The Double-Wide Two Step: What to expect when one half of a multi-section home is destroyed

By Kurt Kelley of Mobile Insurance in Texas

When one section of a manufactured home is destroyed, the question becomes -"What is the extent of this loss? Half the home or the whole home?" The destruction of one-half of a multi-section home can be more traumatic to the home's owner than the destruction of the whole thing.

Today, in most circumstances, manufacturers refuse to build a replacement section. Manufacturers report that if they rebuild one section of the home it will not match the remaining section(s) like it would have if built at the same time. Carpet colors, paints, etc. can vary slightly and create product quality and image concerns. Furthermore, sections may not match-up at the marriage line accurately.  Nevertheless, the retailers that own a home which has had one section destroyed, and their respective insurance companies, only want to pay to replace half the home, not the whole thing. To make things more interesting, many manufactured home physical damage policies only offer to pay for the physical damage to the home.

Thus, if an insurance company pays to replace a destroyed section, the insurance company may have technically satisfied its policy obligations, whether or not the home owner can actually replace just one section of the home. This leaves the home's owner with a large uninsured loss. In the battles over the years between insurance companies and manufacturers on whether to build a replacement section to home, both have prevailed. To protect yourself from a large uninsured loss, make sure your insurance policy has specific language in it stating that if one section of a home cannot be rebuilt, then the home will be considered a total loss.

Furthermore, you should demand that all hired transporters carry a "cargo insurance policy" that includes a "pair and set" or "multi-section" clause.  If you do these things, you may not limit your time on the dance floor doing the double-wide two-step, but at least you know you will have a chair when the music stops.

(For a copy of a model Transporter/Installer agreement, visit www.MobileAgency.com  and go to the forms section).

Contact Kurt at 281-367-9266 or email Kurt@mobileagency.com