Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Water Damage?

 

Thoroughly reading through your Greensboro homeowners insurance policy is the best way to learn just what is and what isn't covered in your contract.  It's especially important to understand how water damage is handled, since claims for water damage can often be denied by an insurer due to confusion of what qualifies under a standard policy.

Water Damage Coverage on Your Greensboro Homeowners Insurance Policy

A standard home insurance policy requires that for a claim to qualify for payment, it be a sudden and unexpected loss.  There are additional requirements for a qualified water damage claim.

The source of water damage may be varied.  As a rule, in order to qualify for a claim the water that damages your home must be the result of one of the perils covered by your homeowners policy.  This may include:

• Rain or snowstorm damage
• Plumbing accidents such as burst pipes, accidental overflow of a bathtub, toilet or sink, faulty water-using appliances such as hot water heaters, washing machines or air conditioners
• Frozen plumbing inside the house
• Water damage from fire extinguishment
• Vandalism

From the Top Down, Not the Bottom Up

One way to think about water damage that qualifies for a loss claim is to remember that the damaging water must have never touched the outside ground.  Another way to look at it is that the damaging water must be internal or come from above, never from below.  This qualifies:

• Ground water seepage
• Sewer pipe or water backups
• Flooding

You'll also find that water damage caused by lack of maintenance or neglect will not be covered by your Greensboro homeowners insurance policy.  This means if the pipes in your home freeze and then burst while the home if left unoccupied and the heat was turned off, you won't likely be covered for the loss.

Mold

Mold is insidious and dangerous to your health and often accompanies water damage.  Whether on not your home insurance will cover you for mold removal/remediation costs will be determined by the cause of the water damage preceding the mold development.  If the water damage is covered, the mold removal will likely also be covered.

Flooding

Flood damage can be covered by getting a special flood policy.  Available through your trusted agent or broker, these policies come from a government program called the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which comes under direction of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

RV Insurance Coverage: Vacation Liability

 

Just as with automobile insurance, RV Insurance is required for all recreational vehicles driven or towed on North Carolina public roads.  The minimum amount of liability coverage required by the state is $30K for bodily injury (per person, per accident), $60K for bodily injury of all persons per accident and $25K for property damage per accident.  NC law also requires all drivers be covered by uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

And, like with auto insurance, there are many add-on coverages available in your RV insurance policy that are not required by law but that provide valuable benefits when needed.  These include:

• Collision coverage, which pays toward damage suffered in a vehicle collision
• Comprehensive coverage, which pays for damages suffered in non-collision scenarios such as fire, theft, vandalism, etc.
• Roadside assistance and towing coverage

Specialized RV Insurance Coverage 

The above list includes basic RV insurance coverage, to which you can add the mandated liability coverage and uninsured/underinsured protection the state requires you have.  There is also a specialized list of RV insurance coverage that can be added to your basic policy to provide additional protection.  These include:

• Total Loss Replacement Coverage - available for a single-owner, brand new RVs.  If used, this coverage pays the full amount for replacement of a totaled RV.  Replacement for older vehicles is based on actual cash value, which incorporates depreciation.
• Custom Equipment Coverage - this helps pay for losses involving custom upgrades to your RV, both inside and out.  Basic policies typically include only about $1000 coverage form custom equipment, which may be much less than actual costs.  This coverage extends that coverage.
• Emergency Expense Reimbursement - pays for travel and lodging if something happens to your RV while you're away from your home.
• Vacation Liability Coverage - sometimes automatic in policies that include both comprehensive and collision protection, vacation liability coverage protects against liability when your RV is used as a vacation space in a campground.

Vacation Liability Coverage - also known as campsite liability protection, covers you in the event there is bodily injury or property damage at your campsite or in your RV while it's parked off of public roads.  This coverage doesn't apply to family members.

If someone trips and falls and breaks a limb or your dog bites a visitor to your campsite or RV, you're covered with vacation liability protection.  This includes helping pay defense costs and any liability settlement amounts.

What is a Personal Articles Policy?

 

If you're a homeowner, chances are very good that you already have a homeowner's insurance policy covering your home and the personal property in your home against loss from things like fire, storms, lightning strikes, vandalism, burglary and more.

Know Your Limits

It's important to understand exactly what your homeowner's policy covers and what limits are established for each of the benefits provided.  You'll have one limit for a loss claim on the structure should it be damaged or destroyed, and another limit for the personal property found in the home.  This second limit is typically set at a certain percentage of the first limit.

There will also be a limit on the liability coverage your policy provides and a special limit on certain valuables such as jewelry, furs, artwork, guns, collectibles, etc.  This special limit on valuables is separate from the limit on your personal property and should be considered if you have any high-dollar valuables in your home because these special limits are typically relatively low.  A limit of $1,500-$2,500 is not uncommon, which obviously won't go far in compensating you for lost, stolen or damaged jewelry, artwork, furs, etc.

Personal Articles Policy Floater

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), there are two ways to boost your insurance coverage for high-dollar valuables:

1. Raise the limit placed on the liability of these items found in your standard coverage.  Doing this, however, will only give you a relatively modest amount of added coverage that will still not cover the full amount of most losses.
2. Buy a floater policy, also called a personal articles policy, to more fully cover losses of high-dollar valuables.  This policy will cover all types of losses, including some not covered by a standard homeowner's policy, such as accidental losses.

Personal Articles Policy Defined

A personal articles policy is advised to cover any of your expensive personal property whose loss would be far above the limit of your standard policy's personal property protection.  While jewelry and guns are the items most typically found covered by this type of policy, you may also want to include:

• Fine Art
• Furs
• Silver/Gold
• Collections such as coins, stamps, baseball cards
• Camera equipment
• Musical instruments

These items are typically covered world-wide and claims usually require no deductible.  Items may be individually listed (or scheduled) or a blanket policy may be taken out to cover all your valuables without individually listing them.