How to Insure Your Home Against Water Claims

Help protect the life you’ve built and recover more quickly after water damage.

Many home insurance claims come from damage caused by water. Water can get into your home in several ways. Which coverage you purchased and how the water entered the home are two important factors to include in a water claim.

Most homeowners’ policies automatically cover claims caused by the sudden and accidental discharge or overflow from pipes, appliances, sinks, and toilets. A pipe bursts and is not the result of faulty workmanship would be included in this coverage (assuming that a proper temperature was maintained). Coverage could also include rain or melting ice coming in through the roof, damage from a fire sprinkler discharge, or water that a fire department uses to put out a fire.

However, there are two other coverages you can purchase to protect your home from water damage.

The first coverage to consider adding is water backup coverage. It protects you from water that backs up into your home through a sewer or drain. We highly recommend having this coverage as it is the most common claims we see. The water that comes in from sewers is often dirty. It can cause damage to property but can also impact your health due to the water being unsanitary. Unless an endorsement is added, this type of coverage is excluded from your policy. The cost can also differ based on the total limit of coverage that you choose.

Flood Insurance

The second item you might want to purchase is flood insurance. To be covered under flood insurance, a loss must:

1. It must meet the definition of a flood. This is the general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of dry land or 2+ properties.
2. A natural source (i.e. river, lake, etc.) must cause damage. Banks overflow during heavy rains or when the ground becomes over-saturated with water to the point it causes water to enter the home.

To obtain this coverage, a separate policy needs to be taken out by your agent through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policy rates can vary depending on how high risk your home is to flood damage. They are also dependent on the amount of coverage you are seeking.

Contact your Hertvik Insurance agent with any questions you have about the various ways you might be able to upgrade your policy to increase your protection and insure your home against water claims.

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