Hi all, Hoping somebody familiar with the way coops work can give me some insight here... I live in a coop and upstairs tenants' kitchen sink disconnected from the drain pipe so it drained all over their floor and into my ceiling. I've tried to deal with the big corporate landlord who owns said apartment directly for repairs, but after being given the run-around, I decided to just go through my... [more]
Hi all,
Hoping somebody familiar with the way coops work can give me some insight here...
I live in a coop and upstairs tenants' kitchen sink disconnected from the drain pipe so it drained all over their floor and into my ceiling. I've tried to deal with the big corporate landlord who owns said apartment directly for repairs, but after being given the run-around, I decided to just go through my insurance agency and let them try to get money out of upstairs landlord's insurance.
But when I called my insurance co, I was surprised to hear them tell me that they would have to investigate and if I could not prove that it was due to ongoing negligence by upstairs landlord, that MY insurance would have to pay for repairs, and I would have to pay my rather steep deductible and any future premium increases. This doesn't sound right to me, and I'm hoping it was an uninformed rep (who happened to be based in MA, where perhaps the laws are different), but why should it matter if it was negligence or a one-off accident – if my upstairs neighbor ruined my ceiling, regardless of the circumstances, why would my policy have to pay out?
Any insight into this is appreciated – if my insurance does have to pay, with my deductible, it still might make more sense for me to continue to fight with upstairs landlord directly rather than kick it over to insurance co.
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Response by Squid
about 9 years ago
Posts: 1399
Member since: Sep 2008
Have you spoken with the co-op's managing agent? They should be the one to intercede re the owner of the upstairs unit. It still may need to kick to your insurance company, though.
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Response by RealEstateNY
about 9 years ago
Posts: 772
Member since: Aug 2009
Ultimately you can always sue in small claims court for your financial losses.
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Response by hofo
about 9 years ago
Posts: 453
Member since: Sep 2008
Who is your insurance company, State Farm?
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Response by jelj13
about 9 years ago
Posts: 821
Member since: Sep 2011
Never heard of such a thing. We had a neighbor whose illegal summer sublet left the toilet overflowing all night while we were on vacation. The damage was extensive, affecting neighboring rooms.
State Farm came out and looked at the damages. I submitted the repair bills to them and they, in turn, went after the unit owner upstairs. There was no increase in my insurance rate.
I also contacted the managing agent who already had a full report on the issue. I had told him that this person was illegally subletting before I left on vacation and he did nothing about this. I also contacted the Board who put in new regulations to prevent the apartments from being used as short term rentals. They also went after the owner because the water penetrated apartments 2 floors below me.
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Response by kmbroker
about 9 years ago
Posts: 116
Member since: Jan 2008
I had a leak in my apartment (coop) from a renovation my upstairs neighbor was doing. We were both insured by Allstate. He said it was his fault and went to his insurance company, they said I had to go to my insurance company since the damage was in my apartment. I did this. They sent someone to look at the ceiling damage and sent me a check. Then they collected from the neighbors insurance. Seemed like taking money from left pocket to give to right pocket since it was the same company, however, I got my ceiling fixed and my premium did not go up.
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Response by alxbklyn
about 9 years ago
Posts: 4
Member since: Feb 2014
@Squid - managing agent and owner of upstairs unit are the same people, which makes it more complicated than it should be. I'm in one of those coops that are slowly converting to owner-occupied. Insurance is Amica. I'm going to call back tomorrow and speak with a different rep and hope I got an uninformed person the last time...
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Response by dan@digsrealtynyc.com
about 9 years ago
Posts: 114
Member since: May 2012
If there is negligence, it is always best to go through the neighbor’s policy first because, depending on the carrier, they may not subrogate. Your carrier will work with your neighbor’s carrier to figure out what happened, and then your neighbor’s carrier will pay you directly. Homeowner’s premiums do not increase after claims like they do after car insurance claims.
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Have you spoken with the co-op's managing agent? They should be the one to intercede re the owner of the upstairs unit. It still may need to kick to your insurance company, though.
Ultimately you can always sue in small claims court for your financial losses.
Who is your insurance company, State Farm?
Never heard of such a thing. We had a neighbor whose illegal summer sublet left the toilet overflowing all night while we were on vacation. The damage was extensive, affecting neighboring rooms.
State Farm came out and looked at the damages. I submitted the repair bills to them and they, in turn, went after the unit owner upstairs. There was no increase in my insurance rate.
I also contacted the managing agent who already had a full report on the issue. I had told him that this person was illegally subletting before I left on vacation and he did nothing about this. I also contacted the Board who put in new regulations to prevent the apartments from being used as short term rentals. They also went after the owner because the water penetrated apartments 2 floors below me.
I had a leak in my apartment (coop) from a renovation my upstairs neighbor was doing. We were both insured by Allstate. He said it was his fault and went to his insurance company, they said I had to go to my insurance company since the damage was in my apartment. I did this. They sent someone to look at the ceiling damage and sent me a check. Then they collected from the neighbors insurance. Seemed like taking money from left pocket to give to right pocket since it was the same company, however, I got my ceiling fixed and my premium did not go up.
@Squid - managing agent and owner of upstairs unit are the same people, which makes it more complicated than it should be. I'm in one of those coops that are slowly converting to owner-occupied. Insurance is Amica. I'm going to call back tomorrow and speak with a different rep and hope I got an uninformed person the last time...
If there is negligence, it is always best to go through the neighbor’s policy first because, depending on the carrier, they may not subrogate. Your carrier will work with your neighbor’s carrier to figure out what happened, and then your neighbor’s carrier will pay you directly. Homeowner’s premiums do not increase after claims like they do after car insurance claims.
Dan Gotlieb
Digs Realty Group
www.digsrealtynyc.com