Can a prior claim that was paid out allow an insurance company to refuse to pay for damages occuring later?
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Can a prior claim that was paid out allow an insurance company to refuse to pay for damages occuring later?
I have a rental house that had some storm damage last year. The insurance company paid out on the claim, and said the damage wasn’t so bad as to need replacement, so I was waiting until my tenant moved out to do anything, but 6-8 months later a tornado came through and really tore up the roof. Now the insurance company says they will not pay out on the new claim. The original damage was mostly superficial, but the second storm was major. While I see both sides of the question, I wonder if it legally matters whether I replaced the roof, since even if I had it would still have been destroyed.
Asked on April 17, 2012 under Insurance Law, Texas
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
What you have are two different incidents under the presumed same policy with your insurance carrier. It is entirely possible that your insurance carrier can refuse to pay for damages to the roof of your rental taking the position that you did not repair the roof the first time and that the damages that you are making the claim the second time are the damages from the first event.
That is the problem that you are facing because you did not immediately repair the damages with the money paid from the first claim. Had you done so, you would have receipts and cancelled checks paid to the roofer who made the repairs.
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