{"id":900087,"date":"2022-06-28T16:03:40","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T22:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=900087"},"modified":"2022-06-28T16:04:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T22:04:28","slug":"cast-iron-drainpipes-florida-insurance-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/cast-iron-drainpipes-florida-insurance-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Cast Iron Drainpipes Latest Target in Florida Claims. But They Can Be Defended."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

William Rabb | Insurance Journal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decade ago, it was questionable sinkhole damages that proliferated in Florida property insurance claims. More recently, \u201cfree roof\u201d solicitations, roof claims and thousands of lawsuits have rattled the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now comes cast iron drainpipes, common in homes built before 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pipe systems have become targets for some of Florida\u2019s largest plaintiffs\u2019 law firms, according to insurance attorneys, adjusters and engineers. It\u2019s possible the pipes could lead to many more claims and suits in coming years, after Florida lawmakers took action designed to reduce roof claims and litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing patterns. Patterns in property claims,\u201d said Cassandra Hand-Gallegos, adjuster and CEO with CCMS & Associates in Dunedin, Florida, who spoke last week at the Florida Defense Lawyers Association claims conference in Orlando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest issue is not what\u2019s going on inside the pipes, but what\u2019s going on with the insurance claims industry,\u201d said David Grindley, a forensic structural engineer who also spoke at the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One recent television advertisement from Orlando-based Morgan & Morgan, which calls itself America\u2019s largest injury law firm, for example, flashes large amounts of cash that may be available to homeowners whose dwellings are more than 45 years old and which may have sewage drainage problems. Replacing the drain pipes in a home can cost $20,000 to $100,000, the Morgan & Morgan website notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another claimants\u2019 law firm, Florin Roebig of West Palm Beach, reports that some 76 million U.S. homes have cast iron pipes, \u201can alarming amount\u201d of which are experiencing problems. This risk is high in Florida, with its high humidity and salt-rich soil, the firm\u2019s website said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grindley and Hand-Gallegos said that many of those assertions are exaggerated. Cast iron pipes don\u2019t often need full replacement, and there are ways to defeat erroneous or spurious pipe claims and litigation, they argue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCast iron in many ways is superior to other types of material,\u201d Grindley said. \u201cThe pipes are very rigid. They\u2019re strong, and they don\u2019t break if you hit them with a shovel when you\u2019re digging in the back yard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many homes, the pipes have been in use for more than a century. But they can rust to some degree and may develop deposits on the inside that can constrict the flow of drain water, something that a growing number of claims have attempted to capitalize on, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grindley said many insurance claims start with a clogged kitchen sink. In a number of cases his firm has investigated, the homeowners, the public adjusters or plumbing contractors have claimed that mold and mildew under sinks is the result of backed-up cast iron pipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More likely, he said, the growth is from years of leaks in plastic sink drains or supply lines, or from seepage around the edge of the basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to tell if the blockage is in the main drain pipe beneath the house or underneath the sink is to see where the overflow began. A backed-up main drain line will force water up through the lowest opening first, Grindley explained. If the sink, 36 inches above the floor, is overflowing \u2013 but the floor-level shower drain is not \u2013 it means the sink drain is clogged, not the drain lines for the whole house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that reason, it\u2019s important for insurance adjusters to quiz homeowners, when possible, on where and when the backup was spotted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlways ask: Where was the claimant at the time of the overflow? Where were they standing? in the kitchen? In the bathroom?\u201d Grindley said. \u201cIf they say, \u2018the kitchen,\u2019 then, we\u2019re skeptical that it\u2019s the main drain line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another rule of thumb: Household drain lines don\u2019t hold that much water. If the entire house is flooded, it\u2019s probably the result of a supply line or an outside source of water \u2013 not a clogged drain pipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many homeowner policies exclude water-pipe losses altogether. Others exclude damage due to gradual leaks. Despite the use of those endorsements, though, non-weather water claims and litigation appear to be on the rise in Florida and have resulted in a number of appeals court rulings<\/a> in recent years \u2013 some for insurers, some against. The exact wording of the policy endorsement<\/a> is often at issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To investigate and defend cast-iron pipe claims, Grindley and Hand-Gallegos offered several other rules that insurance companies and their adjusters and experts should follow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n