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Home insurance doesn’t always cover basement floods. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the country, but floods are not included in home insurance. You will need separate flood insurance to be financially protected from floods. However, there are some rare cases that could help you pay for a flood of homes rather than a flood.
When does homeowner insurance cover basement flooding?
It depends primarily on the cause of the flood. If the flood is caused by something covered in your policy, you may be able to file a successful claim. There are three main scenarios where your home insurance can cover flooding in your basement.
- Burst pipe or water heater: When it comes to water damage, home insurance is limited to things like burst pipes “sudden and accidental.”
- Sudden appliance leak: If you have appliances in your basement, such as washing machines, refrigerators, or air conditioning units, leaks in those appliances may be covered by the policy.
- Flood after a fire: Putting out a fire in your home can cause damage from water. In that case, the insurance policy may help with repair costs if the basement is flooded.
To cover these repairs, you probably need to meet some criteria. You need to live in your home when damage occurs (as long as you’re running errands when the basement gets flooded and use the home as your main residence), that’s fine.
Your home must have also been stored at a reasonable temperature. If you set out on a winter weekend trip and stop the heat and the pipe bursts, your home insurance company may deny your claim. Similarly, you need to prove to your insurance company that you have taken the right steps to properly maintain your home. Basement floods caused by poor home maintenance are not covered.
learn more: What does homeowner insurance cover?
When does homeowner insurance not cover basement flooding?
If your home insurance covers floods in your basement, less than you would otherwise. Most often, if your basement is flooded and you don’t have flood insurance, you’ll be unlucky. This includes:
- Natural flood: Floods from hurricanes, heavy rain, melting snow, runoff, or other extreme weather-related causes are excluded from normal home insurance coverage.
- Sump pump failure: Standard homeowner insurance contracts generally exclude water that is backed up through overflow from sewer or drains or sump pumps.
- Sewer backup: If the flood is the result of external sewerage backing up, it is usually not covered if the external pipes may not even be on your property.
- Ground penetration: Houses with cracked foundations or built on ground with high water tables can cause basement flooding due to penetration. Water penetrating the basement due to cracks in the foundation and poor drainage in the landscaping is not covered by homeowner insurance, as is usually considered a maintenance issue.
- Homeowner’s negligence: Damages caused by ignoring or lack of maintenance are not covered by the homeowner’s insurance. This includes old rusty pipes with explosions or leaks, or aging equipment that fails. As a homeowner, it is your responsibility to maintain any potential sources of damage before they happen.
learn more: The financial impact of extreme weather on homeownership
What coverage type covers basement flooding?
While home insurance excludes basement flooding alone, there are additional coverage types that you can buy to cover this type of loss. Approval (think of approval as add-on coverage) increases the cost of your policy, but it may be worth adding a level of financial protection. Talking to authorized agents will help you better assess the flood risk and coverage you need in your basement. Here are some common things:
- Flood Insurance: Flood insurance is usually brought as a separate insurance policy, either through NFIP or private insurance companies. If your home is in a flood zone, if flood issues are repeated, or if you feel your property is at risk of flooding, we recommend that you strongly consider purchasing flood insurance. It may even be requested by your mortgage company.
- Water Backup Coverage: This is an optional coverage that you can add to your primary homeowner policy. It is designed to cover flood damage caused by drainage or sump pump backup.
- Service Line Coverage: Service Line Coverage is an approval to cover utility pipes such as the water and sewerage community if it damages your home. This support can be beneficial as damage to the utility line can cause flooding in and around your home.
- Content Exchange Cost Coverage: If you want to store your personal items in your basement, you may consider adding replacement cost coverage approval to your home insurance. Most HO-3 policies cover personal property on a real cash value basis. This means that if a flood in the basement damages your belongings, you may be left with out-of-pocket expenses.
- Equipment breakdown coverage: If the washing machine breaks down the basement and floods, flood damage is usually covered, but there is no cost for a new washing machine. Equipment failure coverage is paid to repair or replace appliances or systems in the event of malfunctions that are not related to the covered hazard.
How to mitigate flood risk in your basement
Floods in the basement pose a great risk to homeowners, damage property and leave parts of the home unattended, while leading to potentially expensive repairs. There are several aggressive measures that homeowners can take to mitigate this risk, protect their basement from flooding, and minimize the possibility of damage from excess water.
Below are some important steps to reduce the risk of flooding in your basement.
- Appropriately assess the area around the foundation to drive away water and prevent the pool.
- Install and maintain a functional sump pump system to remove excess water.
- Seal cracks in the foundation wall to prevent water penetration.
- Squeeze the grooves directly away from the foundation and expand them to ensure proper drainage.
- Consider installing a backwater valve to prevent sewage backup during heavy rain.
