Types of water damage covered by home insurance Generally, water damage that is considered “sudden and accidental” is covered (such as a broken pipe), but not gradual damage, such as a leaking bathroom sink. In addition, floods are not covered, such as damage caused by a storm surge during a hurricane. If freezing temperatures cause a pipe to break and flood your home, you're usually covered because it's considered a sudden, accidental incident. However, you may need to take preventive measures so that this is covered.
Make sure everyone is safe and document damage with photographs as soon as possible. Even if you're not sure if your damages are covered, contact your insurance company by phone or through their website to start a claim right away. Even in cases where water damage is covered, you'll have to pay your policy's deductible before homeowners insurance takes effect. In addition to having the right insurance, it's important to take the right precautions to protect your home from water damage.
A standard homeowners insurance policy generally covers water damage that occurs due to a “sudden or accidental discharge of water,” not as a result of damage caused by the passage of time or weather. If your water damage claim is covered, home insurance will likely reimburse you for your temporary housing expenses. When it comes to water damage, standard homeowner insurance policies tend to cover any type of water damage from top to bottom, such as damage caused by a roof leak during a storm or the rupture of an upper pipe. Ice dams are also often covered, as homeowners insurance covers damage caused by extreme winter weather, such as the weight of ice, snow, or sleet in the house.
This means that if the pipes or roof leak for an extended period of time and the damage is visible, your insurance company will likely consider that this is a case of negligence and you won't be covered. This is an example of how the cause of the damage is not covered, but the resulting damage is covered. What one insurer considers sudden and accidental damage caused by water, another may consider preventable and expected. Finally, extinguishing a fire could be counted as damage covered by water if it were necessary to put out the fire with a hose or other water source that would then also soak up the house and your personal belongings.
Standard homeowners insurance covers sudden and accidental water damage, but floods caused by heavy rain are never covered. Most home insurance policies cover water damage if it occurs suddenly and accidentally from a source inside the house, such as a malfunctioning washing machine or a leaky roof. However, if water or mold damage is hidden on floors, walls, or the top of the ceiling and it cannot be proven that negligence caused the loss, homeowners insurance may cover them. Basically, if a risk covered by your policy causes a chain of events that cause water damage, homeowners insurance will likely help cover the loss.
For example, if water damage caused by a broken pipe or appliance appears in your text as covered, you may be paid a portion of the damage caused, even if the replacement of the pipe or the new appliance is not covered. .
