Type of Loss: Water – Toilet Overflow
The owner has a bathroom where the toilet flap had been malfunctioning causing water to continuously run into the toilet bowl but has not caused any water overflow. The owner's daughter flushed a paper towel down the toilet by accident around 8pm. The next morning around 6am, owner found the house flooded due to the toilet now overflowing.
The insurance carrier has decided to implement a water damage sublimit of $10,000. Upon our review, this is appropriate only for damage caused by "water backup and sump overflow", which according to the owner is not the type of loss that occurred.
Can you advise what coverage would apply to this type of loss?
Texas Subscriber
What you have to determine is what exactly happened with the water. Did the flushed paper towel cause a blockage, that caused the water to reverse direction and backup, in which case the water backup endorsement would come into play. Or, did the paper towel successfully flush and something else caused the water to keep running and overflow the toilet? If that happened there may be coverage. However, if the insured knew there was an issue with the toilet and didn't repair it, that could be excluded as faulty maintenance. It really depends on the details of the claim.
The policy provides coverage for accidental discharge or overflow of water from within a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire protective sprinkler system or household appliance on the "residence premises". If the water truly overflowed the toilet, then there should be coverage. This all hinges on what actually caused the water to overflow, something we can't address.