Insurance on home provides backup

Patti Mangano, as a further explanation regarding the wall letter ( “Why bother homeowners for damage,” Sun City Independent, Aug. 17, 2022), I am a retired 35-year insurance agent.

You are correct that the insurance on the vehicle should pay for all damages to the wall. However, what if the car was stolen or there was no valid insurance in force at the time of the accident? Let’s assume there is valid insurance and it covers the driver. Not likely, but there could be a long delay from the auto insurance company in their investigation. The homeowner policy can then be a fall-back protection.

The property owner has the opportunity to file a claim with their homeowner policy to pay for the damage and get the wall repaired faster. The bad news is there is a deductible involved. The owner of the homeowner policy could receive their deductible back when their insurance company collects for the damages from the guilty party. That is what I was referring to when I used those words. Sure, one would expect the auto insurance to cover any damages and that happens in nearly all cases.

You also mentioned, “So why bother (the homeowner or) Sun City Home Owner Association for paying?” Here is where you are slightly mistaken since SCHOA has no responsibility, at all, in repairing any wall in Sun City, for any reason. That responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the homeowner since they own the wall. No, not even if a tree falls on the wall, SCHOA still has no responsibility in the repair.

This is what we were trying to get over to everyone who has a wall behind their property. The wall is owned by the homeowner who has totally responsibility for any damages or upkeep.

For the benefit of the community, SCHOA Foundation has decided, with the help of donations, to repaint only the outside of the common walls every 10-15 years to keep the appearance of Sun City looking great. They were last painted about 3-4 years ago. If anyone would like to contribute to the wall fund, please send your donations to SCHOA Foundation, 10401 W Coggins Drive, Sun City, AZ 85351. Please designate the donation is for the “Wall Fund.” We are holding all wall funds in a separate account for future use in repainting the common walls. Lloyd Maple