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What Water Damages Are Covered on a Home Insurance Policy?

There are six kinds of water coverages you can have on a home insurance policy, however you usually have to add them all separately. Every coverage is different. If you call us at Mojo, we will happily explain the different coverages to you. You cannot rely on other insurance agencies to explain these coverages, so it is your responsibility to ask them.

Sudden & Accidental

This is usually covered automatically in your home insurance policy and includes coverage for busted pipes and appliances. You must find and report the damages within a certain number of days. If you do not report the damages within a certain number of days, it will no longer be considered “sudden” and that claim will be upgraded to “Seepage and Leakage”.

Rusty burst pipe squirting water at high pressure

Seepage & Leakage

clogged and leaky sink sewer

This coverage ensures that all water leaks are covered regardless of how long the claim has been going on. The “Seepage and Leakage” coverage is an upgraded version of the “Sudden Water” coverage.

Water Backup

This covers situations when water backs up your drains. This can happen for a variety of reasons – roots growing through pipes (they like to find the closest water source), grease/item clogs, faulty plumbing, etc. This can cause gross, smelly backups and often times a hazmat team is needed. If the clog originates in or below the foundation it can be expensive to fix.

Photo of epidemic specialist professional guy disinfectant clean public places pandemic arms crossed wear white hazmat protective suit goggles mask hood gloves isolated grey color background

Water Foundation

House falling apart because of a foundation failure, EPS 8 vector illustration

This covers when there is water damage inside the foundation. You will often see this called “Foundation” on policies, but do not let it fool you. There is actually NO standard foundation coverage for cracks, shifting, settling, movement and/or sinkholes with home insurance. This only applies to water damage within the foundation.

Service Line

This covers the water line that is between your house and the main water line in the street. If this line busts, you will get a big geyser or a nasty swamp on your front lawn. Damages usually range around seven thousand dollars and if you don’t add this coverage to your policy, you will be responsible for the damages.

Water Pipe Burst. Galvanized water pipe is decay

Wind Driven Rain

home warranty: leaking roof or pipe burst

This is a very sneaky coverage you must be aware of. This is the most commonly sued for claim in Texas. This covers your roof when it gets damaged over a period of time instead of one specific storm. You will never see it explicitly mentioned on your quote, so you must ask your agent to make sure it is covered. On your roof, it might look like there are no damages on the outside, but sometimes there are damages within. Many companies think this is something you should fix before it becomes a problem, so they deny you coverage. However, at Mojo we make sure all of our clients have this, unless explicitly mentioned otherwise.