AboutJay K. Williams, AAI, AIP, CIC, CRM Expertise I can answer questions relating to the following coverages: personal auto; homeowners; commercial auto; commercial liability; commercial property; business income and all other property and casualty coverages.
Experience I have been in the insurance industry in Florida since 1979. I am currently the president of a Florida domestic insurance company subsidiary. I've taught continuing education classes in Florida and across the country. I am quite familiar with all coverages including Florida Condominium master policies and unit owner policies. I also specialize in agent professional liability. I have been a professional educator since 2001.
Organizations I am a member of the Florida Associaion of Insurance Agents, the state affiliate of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.
Education/Credentials I currently carry the following professional designations:
Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI)
Associate in Insurance Production (AIP)
Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC)
Certified Risk Manager (CRM)
Question Hi,
I own a condominium in Washington state. Recently I discoverd that the protective wall inside the shower/tub area is slowly separating from the drywall. I had a plumber out to see if there were any leak issues and he said "no, this often happens after about 25 years." The condominium complex was built in 1981. He did a scope inspection for leaks and found none.
Our condominium association was planning on paying for it until the property management company said that it is my responsibility.
Our condo documents state that the association pays for anything related to supporting walls but not for non supporting walls. I live in a basement unit. It seems to me that,at the very least, the common side of the shower that is adjacent to the next unit is a supporting wall. I would also argue that, being a basement unit, many of the walls are, in fact, supporting walls.
Thw shower marble like material is there for protecting that supporting or non supporting wall; not for my pleasure...I did not put a new wall in or change the original wall at all. It is there for one reason..to protect the drywall.
What are you thoughts?
Thank you,
Roger
Answer Hi Roger,
I'm sorry to hear about your issue.
Unfortunately, what you are experiencing is a "wear and tear" issue. Those are always excluded in the typical insurance policy. Both your unit owner and the master policy will exclude this type of loss.
When that occurs, you need to look to your condo documents for direction. Those tell who is responsible for maintenance issues. In most cases, the condo docs will make the unit owner responsible for these issues.
I do recommend that you get a copy of those docs. As a unit owner, if you don't already have them, you are certainly entitled to them. Look through them to determine what they say.
I wish I had better news for you on this issue. Best of luck to you. Let me know if you have additional questions.
