Protecting Against Water Damage

A lot of questions about water damage come into my mailbox, so I thought I would address a one of the most common. What is the difference between Flood and Sewer/Water Backup? One of them can be included in your policy and one has to be purchased separately.

After the jump we'll examine each one and let you know how to tailor your insurance policy to suit your needs.

Here's a quick rule-of-thumb on the difference between flood and sewer and water backup. Flood is water coming down and sewer and water backup is water coming up.

Sewer / Water Backup is the insurance term for water that "backs-up" through a sink, toilet, drain or well in your home. This is most common when a sump-pump in a basement fails and the water rises into your house instead of being ejected through the pump. Toilet overflows and other instances where drains are clogged and backup are also covered, but only if you include the coverage on your policy. While it is a common coverage (and the source of most homeowner claims), it's not always automatically included. The cost for cleaning up the water and drying out your home is usually less than $5,000 (depending on the size), and from there what limit you need depends on how the space is furnished. If you have rugs, carpet, wood floors and furniture, the cost of replacing or repairing those can be significant.

Direct writers (i.e. State Farm, Allstate, etc...) usually have a limit on the amount of coverage you can have at $10,000. That wouldn't cover a fully furnished room if you have a claim and is probably best for unfinished spaces.

Then there is flood. Flood is when water comes out of the sky or from any water source outside of the home and comes into your house/apartment. Usually it comes in through a patio door, door to the garage or through a basement window. To cover against this requires a flood policy, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is a government subsidized program. The cost of these policies range from $300 to thousands depending on what flood zone you're in.

For most apartment renters, flood isn't much of a concern, unless you're in a basement apartment and even then, most flood policies don't cover real property in a basement, but only clean-up and mechanical systems.

So, in conclusion, we always recommend having adequate levels of Sewer/Water Backup coverage. Just make sure if you already have an insurance policy that it's included. If you're interested in flood, or want to know more about it, please contact your agent or drop me a line.