When your home sustains damage from nature, an accident or vandalism, your immediate reaction is likely to file a claim with your insurance company. If you neglect to read your policy at the time of signing, though, you might be unaware of how exactly your insurer will handle the claim.
Many Florida insurance policies include a “right to repair” clause. As a homeowner, it is important for you to know about the right to repair and how insurance law can help you if issues arise when insurers execute that right.
What is the right to repair?
The right to repair is a provision that you might find in your homeowner’s insurance policy. This right enables your insurer to respond to a claim by hiring a contractor of their choice to repair damages, rather than paying a monetary settlement to you as the insured.
What issues can the right to repair cause?
When an insurance company invokes its right to repair, you lose control over who will work on your damaged home and the nature of the repair. In an effort to protect their own finances, insurers might settle for a shabbier job than what you would opt for.
In many cases, an insurance provider may choose not to execute its right to repair. Doing so opens the door to additional negotiations and potential construction defect lawsuits that the company would rather avoid. Even so, the potential issues are worth considering before signing a policy with a right to repair clause.