Will Insurance Cover Home Water Damage?

12/12/2019 (Permalink)

Your homeowner’s policy will generally cover your damage as long as it isn’t due to floodwaters entering your home at ground level

Will Insurance Cover Home Water Damage?

When you experience a home flood, your life changes for a while as you focus on the cleanup. At some point, you will want to confirm whether or not your insurance will cover your damage. This discussion may give you an idea of what to expect. Home water damage is divided into two types of insurance coverage, depending on the origin of the water. You will file an insurance claim with your homeowner’s insurance for certain types of water-related damage but not floodwater damage. If rising floodwaters caused your damage, you would need a different type of policy.

Homeowner’s Insurance Coverage

Your homeowner’s policy will generally cover your damage as long as it isn’t due to floodwaters entering your home at ground level. These are circumstances that would qualify for basic homeowner's coverage:

• Leaking appliances, such as refrigerators or washing machines
  
• Stormwater leaking through the roof or siding
  
• Water from heavy rain or snow entering a broken window or skylight
  
• Overflowing toilet or bathtub
  
• Broken pipe
  
  

It’s important to ask your agent about policy deductibles and limits, as they can vary significantly. Your agent will be able to help you with the process of filing a homeowner’s insurance claim.

Flood Insurance Coverage

If water entered your home due to rising floodwater or cracks in your foundation, you might be covered if you had previously purchased a separate flood insurance policy. These policies are generally based on your level of flood risk and are issued by the government. You may be required to have flood insurance if you purchase a property with flood risk. Your insurance agent or local city planning office can help you determine your risk level.
If water entered your Tarrytown, TX, home and caused damage, you will undoubtedly be considering filing an insurance claim. This discussion of the two coverage types for water damage may help you initiate the appropriate claim. What’s important is that you can return your focus to restoring your home and your life to normal.