Condo Q&A

Sinking condo building leaves damage in unit. Does insurance cover it?

Written by stephen polinsky | Wed, Feb 16, 2011 @ 12:21 PM

Maryland condo - 25+ years old. I live in a corner unit, top floor of a brick building that has been sinking for years. It has sunk approx. 3 inches and as a result, there is now a 3 inch gap between my bedroom closet walls and the ceiling. large gaps are developing in other areas as well. I know that home owners insurance doesn't cover normal settling but this is not normal. Is this something that should be covered by the condo master policy? If so, how would I go about getting the issue resolved? Would I report it to my insurance company & have them go after the condo insurance the way they would if I was involved in an auto accident that wasn't my fault? Additionally, it is my understanding that the interior doorways were built without proper headers, even on load bearing walls. As a result (or as a result of the building sinking), there are diagonal cracks from the corners of the doorways that have to be patched over and over again. Shouldn't this be the responsibility of the master policy as well? I'd greatly appreciate any advice.