Does Insurance Cover Water Damage?
The topic of
insurance and water
damage is a touchy one. Some are convinced that homeowners’ policies cover
this type of problem, while others say “Don’t count on it”. The answer lies somewhere between the two. We
will try to break it down.
Basically,
if there is any way that it can be proven that the water damage was the result
of negligence on your part as the property owner, then your claim will most
likely be denied. This means that if you
have water damage due to burst pipes, the
question will become, “did you perform proper maintenance and regular
inspection to make sure the pipes were in good working order?”
The good
news is that the damage to the home as a result of the burst pipes may in fact
be covered. Does this make sense?
No? Well, it doesn’t to us
either, but this seems to be the way the rules are written in most areas.
Washing
machines are the cause of 50% of all water damage restoration
issues, usually due to a leaky supply hose.
Insurance will examine the age of the machine, the last time the hose
was replaced, amount of wear and tear…in many cases you will end up making
payment for repairs out of your pocket.
You may also
be surprised to learn that storm and flood damage
is not covered in most homeowners’ policies. So if your roof gets ripped off
during a typhoon, you’re on the hook. The good news is that in many areas,
coverage for this sort of disaster is available; either through private
insurance or the United States Government…the bad news is that they tend to
have fairly steep deductibles. In
coastal areas that are susceptible to this sort of damage, flood insurance may
be mandatory, if you are to have any flood cleanup
work to be done.
Your best
move would be to act now, while everything is dry and the skies are clear. Sit
down with your insurance provider and talk water, specifically water damage repairs.
Find out for certain what is covered and what isn’t, and add coverage that is
available and that you deem necessary. Doing so now will spare you numerous
headaches when disaster does finally strike.
It is this
careful planning that can save a lot of headache, time and expense when the basement floods,
so that unnecessary energy isn’t channeled in a direction that would be
counterproductive to completing the important task of water restoration.
