I noticed some moisture under the kitchen mat, so I used a paper towel to wipe up the moisture and I noticed a mushroom growing between the bottom of the dishwasher and the tile where they butt up to each other. I called Mercury Insurance and they said a leak detector man will come out paid by them. He came from Menifee, which is over 80 miles from our house, and took the dishwasher apart and said the inlet valve is no good and it's dripping under my cabinets; the toe kick plate is damaged and I have water under the tile and I need a restoration company. He disconnected the dishwasher and said Mercury would send out their adjuster. He came out 2 days later and took pictures. He said several times they do not cover this usually, but he took my information about the mushroom and the wetness on the floor. Mercury sent a letter stating they will not cover this since it was going on for 30 to 60 days or more.
We called them and told them we just noticed the mushroom and the dishwasher has been working fine. They said that by law with every insurance company, you have to let them know within 7 days. We told them we just noticed, but the leak detection man they sent out first wrote on his report that we knew of this. I have had 3 other leak detection companies come to my home and they have all said no one would know this was going on because it is under the dishwasher and it's a slow leak that can not be seen. And unless you take the dishwasher apart, who would know it was happening? Also, the dishwasher worked fine.
We called American Home Shield since we have them for anything that breaks in our home and they sent a plumber out and he said no one would know that the inlet valve was rusted and leaking since it's under the dishwasher. Another inspector came out and he said the same thing: no one would have known since it was under the dishwasher. They set us up with their own people so they could tell us, "No, it's not covered." Meanwhile, this is going to cost us about $3000 to $4000 and I would not recommend Mercury Insurance to anyone. We have been with them since 1997 and we have our cars and our home in California with them. We found out they put a charge on my husband with an accident that was the other person's fault in 2007, which the other insurance company paid $809 for the bumper. Mercury Insurance put it down that my husband was the cause. Mercury Insurance is a nightmare: don't do business with them.
