Q

Our client is insured by a homeowners policy form HO-3. Their above-ground swimming pool collapsed due to deterioration. Water escaped and went into the basement of the residence through the walls and back door, causing damage to the building. Does the water damage exclusion on the HO-3 void coverage for this type of loss?

New York Subscriber

A

There is coverage under an HO-3 for damage to the building from this cause. The water damage exclusion voids coverage for damage from natural occurrences of water, such as floods, surface water, and sewer back-up.

Even though the pool water traveled over the surface of the ground to reach the home and damage it, surface water generally is held to be water “which is diffused over the surface of the ground, derived from falling rains or melting snows, and continues to be such until it reaches some well defined channel in which it is accustomed to flow and does flow with other waters.” This definition was used in Georgetown Square v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co., 523 N.W.2d 380 (1994) and has been cited with approval in many other cases.