Our roof is leaking - help we need a miracle worker

Most days we receive calls for help with insurance claims. That is what we do and we do it well.  Our clients expect us to work miracles and we often do. But, we cannot produce coverage where coverage does not exist.
 
We recently inspected a home with water damage to the ceilings, walls and floors which were continuous throughout their home. There were also some damaged personal belongings in two adjacent rooms.  The homeowners said that during a few days of heavy rains, their roof began leaking and the ceiling in one of the rooms had fallen down.  They called their insurance company to file a claim and a company representative told them they were not covered for a roof leak and asked them if they still wanted to file the claim.  
 
Unsure of what to do, they decided to hold off and contacted us for assistance.  We reviewed their policy and this tricky language was as clear as day to us, “Windstorm or Hail. This peril does not include loss to the property contained in a building caused by rain, snow, sleet, sand or dust unless the direct force of wind or hail damages the building causing an opening in a roof or wall and the rain, snow, sleet sand or dust enters through this opening”.
 
However, in this particular policy, the language was not referring to the actual building damage caused by a roof leak, but was listed under the Personal Property section and referred to the damages to their personal belongings which were not covered due to this excluded language. 
 
Luckily for this family, they are covered for the building damage. However, many insurance policies today do not cover water intrusion from a roof leak and use the same language above to exclude building damage from their policies.
 
Thought for the day … It is important to know what is in your insurance policy and what is not. We have extensive knowledge of insurance policies and offer comprehensive insurance policy reviews which is invaluable if you have ever had an insurance claim and found yourself with no coverage.