse is an often overlooked coverage that can often trump limitations such as we have in this case.
As with almost all of my insurance cases, my client doesn’t pay me anything. If I win, the insurance company has to pay my fees and costs, and if I lose, I’ll work for free.