Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Basement Flooding?
A home purchase is often the most important investment one can make. Protecting this investment is so important to protecting your financial well-being. This protection includes safeguarding against various types of damage including damages caused by water. Flooding, especially within basements, is a common concern amongst homeowners, as flooding damage could be truly disastrous for the integrity of your home. Understanding whether or not your homeowners insurance policy will cover basement flooding is so important. If you’re managing your risk and your home’s safety and soundness, you’ll be able to rest assured you’ll be okay should something such as basement flooding occur. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to discuss how we can help protect your home with the right homeowners insurance policy for your unique needs.
Understanding Homeowners Insurance
Homeowners insurance policies are designed to protect your home against unforeseen damages and losses. Generally, these policies cover the structure of your home, your belongings, and liability for injuries that occur on your property. However, the specifics can vary significantly between policies and insurance providers.
Standard Coverage & Exclusions
Nearly all standard homeowners insurance policies will not cover flooding, including basement flooding. This exclusion will typically apply to water damage which originates from external sources, such as natural disasters, which may include hurricanes and rivers overflowing. With this being said, if basement flooding due to an internal issue, such as a burst pipe, many homeowners insurance policies will likely cover the damages.
Specifics of Water Damage
To further understand if your specific scenario is covered, it’s very important to distinguish the difference between certain types of water damage:
- Sudden or Accidental Discharge: If your basement happens to flood due to a sudden, accidental discharge of water from within your home (e.g.: from a broken pipe or malfunctioning appliance), homeowners insurance will often cover these types of damages.
- Sewer Backup or Sump Pump Overflow: Homeowners insurance coverage for sewer backup or sump pump failure is not typically included in your standard homeowners insurance policies. However, many insurers will offer additional riders or endorsements which can be purchased to cover these specific risks.
- Groundwater Seepage: Water seeping into your basement through the foundation from rising groundwater levels is generally not covered under standard homeowners insurance policies. This specific type of water damage will often be considered a maintenance issue, rather than a sudden or accidental occurrence.
Flood Insurance
If you’re seeking out protection against external flooding sources, you’ll want to consider a separate flood insurance policy. In the United States, flood insurance is primarily provided through the NFIP (National flood Insurance Program). This specific program is managed by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management). It’s designed to offer insurance to homeowners in participating communities, providing the right level of coverage for the structure of the home and its contents.
Assessing Your Needs
If you reside in an area which is prone to flooding, or you have a basement susceptible to water issues, assessing your insurance needs is critical. You’ll want to consider the following steps:
- Review Your Current Homeowners Policy: You’ll want to carefully review all details of your current policy to fully understand what is covered and what is not covered. Be sure to pay special attention to any and all exclusions or limitations regarding water damage.
- Consider Additional Coverage: If your current policy does not happen to cover certain risks such as sewer backup or groundwater seepage, you’ll want to speak with your insurance agent or insurer to add specific endorsements which will extend your coverage.
- Evaluate the Need for Flood Insurance: Assessing the risk of external flooding can help you determine the need for flood insurance and whether purchasing flood insurance is the right move for you.
Choose Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance for Your Homeowners Insurance Needs
When you choose to protect your home from basement flooding with the right level of insurance coverage, you’re doing more than just adding to your homeowners insurance policy; you’re adding peace of mind to your daily life. While most homeowners insurance policies do not cover external flooding, your policy may cover damages from internal water issues. You’ll want to review your existing coverage with us at Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance so we can help you determine if you do indeed have the right level of coverage to protect your home and its contents. Contact us and we’ll be happy to help in any way we can. We look forward to hearing from you soon!