Whether you own or rent your home, some problems come up with living in a home. One of the basic tenets of a home is how it can supply you with water. Water pipes ideally run on the inside of the walls so that drywall covers their existence, and you don’t have to see them. Water damage occurs in homes and apartments when one of these pipes burst or leaks and affects the drywall in the place.

Water damage can cost you a pretty penny, depending on whether or not you have the insurance to cover it. If you’re renting a property, make sure you have some renter’s insurance so that you don’t have to go around paying for a property that isn’t yours. If you’re a homeowner, you should always remember to invest in homeowner’s insurance. These insurance policies do not cover all the possible instances of water damage. Thus, you should be careful about how you go about claiming insurance.

Read on as we tell you how much water damage can cost you, and your insurance policy will cover it.

What is Water Damage?

Water damage is when any water destroys or disturbs the interior of your home. The following could be the causes behind water damage:

1. The rain gets into your home through the roof and damages your ceilings and walls.
2. A hailstorm breaks your window and gets the floors wet.
3. A burst or leaking pipe damages your ceiling or walls.
4. An overflowing toilet that soaks your bathroom floors.

Now that you know what water damage is and how to identify it, you would also want to understand if your insurance policy covers it. Different insurance policies have different conditions about how they cover water damage which is why you should look into the conditions before you apply for a plea.

Does Homeowners Insurance and Renters Insurance Cover Water Damage?

The most significant thing for you to understand about homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies for water damage depends on the details. For water damage that is sudden and happens seemingly out of nowhere, the insurance policies will cover it. However, if there’s a source of water damage like a washing machine or a faucet that has led to the water damage, then the insurance policy will not cover replacing it. However, it will cover the damage which the source causes.

You must also note that most homeowners’ and renters’ policies do not cover flooding. If your home has flooded due to rains or a sewage pipe bursting, then it’s likely that these insurance policies will not pay you to fix it. For flooding, you will have to invest in other policies for insurance.

However, the insurance policy likely covers it if you destroy your floors or home due to flooding. Additionally, insurance policies also don’t cover any water damage due to a lack of maintenance. For example, if you have a leaking faucet that you were aware of and some damage occurs, then the insurance policy will not cover it.

How Do You Get Insurance To Pay For Water Damage?

Now that you know you have water damage, you will have to fix it. Your actions will depend on the degree of water damage there is.

1. Determine the Source of the Water

If it’s safe to do so, you should cut out the water from the main supply. It would be best if you also tried to shut off any of the appliances which are connected to your water. Then try to identify where the water damage came from. This investigation will help you identify if your insurance policy will cover the damage.

2. Check whether your insurance policy

covers the water damage

You must know that if the water damage is sudden and comes as a surprise to you, then the insurance policy will likely cover all the damage caused. However, if the water damage occurs due to a lack of home maintenance or neglect, it’s probably not likely to be covered by the insurance policy.

Water Damage generally covered by the Insurance Policy is listed as follows:

• Sudden, accidental plumbing or appliance issue
• Frozen, burst pipes
• Leaking Roof
• Ice Dams
• Vandalism

Water Damage which isn’t covered:

• Groundwater that gets into your basements
• Floodwater or rapid thaw after a snowstorm
• Leaks from old, corroded pipes.
• Leaks from an old, ill-maintained roof.

3. Contact Your Insurance Agent and then File the Claim

In water damage, time is of the essence. Thus, you should contact your insurance agent and report the claim. After this, you can start tracking some water damage and restoration companies to help you fix the damage to your home. It’s unlikely that you can completely fix the piping and plumbing on your own. Contact your insurance company will also help you find a local company that can be out to your house in a matter of hours, if not minutes.

For more information on water damage and restoration services, contact us at www.911restorationnorthwestarkansas.com.