How to claim water damages from your insurance company due to exceptional weather conditions.
In total, the rain that fell in our region last winter caused damage for an estimated amount of more than several million euros, and generated an avalanche of insurance claims mostly for infiltrations and humidity in homes. This is confirmed by the data from the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros, which since Christmas has received more than two thousand cases of damage to properties.
The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (in short, CCS), is an organization under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, that is responsible for covering those insured with private companies when the causes of the incident are a matter of extraordinary weather such as floods, rainfall in excess of 40 litres per square metre per hour (which occurred on many occasions last winter) or winds with an average speed of more than 90Km/h or earthquakes.
Ask your trusted Spanish lawyer for advice if you need help in filing the claim. Most insurance policies allow clients to use their own lawyers.
What is the procedure?
The first thing to have is a well-defined insurance policy that will clearly specify the covered risks and compensation, both for the property structure and the property contents.
From whom should you claim?
If the water infiltrates the property from bottom to top (for example from the street or from the garages into the house) you will have to address the claim to the CCS. If the water infiltrates the property from top to bottom (for example from the roof or terraces) you will have to claim compensation from your insurance company.
If the water infiltrations are caused by the neighbours, you can file the claim with your insurance company and they will contact the neighbours. If the neighbours do not allow the surveyor access to their property, you can make your claim in court.
Take into account that if the water penetrates the house through doors or windows that are not properly closed (or with defective seals) the insurance companies will not compensate for any damage nor will compensation be given if there are construction defects or where the building is not properly maintained.
How to proceed?
In the case of CCS claims, a special form has to be requested from your insurance company, an insurance payment receipt and the insurance policy have to be provided. The declaration will have to be done within seven days from the ascertainment of the damage, by sending the documents by fax to the local CCS office.
It is important to keep all the items that have been damaged or deteriorated until the arrival of the insurance company assessor. If you should have to throw any objects away before the assessor arrives, then you should document everything in an inventory and take photographs to prove their existence and the extent of damage.
The CCS assessor may take several days or even weeks to come and inspect the damage after receiving the claim. If you do not have clear evidence of the damaged objects then the compensation will be proportionately reduced. Remember that CCS covers vehicles, even if you only have 3rd-party insurance.
If you have to claim from your own insurance company the damage has to be reported within seven days from the ascertainment, and the same procedures have to be followed as for the CCS claim, ensuring that a proper inventory and photographic documentation of perished objects is included.
Very important: if the compensation payment is delayed beyond 40 days, you have the right to ask for interest for late payment (see Insurance Contract Act of 1980).
In many cases the amount the insurance company offers to pay is much lower than the claim; in this case it will be necessary to seek legal advice in order to file a claim in court. Your lawyer will be able to arrange for a report from a surveyor and take care of the necessary procedures for a successful claim in a legal process.