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It was raining hard this past weekend in LA. The water backed up in their back yard a bit and started coming in to the back house. Once they realized what was going on in the morning, it was too late.
HO3 Claim Question
- Thread starter JCK818
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- #12
Sounds like a lot of people need some Flood Insurance CE. All of this info is covered during that class. I just took it myself because unfortunately, I didn't know as much as I should (plus its required). Although I did know about the two acres of rising water.
Two acres OR two or more properties.
Heavy rains tend to cause more than one house to have a problem, so its still not clear to me where the coverage lies.
Personally, I would file the claim and fight with the homeowners policy to cover it. I'm sure they will call it something like sewer backup from some storm drain not working correctly. Again, I'm not clear on what caused the water to build up like this, is it a structural/design flaw with the house and landscaping, or did something else happen? Most houses are not built as the low point on a lot for a reason
It takes a LOT of water for rain to build and flood in. This is why I suspect several properties could be affected.
Dan
Heavy rains tend to cause more than one house to have a problem, so its still not clear to me where the coverage lies.
Personally, I would file the claim and fight with the homeowners policy to cover it. I'm sure they will call it something like sewer backup from some storm drain not working correctly. Again, I'm not clear on what caused the water to build up like this, is it a structural/design flaw with the house and landscaping, or did something else happen? Most houses are not built as the low point on a lot for a reason
It takes a LOT of water for rain to build and flood in. This is why I suspect several properties could be affected.Dan
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My understanding of water back up is that it only applies IF water actually backed-up into the house through a toilet or indoor drain. I don't think water back-up is going to cover the water coming into the house from the yard. That's more of a surface water/outdoor drainage problem and likely isn't covered. But, like others have said, have them file the claim and fight for it.
Also, how much water are we talking and how much damage? A few inches of standing water isn't that bad. Carpet is cheap and easy to repalce as is drywall. A shop-vac and a few dehumidifiers can make for a quick clean up dry out.
Also, how much water are we talking and how much damage? A few inches of standing water isn't that bad. Carpet is cheap and easy to repalce as is drywall. A shop-vac and a few dehumidifiers can make for a quick clean up dry out.
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Okay, I actually went and read a policy. Now, wording might get different, but in general, they do classify this as water damage, not flooding.
Now, is it covered? Probably not. Looks like HO-3 policies tend to exclude water damage caused by backup of rain.
http://www.iii.org/assets/docs/pdf/HO3_sample.pdf
Page 12 defines this as water damage.
(won't let me cut and paste)
and then if you scroll back up to page 11, you'll find you are in the exclusions section.
Now, you have to do more research for a specific homeowner, since this is NOT their policy, its a sample policy. Plus, they may have some endorsements that come into play here.
Dan
Now, is it covered? Probably not. Looks like HO-3 policies tend to exclude water damage caused by backup of rain.
http://www.iii.org/assets/docs/pdf/HO3_sample.pdf
Page 12 defines this as water damage.
(won't let me cut and paste)
and then if you scroll back up to page 11, you'll find you are in the exclusions section.
Now, you have to do more research for a specific homeowner, since this is NOT their policy, its a sample policy. Plus, they may have some endorsements that come into play here.
Dan
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- #18
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The damage wasn't that bad, probably 3-4 grand tops
Most endorsements for sewer back up coverage on an HO3 tend to read something like: this endorsement, for a premium, will cover water damage from any sub-surface water entering a home from any plumbing system designed to remove water away from the home such as: a reverse flow of the sewer pipe, sump pump, well or any drain tile designed to remove water away from the foundation. There is also no exclusion for loss of electricity (sump pumps w/o battery back-up).
Flood insurance will cover ground water "lapping" up to the house and causing damage to dwelling property. For example, a window well fills up with water and infitrates into the basement, damage to the structure would be covered (paneling,drywall,paint) but usually not contents in basement. So tacked down carpet would be covered but not a throw rug.
That would be my explanation.
Flood insurance will cover ground water "lapping" up to the house and causing damage to dwelling property. For example, a window well fills up with water and infitrates into the basement, damage to the structure would be covered (paneling,drywall,paint) but usually not contents in basement. So tacked down carpet would be covered but not a throw rug.
That would be my explanation.
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Update. The client got 6 grand. Go Travelers!
