Is Water Backup Covered by Your Homeowners Insurance Policy?

Water backup can be a costly event for homeowners. Whether it occurs due to a malfunctioning washing machine or from a broken water pipe, water damage is a common issue that can be painful to clean up. This article discusses types of water damage exposures and how your homeowners insurance policy could respond to different claim scenarios.

Water Backup Types

Water backup is not a uniform issue. There are many different ways that water backup can occur and ultimately, damage your home and your belongings.

First, it’s important to understand the difference between flood and water backup coverage. While flood coverage typically covers water damage from natural disasters, water backup coverage is reserved for damage to your home from sources such as:

Sump pump
Sewer lines
Drain back up
Household appliances, hot water heaters and fixtures

Water backup coverage is a common endorsement option that homeowners can elect. However, the amount of coverage you may have for water damage can vary widely according to your homeowners insurance policy terms. Therefore, it’s important to understand your coverage and to proactively maintain any appliances or systems that could cause water leaks or backups.

Water Damage Claim Scenarios

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) estimates that water damage claims are the second most frequently filed claim and that 1 in 50 homeowners are affected from water damage annually. There are many that water damage can affect a home.

Generally, water damage caused by the following perils is covered if it is sudden and unexpected:

Broken appliances
Leaky hot water heater
Overflowing water receptacle such as toilet or bathtub

Another common water damage occurrence comes from “resulting damage.” This damage may be covered if it is the result of something that caused that damage. An example would be a pipe bursting and water damaging your basement floor. In this case, the pipe damage would not be covered, but the damage to the basement floor would be covered as resulting damage.

On the other hand, water damage that occurs over time usually isn’t covered. An example of a claim scenario is when you have a leaking toilet on the second floor of your house. Rather than fix the issue, the water leakage gradually damages your floor and eventually the first-floor ceiling below. If you file a claim in this scenario, it may be denied because your insurer would cite the fact that you neglected to fix the issue.

Homeowners Insurance and Water Backup

Is water backup covered under a typical homeowners insurance policy?

Generally, the short answer is no. Do not assume you have water backup coverage with a standard homeowners insurance policy.

Most homeowners policies will not cover water backup damages caused by lack of maintenance or neglect from the homeowner.

They also exclude water backup resulting from flooding and intentional damage. If a water drain on your street is plugged with leaves and diverts water into your home, flooding your basement, the resulting water damage will probably not be covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy.

However, if your homeowners insurance policy includes a water damage coverage endorsement, there may be coverage for water damage that is:

Caused by additional external perils such as sewer and ground seepage.
Sudden and caused by a source inside the house.
Resulting from the perils named in a homeowners policy such as heating, air conditioning or automatic fire suppression systems.

Be Proactive

Water backup is a common and expensive exposure for homeowners so proactive maintenance of appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, faucets and toilets is imperative.

Before you experience water damage or backup in your home, it’s important to find out how your homeowners policy would respond. You may want to add additional water damage endorsements and/or flood coverage to bolster your protection levels.

Need help interpreting your policy? We’re happy to help. Contact a BNC personal insurance agent for homeowners insurance guidance and solutions.