5 Important Things to Know About Water Damage Insurance Claims

Water damage insurance claims can be costly and headache-inducing. Your insurance agency’s goal is to settle your claim while giving you the least amount of money possible. When it comes to water damage, they can be particularly nasty.

Here are 5 things you need to know about maximizing your water damage insurance claims.

1) Know When It’s the Right Time to Hire a Public Adjuster

Public adjusters help you maximize your insurance claim and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. If your disputed amount is over $10,000, then it’s typically in your best interests to hire a public adjuster.

Most public adjusters have previously worked on behalf of insurance agencies before “going to the other side” to represent the public. They’ve handled water damage claims like yours on both sides of the negotiating table and they can be a tremendous asset to have.

2) Understand the Difference Between Water Damage and Flood Damage

Water damage and flood damage are two different things. This difference can have an enormous effect on your claim.

Water damage is often cited as the most frequent type of damage reported in the home insurance industry. It can be caused by problems like frozen pipes, broken pipes, poorly-maintained appliances, sewage backups, leaky roofs, wind driven rain, and many other problems.

Water damage is typically covered by home insurance policies. Flood damage is not.

3) Do You Need Flood Insurance?

Flood damage is not covered by home insurance. In fact, flood insurance wasn’t even available in America until 1968, when the US government established the National Flood Insurance Program. Today, many homeowners have flood insurance through the NFIP.

Standard property insurance plans will never cover flood damage. You must buy a separate policy from your insurer or through the NFIP.

Before you do that, make sure you understand what a flood is. The NFIP defines a flood as 
“a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more areas of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from an overflow of inland or tidal waters; unusual and rapid accumulation or run-off of surface waters from any source; mud flow.”

In layman’s terms, it refers to rising water or mud that has appeared on land that is usually dry.

Typically, floods are caused by heavy rains, overflowing rivers, thawing snow, hurricane storm surges, or flash flooding. If you’re close to the water table, in a flood plain, or in a region prone to any of these conditions, flood insurance is a smart plan.

4) Make Sure your Cleaning Company Uses Advanced Cleaning Equipment

After experiencing water damage, your insurance company may hire their own cleaners for your home.

These cleaners aren’t always of the highest level of quality. They may be constrained by a tight budget imposed by your insurance agency, for example, making them unwilling to go the extra mile.

That’s unacceptable after your home experiences water damage. Make sure your water damage remediation team uses moisture detectors, hygrometers, infrared cameras, and other advanced equipment to monitor the location of the water in your home.

The cleaners also need to use disinfectants to prevent the spread of mildew, bacteria, and fungi.

When an insurance company adjuster fails to follow through with this protocol, it throws the restoration of your property into jeopardy.

5) Report Water Damages Immediately

Above, we mentioned that water damages were one of the most common types of damage in the home insurance industry. Understandably, it’s in your insurance company’s best interests to lower the amount they need to pay.

That’s why they’ll often try to slip conditions into your home insurance policy. Some insurance companies have now tried to put language into your policy that prevents you from reporting water loss past a 14 day period after the incident took place.

Policies like this can be particularly awful for homeowners who are on vacation, or those who have a vacation property in a wet climate like Florida. They may not be covered because the damage wasn’t spotted within a 15 day window.

Ultimately, your best option is to hire a public adjuster to walk you through the water damage insurance claims process. They’re certified professionals who know the industry better than anyone – and they’re the best way to ensure your water damage insurance claims are covered.

Source Here: 5 Important Things to Know About Water Damage Insurance Claims

Everything You Need to Know About Wind-Driven Rain and Home Insurance

“Wind-driven rain” is one of those terms you’ve probably never thought about until you buy home insurance.

In fact, many people have never even heard of the term “wind driven rain” until they realize their home insurance policy doesn’t cover it.

By then, it may be too late.

Today, we’re going to explain everything you need to know about wind driven rain – including whether or not your insurance policy should cover it.

What is Wind Driven Rain?

Wind driven rain is a self-explanatory thing: it’s rain that is driven into your home by the wind.

In the insurance world, wind driven rain refers to rain that comes through an opening because it is being propelled by the wind. So if wind was out of the equation, the water would never have made it in the house in the first place.

When a storm damages your home, it’s typically wind and rain that cause most of the damage. If the wind and rain cause damage on their own, then this is typically covered on your home insurance policy.

However, the “wind driven rain” stipulation may be used if your insurance agency finds out that your home essentially led to the damage caused by the storm. In this case, even if you have flood insurance, your insurance agency may not cover the damages.

How Does your Home Damage Itself with Wind Driven Rain?

As an example, one couple in Houston found out that water damage in their home after a storm was not covered by their insurance policy – even though they were paying for a premium home insurance plan.

The adjuster claimed that damage inside the home was caused by rain from the storm. Normally, damages like that are covered by an insurance policy.

However, it was determined that the rain was driven into the home because the tiles on the roof needed repair. In other words, it wasn’t the storm that damaged the home. It was the poorly-maintained roof.

This is where things get a little tricky: your home insurance policy would cover damage if the high winds from the storm had knocked a tree onto your roof, and then water leaked through your roof into your home.

However, if rain was driven into your home through the roof because the tiles needed to be repaired before the storm, then your insurance may not cover it.

It’s small distinctions like this that can cause insurance agencies to deny a claim.

Flood Insurance Doesn’t Cover Wind Driven Rain

When many people spot water damage in their home after a storm, they assume their flood insurance will cover the damage. That’s not true with wind driven rain, unfortunately.

As the National Flood Insurance Program explains,

“When rain enters through a wind-damaged window or door, or comes through a hole in a wall or roof, the NFIP considers the resulting puddles and damage to be windstorm-related, not flood-related.

Flood insurance covers overflow of inland or tidal waters and unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. However, the flood must be a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area.”

So if your home’s flood insurance doesn’t cover the damage, then what’s the next step?

Wind Driven Rain is Not Always Outlined Clearly in Insurance Policies

Wind driven rain disputes can get frustrating for homeowners. Some homeowners feel they did everything right. They read through their home’s insurance policy. They maintained their home adequately. And they still get their claim denied because of the wind driven rain stipulation.

In many cases, wind driven rain is clearly defined and outlined in your insurance policy.

In some cases, however, claims can be wrongfully denied. A company may deny your claim because of wind driven rain – even though wind driven rain wasn’t clearly outlined in your policy.

What To Do When an Insurance Adjuster Tells You Your Policy Doesn’t Cover Wind Driven Rain

Most people hear about wind-driven rain for the first time when they found out their insurance policy doesn’t cover it.

There are few things more frustrating than walking around your devastated home after a storm, only to have the adjuster tell you that your policy does not cover wind driven rain.

If your house has experienced big damage due to wind driven rain, and you are left with thousands of dollars in repair costs, then it may be time to hire a public adjuster. Public adjusters are independent experts dedicated to maximizing your insurance policy coverage.

Adjusters are specifically hired for situations just like this: if your insurance company seems to be trying to take advantage of you, or weasel their way out of compensation, then you need to hire a public adjuster to stand up for yourself.

A good adjuster can help you boost your coverage by thousands of dollars. They can spot ambiguities in your insurance plan and hold your insurance company accountable. Hire the best Texas public adjuster in your area today by contacting ClaimsMate.

Learn More Here: Everything You Need to Know About Wind-Driven Rain and Home Insurance