We purchased a home and found out there was hail damage that we didn’t know about. After we purchased we contacted our insurance company and they said we have to contact the previous owner as the damage occurred during their ownership. They said no. What recourse do we have?
How Does Home Insurance Treat Hail Damage That Occurred When A Previous Owner Lived There?
22 POINTSview profileDan BeukelmanCSR, American Family Insurance,Most states require that disclosure forms be filled out by the seller, indicating any damage that happened to the property while they owned it. If your state requires such a disclosure, you have legal recourse against the seller for fraudlently filling out the disclosure. If the damage happened in the last year, while the previous owner owned the home, you can probably still have them go back to the insurance they had at the time and file a claim. It's not unheard of. If it's been over a year your only recourse would likely be small claims court of a lawsuit. If a realtor helped you buy the home, it might be worth discussing this with them as, if you have a disclosure they can probably help make it clear to the seller that they should not have lied on the disclosure.Answered on March 4, 2014flag this answer
910 POINTSview profileKen BoncelaAgeny Owner, Farmers Insurance, Ken Boncela Insurance & Financial Services, Oswego, lllinoisCovered homeowners claims are those occurring during the policy term. The responsible insurer would be that which was in place at the time the damage occurred. If the seller does not want to cooperate and simply report the loss to his insurer at the time, it becomes time to call an attorney.Answered on March 4, 2014flag this answer
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