Construction Defect Claims

We’ve come across dozens of policyholders in New York who have issues with their buildings developer over construction defects.

These defects often relate to water leaks from roofs, windows, balconies, etc.

Usually the developer is responsible for building repairs for a certain period of time after the property sale.

We often get the call after water has been leaking for a few months and the developer has long interest in ameliorating the issue.

If you find you’re self in the situation, there are a few things to know.

In a condo building, You’re dealing with two policies and therefore two claims.

The first policy and claim is related to the building. The bad news is that if you file a claim, it will get denied.

There are exclusions for construction defects in your policy.

In this case, you’ll need to file a third party claim with the developers insurer and take it from there. People after hire attorneys to assist with this process. A public adjuster cannot help here because we can only assist with first party claims. Eg the homeowner or busimess owner.

On the other hand, you have each individual unit and the claim for each unit through their own individual insurer.

Condo policies will include water damage due to roof or other above ground building leaks that occur on a sudden and accidental basis.

Ion other words, you need to report the damage ASAP to your insurer, and you need to take appropriate measures to mitigate the problem.

If you wait for months, your insurer could deny your claim because they’ll argue that the damage is due to an ongoing issue that is not sudden and accidental in nature.