Home water damage comes from many differentsources, is classified in different ways, and falls under differentareas of coverage.

For instance, natural flooding is considered to be verydifferent from standard water damage and is covered under separatepolicies. When you're confronted with a claim, here are some of the things you need tolook for to judge the matter correctly according to the policy.

Gradual vs. sudden damage

This is by far the most important distinction. Homeowners insurance is meant to cover suddenunexpected damage to a home. The trouble with water damage is thatit can hide for quite a long time before it becomes apparent. Thisleads to conflicts about whether or not the original cause of thedamage was gradual or sudden.

For instance, discovering a crack in a foundation might be acause for a claim. But if the crack wasn't found and water seepsinto the basement and causes damage that might not be coveredbecause it was gradual. Another example is a slow faucet leak undera sink. If the cabinet floor underneath the sink gets damaged,that's gradual.

Examples of sudden damage include a pipe breaking in a freeze that leads to ahuge flood, or a tree poking a hole into the roof of a home afterfalling and letting storm water in. But these can also lead tosecondary damage that doesn't show up till much later, which cancreate conflicts with policyholders.

If the smashed roof was repaired, but soaked insulation wasn'tremedied, mold could develop and lead to another claim. A commonexample is a sudden failure of an appliance. A washer in adishwasher might gradually fail, but once it does the damage can besudden.

Policy will be the guide

The policy will be the guide about whether or not this secondarydamage can be covered or not. For instance, some states requireinsurance companies to cover secondary mold damage due to alegitimate water damage claim. It's up to adjusters to know theexceptions and to understand exactly what the policy covers.

Adjusters have to get a clear idea of where the water camefrom and why before adjusting a claim. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Water damage vs. flooding

Most homeowners policies will cover sudden water damage exceptin one major case, flooding. Flooding is not covered by mosthomeowner's policies. It requires separate flood insurance. So, how is flooding defined?

In the most general sense, once water from a natural source(e.g., a river or the sky) touches the ground, it is thenconsidered flood water. Your insurance company may put in otherrestrictions, but this is the core difference. This is why stormwater falling in from a hole in the roof is covered by somepolicies, but a swollen river washing away a porch is not.

However, most homeowners are not conversant with thisdifference. It is common to say that a room is flooded when thereis water all over the floor, and this can set off alarm bells forinsurance adjusters. Adjusters have to get aclear idea of where the water came from and why before adjusting aclaim. Too many simply hear the word flood and automatically denyit.

How to make a judgment

Deciding which category a claim falls into is tricky, butacquiring evidence is the same as any other claim. Ask for homemaintenance records, photos, and descriptions of what the homeownerdid before and after the incident.

Interview any professionals including water damage professionalswho worked on the situation prior to your examination. Ask if anycleanup work was done and what preventative measures thepolicyholder took to prevent further damage. From there, it's justa matter of using your expertise and the wording of the policy toknow whether or not the claim is covered.

Michael Jacobs is the head of the public relationsdepartment at ServiceProsLocal.com, with a primary focuson customer satisfaction. He focuses on water damage restoration,environmental friendly house building and plant cultivation.Contact him at [email protected].