It’s summer, and you know what that means: hurricane season. Tropical Depression Claudette recently crashed, bringing high winds, flooding, and tornadoes to the southeast. You might be one of many homeowners filing a claim after this weekend’s storms, only to discover your insurance won’t cover the damages to your beachfront home. This can leave you saddled with a huge bill.
What’s going on? Insurance coverage often boils down to whether it’s water damage or flood damage. While they may seem the same, they’re actually two different things. Often, one is missing from your typical insurance policy. Here’s what you need to know:
What is Water Damage
Picture this: You’re home, sleeping. Your spouse wakes you up after returning from their late-night bathroom trip and says the toilet is flowing like Niagara Falls (and for some reason, these things only happen late at night when everything is closed).
This unfortunate incident is considered water damage. Water damage usually results from an internal issue within the house (i.e., the above toilet scenario or your pipes bursting). It is different from Flood Damage.
Flood Damage
Flood Damage is usually caused by Mother Nature raging outside your home. For example, when Claudette flooded your living room and ruined all the furniture, or a creek bed overflows during heavy rain.
Unlike water damage, flood damage comes from natural sources like storms, lakes, rivers, and streams, and the difference is huge in terms of how and if you can file claims.
What This Means For Your Coverage
Pull out your insurance policy right now and look over it. Most likely, you have coverage for water damage (but always double-check as some insurance policies will only cover certain types).
Generally, most homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flood damage. Yes, even in Florida. So what can you do? Make sure to research and consider purchasing a flood insurance policy. And we highly recommend having one because this is Florida, and our beautiful coastal paradise is a frequent favorite for hurricanes, tropical storms, and depressions.
To Wrap Up:
Although they seem similar, the difference between flood damage and water damage is significant when it comes to your homeowner’s policy coverage and what you pay out of your wallet.
In general, flood damage results from a natural disaster like a tropical storm. On the other hand, water damage is caused by something in your home, like burst pipes. Your insurance policy generally covers water damage. But unless you specifically purchase a flood insurance policy, you’ll be footing the bill for any natural disasters yourself.
Get the Compensation You Deserve
Storm damage to your dream home or business is stressful. The last thing you need to worry about is navigating the insurance claim. At DRMG, we’ll guide you through the process from start to finish, with evaluations and reports to get you maximum compensation and the peace of mind you deserve.
