Chinese Drywall Boom of 2004-08 Causing Insurance Woes Now

Click link to read article: Insurers Dropping Policies for Homes with Chinese Drywall

This is insane and I'm sure is going to create some huge issues!

I wonder if there are any statistics at all on how many homes and condos in Florida this actually affects.

I know the article says that the Southeast, especially Florida, has a large concentration of these homes.

Have any associations belonging to any posters here been affected?

Michelle,

The good news about this (if there can be any) is that the builders did not know that the drywall was made this way. The huge guys down in Florida, and I hear that this material is installed as far away as California, are totally responsible for replacing the drywall. Can you imagine the hundreds of thousands of sheets that must be replaced. Lennar built my home in 2000 and they were top notch then. As with all greed that took place in the new home industry, all of these big time guys let things fall into slap them up as fast as possible and get materials from wherever catagory.

Having dealt with insurance down there, well, that is a story in itself. High premiums, just in case there is a hurricane, getting dropped because there were no storms but you might get one. Drop the premiums because you did not have a storm--this year only, paying high premiums for future storms, perhaps in Lousiana. No companies available so the State set up it's own. Premiums are now twice as high with less coverage and harder to get. Get my drift?

So now along comes drywall! Sheeze Who do we turn to?

I know, Donna.

On the one hand I can't imagine how much this is going to cost to "set right." So I can see where the insurance companies would be balking and trying to get out of having to pay for any of it.

And I don't think anyone knew, at the time, how hazardous the Chinese drywall was.

That being said, I can't imagine that many people, either individual homeowners or large condos, townhomes, etc, are prepared financially for having to remove and replace all this drywall!

I have to admit, I was leery of my own drywall, but given my home was built in the late 1990s, it's probably okay.

What a mess.