What Water Damage Is Not Covered By Homeowners’ Insurance?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – When it comes to homeowner insurance, there are certain things you can count on when you have insurance.

Fire and wind damage are covered, but water damage is … a little more complicated.

Michelle Megna of Insurance.com said that every year thousands of homeowners are shocked when the inside of their home gets wet – and insurance leaves them up and dry.

“Water damage claims are among the most common claims homeowners make,” she said.

A rule of thumb, she said, is to try to answer the question: where did the water come from?

“Water coming from the sky or above is covered,” said Megna.

Let’s say there’s a heavy rain storm and you have a leaky roof. That’s covered. However, if that same rainwater gets to the ground and then trickles in through a basement window or penetrates through the foundation, it doesn’t fall under a standard homeowner policy.

And for Utahns, snow runoff falls into this latter category.

“You would need separate flood insurance,” she said.

If you’re interested in flood insurance, keep in mind that you can’t wait to see rain on Kevin Eubank’s seven-day forecast. For flood insurance to be good, you must have taken out at least 30 days before the damage occurs.

So if you live under a snow-covered burn scar, it is at least a month before the snow begins to melt that you should consider flood insurance.

“You want to be prepared before you’re in the middle,” she said.

Home-destroying water doesn’t just come from Mother Nature, as many people in Texas learned last month. Who pays when a pipe bursts or a sink overflows?

“This water damage would be covered by standard home insurance,” said Megna.

The water damage is covered, but what likely caused the damage is not covered. If a pipe bursts, the repair of that pipe is not covered. If a water heater is causing the damage, the water heater is not covered. If the washing machine causes this, the insurance will pay for the floor repairs but will not replace the washing machine.

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