How to find out the insurers of neighbor’s property

[Colin Stalley]

Hello,

This spring one of my townhouses got water damage on the east wall and floor. Plummer’s searched for a day and a half finding the leak coming from the adjoining property that I don’t own. $11,000.00 in damages. I filed a claim with State Farm whom had all my property at the time. they said it was a slow leak and would not cover it. I filled with the state insurance board who said I would probably win in court but nothing they could do. The neighbor is an elderly lady who might be slipping gears or just is not going to tell us who her insurance is. I talked with a lawyer he told me no judge would side with me against an elderly lady. I fine with not trying to get her to pay. So my questions become.

1) how do I find who has her insurance?

2) what other options do I have?

thank you for your help

[Patricia Steiner]

There is not a registry of homeowner's insurance. The only way to find out is to ask the property owner. And, slow leaks are generally excluded from homeowner's policies. That leaves few options: 1) share what you learned with the owner of the neighboring property and ask to be reimbursed; 2) file a small claims suit for damages to recoup at least part of your damages. If there is a HOA, the documents will disclose who is responsible for damages caused by one property to another and the remedy. Unfortunately, this may be one of those times when you have to chalk it up to the "joys of real estate ownership" - but if the leak damaged your property, it probably damaged the neighbor's property and mold may be the shared issued at some point. I think it's worth sending her a letter, suggesting she have her property checked, and provide you with her insurance information.