Help me with insurance claim on rental

[Cory Kreitlow]

Hey there folks, I know this forum is mostly for financial insights, but just want to see if I can get advice for making an insurance claim if some of you have some experience doing that with your rental units.  I've never filed a claim before.

I have a rental property where there was a slow water leak coming from a hot water pipe that went to the washing machine. (not the actual washing machine connection).  It leaked into the wall and into the dirt crawlspace of the home.  It must have been leaking for a long time and the tenants never noticed.  The subfloor under the wall and into the bathroom is soft and presumed rotten.  I went into the crawlspace and it was extremely humid and I found a bunch of white mold growing on the floor joists along with rusty plumbing pipes from the humidity.  I shut the water off and got a dehumidifier.  I made an insurance claim with my insurer, Foremost, but haven't talked to an adjuster yet.

Is this something that I'll have and problems with getting covered?  I'll need extensive repairs and possible mold remediation.  I emailed a public adjuster but won't hear from them until Monday.  I just want to make sure all my ducks are in a row in order to not get screwed by the insurance company.  Any advice you could give me would be great. Thanks!

[Nathan Gesner]

The less you say, the better. As Steve pointed out, if it's a long-term issue then the insurance companies tend to be less willing to pay because they will claim you had the opportunity/responsibility for discovering the problem and fixing it before it got worse. Just report the minimum, let them look at it, and let them determine what happened and whether you are covered.