by Insurance Maze » Mon Nov 05, 2007 01:31 pm
Water leakage is a problem and one that is not covered under homeowners insurance. So, the best thing one can do is to be cautious and keep a regular check. Homeowners insurance would typically refuse any claim related to water leakage over a period of time. It would be categorized under negligence. However, under certain special circumstances, your insurer may provide coverage against damage from a water leak.
Does homeowners insurance cover water damage?
Yes, it does but very specific types. Homeowners insurance would not cover damages from flood. Flood insurance is a separate policy that you need to purchase. It would also not cover damage caused by a leaking pipe in your home, but would cover damage from rain getting inside the house through a hole in the roof or a broken window if the hole or the broken window was a result of a storm or extreme weather conditions. If the water damage was due to your negligence, home insurance would not cover it. If you do not know what kind of water damage is covered by your insurance company, go through your policy papers for details.
If there are damages from a storm in your house make sure you dry all the wet areas after the storm has passed away. Provide air circulation to the wet areas cover them with tar if possible to prevent further damage. This will help minimize the possibility of mould growing in your home.
If there are damages from a storm in your house make sure you dry all the wet areas after the storm has passed away. Provide air circulation to the wet areas cover them with tar if possible to prevent further damage. This will help minimize the possibility of mould growing in your home.
What duty do you have as a homeowner?
It is your duty to keep a check on all fixtures in your home. See to it that they are all maintained well. If there has been any water damage make sure you remedy it as soon as possible. Even a small leakage can lead to mould that would further damage your property. It also causes health hazards like asthma, sinusitis and bronchitis.
Mould damage may be covered but only if it was caused by a leak that grew due to a storm. If your house has built up mould, make sure you get it cleaned professionally. Amateurs may cause it to spread the spores more.
Insurance companies investigate before they can give the policyholders their money for the loss. Adjusters inspect the areas where the damage occurred and they do find out if the leakage had been for over a period of time or if it had been a sudden outburst. So, it is no use lying to the insurance company. Being honest is the only option open to you.
Mould damage may be covered but only if it was caused by a leak that grew due to a storm. If your house has built up mould, make sure you get it cleaned professionally. Amateurs may cause it to spread the spores more.
Insurance companies investigate before they can give the policyholders their money for the loss. Adjusters inspect the areas where the damage occurred and they do find out if the leakage had been for over a period of time or if it had been a sudden outburst. So, it is no use lying to the insurance company. Being honest is the only option open to you.
I have a rather unusual situation with a client and a well-known preferred home insurance carrier. What do you think?
One day the insured came home and for whatever reason he leaned against the bathroom wall and it suddenly collapsed.
The sheetrock was soaked and so was the insulation inside the wall and mold and mildew was everywhere. There was a small pin-hole leak in a water pipe that obviously had been leaking for quite some time.
The insured called the insurance company to report the incident, a claim was filed and an adjustor came to look at the damage.
The claim was denied by the insurance company because the standard HO-3 homeowners' policy specifically "Excludes" a loss as the result of a water leak over an extended period of time.
If this had been a sudden erruption of a water line, a leaking dishwasher, or a leaking fill line to the ice-maker, it would have been covered. Because this leak had been "over an extended period of time" it was not covered.
So, are we to lean against all of our walls everyday just to see if we might have a water leak?
One day the insured came home and for whatever reason he leaned against the bathroom wall and it suddenly collapsed.
The sheetrock was soaked and so was the insulation inside the wall and mold and mildew was everywhere. There was a small pin-hole leak in a water pipe that obviously had been leaking for quite some time.
The insured called the insurance company to report the incident, a claim was filed and an adjustor came to look at the damage.
The claim was denied by the insurance company because the standard HO-3 homeowners' policy specifically "Excludes" a loss as the result of a water leak over an extended period of time.
If this had been a sudden erruption of a water line, a leaking dishwasher, or a leaking fill line to the ice-maker, it would have been covered. Because this leak had been "over an extended period of time" it was not covered.
So, are we to lean against all of our walls everyday just to see if we might have a water leak?
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 07:12 pm Post Subject: drain pipe
drain pipe in basement for washing machine has cracked, basement is wet and laundry room floor has standing water, is this covered under any policy?
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:16 pm Post Subject: brokenj pipe& supply line are covered
Thats a broken pipe with a slow leak and hidden behide a wall thats how I would have present this claim. Any broken pipes even water supply lines are covered. If they had given me a hard time with that claim I would have throw the word Bad faith.My company works for the policy holder not the insurance company Any ?????? call 248 288 3444 for free advice
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:34 pm Post Subject: trying to help
last 2 problems yes I would be covered. Insurance would pay for clean up--repair -- damage content. Ins. will try to minamize the damage. any ??? free advice 248 288 3444
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 07:48 pm Post Subject: "Sudden" Leak?
We have owned our home for 2 years. We have not had any plumbing issues, leaking issues, running water issues- until last week.
Our home is a 2 story building, with the bedrooms and bathrooms on the top floor, and kitchen and living rooms on the bottom floor. The kitchen is directly below our master bathroom. Yesterday I went into the kitchen and found a pool of water on the floor. I looked up at the ceiling and found a big crack and water dripping from the ceiling that hadn't been there the day before.
We contacted a plumber and he believes the water from our shower has damaged our kitchen ceiling. The shower has no visible cracks or leaks but there are two steps leading up into the shower (resulting in the shower being positioned approximately 2 feet off the floor), and the plumber thinks the pipe that rises from the floor up to the shower itself has cracked and caused the pipe to break. Unfortunately he cannot tell exactly where the leak is coming from without tearing out the stairs in order to access the pipe that leads from the shower drain to the rest of the plumbing.
Does this sound like something "sudden" that might be covered? There is no way we could have known of a leak because it is behind stairs that were installed by the contractor that built the house. We only knew of the leak when it "suddenly" broke through the floor/kitchen ceiling and got water over our kitchen floor and shorted out our kitchen lights.
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 03:01 am Post Subject: lena
sounds like maybe the shower pan cracked which should be covered.and or broked water pipe and that should be covered. If you live in michigan give me a call and I can give some free advice.248 288 3444. Out of the state check out this web site claimsconsultingllc.com.
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 05:25 pm Post Subject: water leak
What if the foundation leaks or water is coming in from a crawl space adjacent to the room in question?
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 08:01 pm Post Subject: leaking pipes
My policy never stated anything about not covering leaks. I have read the policy numerous time and even gave it to my attorney. Both of us agree there is no verbage with any type of exclusions. What
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 03:25 am Post Subject: Insurance for wateline to house
Is there insurance to protect the home owner for a leakage from the point of meter of the utility water company to the house?
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:13 am Post Subject: Seepage and Leakage
We bought our house less then 2 years ago, had a home inspection done when we bought it that stated that there was no issues with the foundation and that the cement flooring under the sub flooring was dry and free of mildew. Earlier this week, after alot of rainfall and snow melting we discovered water on the floor of ouf finished basement. There was enough water that it was actually coming up through the underlay and laminate "hardwood" flooring that was there. We tore up the flooring in an attempt to determine the source of the water and discovered that it was coming up through the concrete underneath due to the unusual amount of water that we had exprerienced. We immediately called a waterproofing specialist to see what the next course of action will be and were told that we will need to install a drainage system around the interior perimeter of our basement. This means that all exterior walls will need to be torn down and a trench of sorts dug into the cement and routed to the sump pump to resolve the issue. In short, we will need to gut and rebuild our entire basement (which also happens to be our main living area) Our insurance company is trying to deny our claim saying that because it is a result of "seepage and leakage" it is a "maintenance" issue. We have never had any moisture issues of any nature, the basement has never even smelled musty. Were we expected to pull up the flooring and inspect the cement underneath on a regular basis? Even if we did we would not know what would be "cause for concern" as there was not any water there until recently. Is there anything outlined in the insurance policy regarding hidden issues or any common sence clause, as we obviously had no way of preventing this or even reason to believe that it would ever happen?
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 03:26 am Post Subject:
So I try to consider myself a solid homeowner. I do a once over of the house every month (a little below where it should be, but better than most). I walk around the perimeter of the house, and check for water damage inside throughout the basement, and against the walls I can see. Anyway today I came home and a bunch of siding had blown off in a windstorm. I inspected the siding and where the damage was there appeared to be some water damage one one piece of siding. It appears one piece of the corner fascia fell off in the wind, which got behind the siding and ripped it off, but there does seem to be some water damage behind the siding which may have assisted in the damage. There is absolutely no sign of damage in the house, and there was no apparent sign of water damage from the outside until the siding blew off. If I personally were to guess, one of our gutters backed up during one of our many melt/freeze cycles, and water got behind the siding that way, because when I went up on a ladder today I still pulled out a little ice, despite having been above freezing for nearly 48 hours. We have an HO3 policy, do you think this would be covered, since it appears to be a weather event, or is this something I should have caught, and it will be our cost?
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