Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Water Damage?

Buying a home is the biggest investment that just about anyone will ever make. It is a costly and time-consuming endeavor, but it’s well worth it in the end. You have a place to call your own, and you can rest assured knowing that you and your family have a place to know as home.

Having such an asset on hand, of course, also means that you now need to protect it, and this can take many forms. You should buy smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors, for starters—but it goes beyond that.

Homeowners insurance is something that you may not be familiar with, and you want to know what exactly your policy will cover in case something like water damage restoration ever becomes necessary.

Read on for more insight into what you can expect from your policy.

Most policies cover certain types of damage

One thing to keep in mind is that every policy is different – these tips are merely to serve as a guideline, and you should always read your policy in detail. That said, we’ve found that most homeowner policies do, in fact, cover the cost of water damage restoration if something sudden and accidental occurs (think your water heater blows and soaks the drywall or a bathroom pipe bursts and water cascades into the dining room).

Types of coverage within a policy

While we now know that water damage restoration is typically covered under homeowners insurance, what exactly does that mean in practice? The main thing to understand is that there are two types of coverage that you need to keep in mind.

First, there’s what’s known as dwelling coverage. This covers the structure of the building itself—think of the walls if a pipe bursts within them or your beautiful wood flooring if the water heater leaks all over it. The other type of coverage is for personal property. This is damage to your possessions. A burst pipe causing water to ruin your speakers or your coffee table would be covered under this.

Types of damage not covered

It’s important to understand that there are exceptions to this coverage and that not all water damage is automatically covered. For example, negligence and/or poor maintenance by the homeowner means that water damage restoration likely won’t be covered if an incident results from their inaction.

So, if a toilet or a sink has been leaking forever and you’ve just never taken care of it, insurance likely won’t cover it if things ever take a turn for the worse and a broken fixture saturate your home and/or your belongings. Most insurance policies also won’t cover the source of the water damage—they’ll help you replace the ruined carpet but likely not the pipe that caused the carpet to be ruined.

If you’re looking for seasoned water damage restoration professionals who can help you navigate the wilds of insurance claims, then you’ve come to the right place at Ahold of Mold Environmental. We have over a quarter of a century of experience to back us up, so let us help you with your water damage issue today.

Categorised in: Water Damage Restoration