Does home insurance cover water damage?

by Pierre C. Rumpf 12/18/2023

A common question homeowners have about their insurance is, “does home insurance cover water damage?” Among the myriad natural perils your home can face over the course of its life, water damage is one of the most varied. With all the different causes of water damage, it’s important to know which types require an additional insurance policy.

To help you in your insurance decisions, here are three types of water damage not covered by standard homeowners insurance:

Unresolved maintenance problems

Taking good care of your home and appliances is just as critical for insurance reasons as it is for functionality. If your dishwasher breaks and damages the floors, your home insurance will help you pay for the floor repairs.

However, if the dishwasher fails because of a preexisting maintenance issue left unresolved, you won’t be covered.

Backup from an outside source

Traditional homeowners policies typically do not include coverage for water damage caused by a sewer or drain backup. If your floors or another part of your home incurs damage because of a backed-up water source, you won’t have coverage.

Your insurance provider may offer additional water or sewer backup coverage to help you in this situation.

Flood damage

Flooding can happen because of a storm, over-saturated ground or overflowing bodies of water. Unfortunately, in any of these cases, the resulting water damage would not be covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy.

Instead, you can purchase a separate flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program. This type of policy is required by mortgage lenders in regions where floods are more common, but can protect you just in case a flood should occur where you live.

About the Author
Author

Pierre C. Rumpf

Broker Profile: Pierre comes from a diverse background. His adolescent and early adult years found him working for his father, a renowned structural engineer, and his brother, an architectural designer and general contractor. His knowledge of construction design (architectural & structural) and practices is significant. He coupled his construction background with his considerable sales experience, by becoming licensed to sell real estate in Massachusetts in 1986.

Pierre is also a licensed Attorney in the Commonwealth, who formerly worked for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office as a litigator in the Victim & Witness Assistance Division of the Family & Community Crimes Bureau, litigating cases involving victims of violent crime, and since then has had his own legal practice.

For decades, Pierre has excelled in helping buyers of real estate find that condo, single-family, multi-family, lot of lands, or commercial property they desire to buy, or by effectively marketing his clients’ properties to sell their property for the most amount of money possible. His professional background embodies the ideal combination of construction, sales, negotiating, and contract drafting, which is essential to actualizing his clients’ goals and/or dreams. He does all of this with attention to detail, integrity, and success.

Since 1995, PCR Realty has helped buyers and sellers make their transactions as successful as possible. Using a consultative approach, PCR Realty approaches each experience as a unique opportunity for its clients. As a full-service real estate brokerage firm, PCR Realty provides leading-edge services for buyers & sellers.

When it comes to successfully navigating today’s complex real estate market, you need to work with someone who has the experience and commitment to see it done right. PCR Realty excels at matching buyers to sellers. From state-of-the-art marketing to an experienced broker, PCR Realty works diligently to far exceed your expectations. PCR Realty invites you to learn more.