A La Jolla woman says repairs to her home are at a standstill after her homeowner’s insurance and HOA couldn’t agree on who should pay the bill.
“Where you see that pipe coming up, it leaked down into the garage and into the walls,” Susan Krause said.
A leaky pipe behind Susan’s refrigerator led to extensive damage inside and outsider her La Jolla condominium.
“The whole ceiling, all beneath the refrigerator had to be cut out because of the moisture,” Susan said.
The estimate for repairs was over $11,000. Workers tore out drywall along with stone tiles and moved her fridge but after that, repairs came to a halt.
Susan said she expected her homeowners insurance from USAA to pay for the damage inside her kitchen and her HOA’s insurance to fix the ceiling in her garage. But she said USAA told her it was her HOA that should pay for it all.
Susan said her HOA told her that her USAA private insurance is responsible for damage inside her unit as well as the damage in the garage, since it originated from inside her unit. Susan said USAA wouldn’t budge.
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“I don’t want to have to take out a loan to pay for what I’ve already paid for,” Susan said.
Susan said she pays her insurance premiums on-time and doesn’t know what she could have done differently. So she turned to NBC 7 Responds for help.
“I want my house fixed, at the end of the day I just want my house fixed,” Susan said.
After NBC 7 Responds contacted USAA officials, asking them to re-evaluate Susan’s claim, USAA contacted Susan the next to apologize and begin the repairs. Within a week, work crews were sent to her home to start fixing the problem.
“They have been nothing but accommodating at this point,” Susan said when we returned to her home one week later.
USAA agreed to cover the costs and fix both Susan’s kitchen and her garage ceiling. In an email, a spokesperson for USAA told us, "We worked closely with our members through every step of the claims process, and have resolved this matter to the satisfaction of both USAA and our member."
