What To Know About Water Damage and Homeowners' Insurance

4/25/2022 (Permalink)

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Water Damage and Homeowners' Insurance: What You Should Know

You may expect that your homeowners' insurance will cover any water damage claim you make. However, that is not the case. Insurance does pay for professional restoration services following a sudden emergency such as bursting pipes. However, other types of losses may be excluded from coverage. Before you make a claim with your insurance provider, you should know which emergencies are included in a typical policy.

Gradual Damage

As its name implies, gradual damage occurs over time. Water losses typically fall into these categories. That is because much of your plumbing system is hidden behind walls and floors. It could take weeks or months for the problem to become visible. Some examples of gradual damage include:

• Rot and corrosion
  
• Consistently leaking pipes or faucets
  
• Foundation cracks that allow water to enter your home

Homeowners' insurance usually excludes losses that result from gradual damage. However, you should check your policy or talk to your adjuster to find out the specifics of your coverage.

There are some exceptions to the gradual damage exclusion, as well. Insurance does not pay for the cost to fix broken pipe. Yet the coverage should include any harm caused by bursting pipes. This is called resulting damage. The same is true for malfunctioning washing machines or water heaters.

Sudden Damage

Sudden damage, meanwhile, occurs when there is an unexpected discharge of water into your Polk County, FL, home. This could result from cracks in your hot water heater or excessive snow and sleet crushing your roof. If this accident was not caused by your negligence, it should be covered under your insurance policy.

Insurance usually does not pay for costs related to gradual damage. It thus will not help you replace broken pipes that have been leaking for a long time. Your policy may cover the harm caused by bursting pipes, however. Any sudden and accidental discharges of water should also be included.