Claim for Water Damage in Home Insurance

Building a home is one of the biggest dreams of a person’s life. It is not an easy task. It takes a lot of time, sweat, hard work and money. But keeping that home in a good condition is a bigger task than building it. So, as the owner of that home, you must understand the risks that come along with it so that you can prepare yourself to take care of those things. Many insurance providers in the market sell home insurance policies that can provide you cover for any kind of damage or loss.

Here we will be telling you about the water damage and how to claim home insurance for water damage. Water damage usually happens gradually. According to a survey done by insurance providers, 1 out of 50 home insurance policyholders raises claims every year. Water damage is common especially is the apartments because of the shared pipelines. When it comes to water damage, it is not easy to assess what is covered under a standard home insurance policy. So what is covered under the water damaged section of Home insurance?

Water Damage Coverage

When the homeowner buys home insurance online he/she should go through the policy wordings properly and not leave any point unread. However many home insurance policies provide cover against water damage whether accidental or unexpected. It is suggested by the insurance experts that when buying a home insurance policy, the buyer should purchase comprehensive home insurance online. A comprehensive home insurance policy provides wider coverage than a basic home insurance policy.

So what is covered under a comprehensive home insurance policy? They are as follows:

Pipeline Burst

If a pipeline burst all of a sudden and damages the wall. It will be covered under the comprehensive home insurance policy.

Water Leakage

There are times when you do not notice the leakage in the water pipeline and the walls keep soaking that water but when leakage cover a huge part of the wall and you get to see, it has already damaged the wall paint and putty. The comprehensive home insurance policy does cover the damage caused to the wall.

Water Leakage in Tank

Any home or apartment has the water tank kept on the top most portion of the building so that the water taps of the home get proper pressure of water. So when the water tank leaks it is next to impossible to notice it quickly and the water keeps on leaking for days and causes damage starting from the top. This water leakage in the water tank that causes damage to the roof is covered.

Natural Calamity

There are houses which are situated near the rivers and oceans. These locations make these houses much more prone to any kind of natural calamity like flood. The comprehensive home insurance policy does provide cover for the damages and loss caused by a natural calamity.

Water Tank Burst

Most of the apartment buildings have water tanks made of concrete and cement. Usually the constructors make them good enough to stay put for 10-20 years. But when they do not keep a regular check and repair the damaged part that might have appeared in a course of 10 years, they tend to burst and causes some serious damage to the building and its contents. In that case the comprehensive home insurance policy provide cover against this kind of water damage.

Water Sprinkler

Homeowners installs the water sprinkler in case of fire. For those who are not aware of how a water sprinkler works. A water sprinkler detects any kind of smoke for a certain amount of time and when the density of the smoke increases and keeps on flowing the water sprinkler enables and starts spraying water in the whole place. This works to stop the fire which could rise us after the continuous flow of smoke. So, in this case if the sprinkler goes off accidently the insurance policy will provide cover for it.

What’s Not Covered?

A comprehensive home insurance policy provides cover for almost all kinds of loss or damages but here we will tell you about the things that are not covered in the water damage section under a standard home insurance policy. They are as follows:

Willful Destruction Causing Water Damage

Water damage caused by anyone willfully that destruct the property of the house or its content will not be covered under the standard home insurance policy.

Wear & Tear of Home Structure

Any  kind of loss or damage caused by water will not be covered. Also, any kind of consequential loss, depreciation or wear and tear of the structure of the home is not covered under the standard home insurance policy.

Radiation or Nuclear Weapon

Any kind of loss or damage caused by ionizing radiations or nuclear weapons is not covered under the policy.

Unresolved Maintenance

If there is a water damage that is caused due to unresolved maintenance of any problem related to water tank, rusty pipelines or plumbing issue will not be covered under the policy.

The exclusions varies from insurer to insurer. You can always consult with your insurance provider about the exclusions in detail. Now let us tell you the claiming procedure against water damage in home insurance policy.

Home Insurance Claim Against Water Damage

If you face any of the issue mentioned above under the coverage provided in the home insurance policy and want to raise a claim then you can follow the procedure written below.

• Make sure to save yourself in any kind of accident.
• If it is possible for you, take some pictures or record a video of the damaged portion of the house.
• You can raise the claim by contacting your insurance provider over the phone or write a mail.
• Make sure to mention the type of loss like theft, fire, water damage etc and describe the damage caused to the contents of the home or your personal belongings.
• Attach the required documents with a properly filled form of claim.
• Make sure to mention the policy number, Name of the policy, Home Address, ID Proof.
• After submittion of the required documents, the insurer will verify them.
• A field inspector from the insurance company will come for a survey of the house to assess the damages.
• When the claim is approved by the insurance company, they will reimburse the amount specified in the policy.

Conclusion

Being the policyholder, it is your duty to be fully aware of the inclusion and exclusions of the home insurance policy you purchase. Also, it is advised by the insurance experts to purchase the policy online so that you can read about all the details related to the policy and be fully aware of the terms and conditions that comes along with it. It is also beneficial to purchase the policy online as you can avail of several other benefits and discounts provided by the insurance providers.