If any part of your home suffers water damage, one of the first calls you’ll make – right after you call a local water damage restoration company – is to your homeowner’s insurance agent. After all, your policy should cover the costs of restoring your home, right?

Not necessarily. In some situations, insurance policies don’t pay for water damage restoration. While your coverage may differ, the decision may come down to whether the damage was preventable.

Sudden and Accidental Water Damage May Be Covered

Typically, homeowner’s insurance covers water and flood damage remediation and restoration when the cause is both sudden and accidental. Issues that are typically covered include:

• Burst pipes
• Washing machine overflows
• Roof leaks due to falling trees
• Basement groundwater seepage

Depending on the extent of the damage, two types of homeowner’s insurance coverage may apply. Dwelling coverage may help pay for structural repairs, such as areas of the walls or flooring that have been damaged. Personal property coverage may help cover the costs of replacing damaged belongings.

Insurers May Deny Claims for Preventable Damage

Homeowners insurance policies don’t always cover sudden and accidental water-related damage.

Insurers usually deny claims if they determine that poor maintenance practices were responsible for a water event or if the homeowner could have prevented the damage from occurring. The same is true even if the homeowners were not aware of the problem.

So, if you fail to repair a leaky faucet or toilet, for example, and water floods your home, your homeowner’s insurance isn’t likely to pick up the tab for the resulting repairs.

Other Types of Water Damage Not Covered by Insurance

Homeowners insurance companies also deny coverage for certain types of repairs and events. In most cases, policies do not cover the costs of:

• Repair or replacement of appliances, pipes and other sources of damage
• Water backup from an outside drain or from the sewer
• Flood damage from heavy storms or overflowing rivers, lakes and ponds

Some insurance companies allow homeowners to purchase additional flood coverage, as well as coverage for sewer and water backups. So, if you opted for these extras when you set up your policy, the costs of damage restoration related to these events may not have to come out of your pocket.

In any case, responding promptly after discovering water-related damage can help limit your property loss and keep the costs of restoration down. For quick service from a highly-experienced northern Utah professional with IICRC certification – the industry gold standard for water damage remediation and restoration – call on AAA Restoration.

Based in northern Utah, AAA Restoration is available around the clock, every single day of the year. We service homes from Provo to Ogden and from Park City to Tooele – our team is on standby to help anywhere in the greater Salt Lake City area and all along the Wasatch Front. For more information on homeowner’s insurance claims and water damage restoration, or to schedule an appointment with our expert team, contact our Murray office today.