WATER DAMAGE VS FLOOD DAMAGE: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

8/1/2022 (Permalink)

water damage ventura california

When people talk about water damage and flood damage, they think that these two are used interchangeably. What they not know is that water damage and flood damage are actually different from the other. This mistake is often realized by people too late when they try a water damage claim for flooding and find out that flooding is a different thing altogether.

What is the difference between water damage and flood damage?

It is actually easy to differentiate flood damage from water damage. Remember that when a home suffers from flood damage, it is usually one of many homes that suffer from the same problem. When your home suffers from water damage, your home is the only one that has such an issue.

• Water damage is usually caused by plumbing, such as a backup from a toilet, a flooded air-conditioning unit, or an overflowed washing machine.
• Flood damage is usually caused by water originating from a natural disaster hurricane, or heavy rain event. This can include flash – flooding, sump pump failure or prolonged roof leaks.

Does Homeowners Insurance cover flood damage?

Although the standard homeowner’s policy covers water damage, it does not cover flood damage, nor does it cover flooding related to heavy rains, hurricanes or storm. Since flood damage is not considered a type of water damage, it’s critical to take out a flood insurance policy that provides coverage for the flooding that often accompanies wet weather, especially if you live in a high risk flood zone.

The standard homeowner’s insurance policy will cover water damage if the owner could not prevent the damage, but this is where it can get a little dicey. Whether water damage is covered or not depends on a few things:

• The source of the damage
• The type of insurance policy
• Whether the water damage is sudden and accidental or gradual

When your home is damaged by a burst pipe, toilet or sewage overflow, water heater leak or because of a storm, call SERVPRO of Ventura. We can take care of any and all restoration needs from water damage and flooding. Call us at (805)656-3911.