A water damage event his hit your home, and one of the first things you should do is to check your i...

1. Dealing With The Insurance Adjuster After Water Damage
A water damage event his hit your home, and one of the first things you should do is to check your
insurance policy or call your insurance agent and determine if your damage is covered. Even though
you may be faced with plenty of damage and the beginning of mold, all homeowners policies dont
automatically cover all types of water damage.
Once you understand what your policy covers, then you can quickly begin to remediate the damage
to your property and begin to get the information to file a claim assuming you know what will be
covered, according to the web site insure.com.
First and foremost, as some residents of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast learned during
Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a flood is not covered by homeowners insurance. Floods are only covered
by flood insurance thats issued by the National Flood Insurance Program and cant be bought
through nearly any insurance company.
Heres the kicker, though. Flood insurance policies have a
ceiling not shared by homeowners insurance, and a
separate level for contents that many people dont bother to
adjust to their situations. So many homeowners in New
Orleans wanted their homeowners insurance to handle the
situation, because it provided more coverage.
Water damage from a leaking room is covered by most
homeowners insurance, though the damage to the roof is
not. Thats because of the generally accepted principle that anything related to maintenance falls to
the homeowners. Roofs need to be properly maintained so the roof damage is not allowed.
Likewise, water from an appliance overflowing or pipes freezing and bursting, are both covered.
Again, insurance companies general cover water damage if it was a sudden, catastrophic event, and

2. not, as insure.com explains, a gradual wear and tear over time that proper maintenance could have
avoided.
And two final areas of water damage: Seepages from the ground into the basement and sewer
backup. Neither of these are covered by homeowners insurance. Seepage clearly is a gradual event
that can be diagnosed and corrected before any significant damage results. Sewer backup is
something that many insurance policies around the country specifically exclude.
So, now you know whether your own water event is covered by homeowners, flood insurance or has
to be repaired out of pocket. And you are ready to take the next step - which is to document the
damage and get an adjuster to your house as soon as possible to begin the process of submitting an
insurance claim.
About the Author:
Right Way Contracting.com - a leading nationwide water damage restoration company specializing
in 24/7 emergency service water damage restoration, water damage repair, mold remediation, flood
damage repair document drying, freeze drying documents, fire and smoke damage restoration and
crime scene clean up.