Water damage and home insurance in Georgia

How home policies usually treat water

This is a general explanation, not advice about any particular policy. What your policy covers depends on its wording, the endorsements you bought and the facts of the loss. Your declarations page and your agent are the authority.

Many home policies separate water damage into a few groups:

• Sudden and accidental water from inside the house, such as a supply line that bursts, is the kind most often covered.
• Gradual damage from a slow leak, seepage or long-term humidity is often excluded, which is one reason to deal with drips and stains quickly.
• Flood water rising from outside is generally not covered by a home policy. FEMA says most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, and Georgia's insurance department says most policies exclude natural disasters like floods, with separate coverage usually available.
• Water that backs up through a drain or sewer is treated separately by many insurers, and may be covered only if the policy has an endorsement for it.
• Mold is often limited or excluded unless it follows a covered water loss.

Georgia's insurance department also explains the difference between replacement cost (the cost to repair or replace with similar materials, without deducting for depreciation) and actual cash value (the cost after depreciation), and reminds homeowners that the deductible applies to each claim.

Sources: Georgia OCI, Home Insurance; FEMA, Flood Insurance

What Georgia's insurance department advises after a loss

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire publishes claim tips. In short:

• Know your policy, including what is excluded and what the deductibles are.
• File as soon as possible. Your policy might require notice within a certain time.
• Give complete, correct information, and keep copies of all correspondence. Note the date, name and title of everyone you talk with.
• Make temporary repairs to prevent further damage, and keep the receipts. Photograph the damage first if you can.
• Don't make permanent repairs before the damage is inspected; the department warns that a claim may be denied if you do.
• Keep damaged items for the adjuster to see, and ask for an itemized explanation of any settlement offer.
• If a claim is denied, ask for a letter giving the reason and the policy language it relies on.

Source: Georgia OCI, Insurance Claim Tips

If you disagree with your insurer

The department's Consumer Services Division handles complaints about insurers, agents and the way a claim is handled. It asks you to contact the insurance company first and try to resolve it there, then to file through its online Consumer Complaint Portal if that fails.

Source: Georgia OCI, File a Consumer Insurance Complaint

Where this site fits

This site connects callers with independent restoration contractors. It does not sell insurance, interpret policies, or file or negotiate claims. A restoration contractor's moisture readings, photos and invoices can be useful records to share with your insurer; ask the contractor what documentation they provide.