Does insurance pay for legal help?

[Account Closed]

My condo was flooded by the upstairs condo on January 8th. Thank you polar vortex. The condo association insurance eventually took over, long story, and it took 3.5 months to repair everything. I gave the tenant a $500/month break for 4 months. She recently sent a scathing letter from her attorney, actually just a draft, and demanded all the rent back from the 4 months, or else. I hired an attorney to answer to hers. That's where it stands now. I was just wondering if I should bring this up to my insurance or would it cause my insurance to go up? I don't know if they'd help pay for any of the legal fees or not. Thus far they're not real expensive.

[Tom V.]

Insurance sometimes covers lost rent in the event your tenant had to move out. Depending on how much your tenant is paying it might be cheaper to pay them the rent back rather than hire a lawyer. Think long term and get the problem corrected. Any tenant who is sending you lawyer letters is not a good long term partner. Did your tenant agree in writing to the rent reduction? Without something on paper, the lawyer could harass you on this for some time.