When Does Your Insurance Cover a Flood?

7/18/2022 (Permalink)

When Is a Flood Covered by Your Insurance?

Experiencing a disaster at home can be devastating. Flooding is one of the most common and damaging incidents that Elmwood, RI, homeowners encounter. There are some cases where your homeowner's insurance will cover the damage of a basement flood and other water damage. Other situations require that you turn to secondary flood insurance to file a claim.

What Your Homeowner's Insurance Covers
You purchase homeowner's insurance to help you when accidental damage occurs in your home and on your property. This applies to a flooded house as well. If there is sudden, unintentional water damage, your insurance should step in and help with repair and replacement costs. Some examples include:

• A broken pipe
• A failed appliance such as a dishwasher or water heater that expels water onto the floor or walls
• A leaky roof that lets rainwater into the attic
  
  

What Your Homeowner's Policy Doesn't Cover

Traditional insurance coverage won't take care of all your water damage. If you fail to properly maintain appliances and other systems in the home, the insurance company won't likely pay to repair the damage. If you intentionally cause flooding on your property, it will void any insurance protection, and you may face legal issues. Also, your policy won't cover the cause of the water damage, just the results. For instance, if your refrigerator breaks and leaks water down the wall, ruining the drywall, your insurance will pay to replace the wall but not the fridge.

When To Get Flood Insurance

You can get supplemental flood coverage to take care of water damage from issues such as sewer backups or main water line breaks. If you live in an area where a basement flood would be common because of severe storms or overflowing rivers or canals, you should consider purchasing flood insurance.
When you've got a basement flood or other damage, it's nice to know you can call a professional flood remediation team. You should also be prepared with adequate insurance to help cover the cleanup and replacement costs.