There’s water in my basement – now what?
Several years back, I came home to find my wife in tears and water streaming down into my basement from the washroom above. Apparently my wife wanted to clean all the sponges in our house (those things are germ magnates you know) and put them all into the sink. She poured in some bleach and proceeded to stop-up the sink and fill the basin with water. One thing lead to another and the kids distracted her. Half an hour later, my wife is in tears and I have a small flood in my finished basement, now what?
Well, my home insurance may cover such an incident. No it does not cover a naturally occurring flood. You need to purchase flood insurance for that (Ask your Encharter Insurance Agent about flood insurance to make sure you are protected). However, it may cover water damage (subject to policy sub-limits or exclusions) that occurs from the back-up of sewers and drains. To report the incident, all I would have to do is to go on line and click “Service Center” and enter in a few details. Within minutes I will be talking to a friendly Encharter Insurance Customer Care Representative.
In my case, I chose to take care of the problem myself. I did this for two reasons:
1) If you will remember in my previous blog “How can I save money on my auto insurance” I recommend high deductibles to save money on insurance. I don’t want to submit small claims to my insurance carrier since they will only raise the cost of my insurance. Therefore, I might as well take the insurance credit they offer for a higher deductible.
2) In the case of homeowners there is a little know fact that all home claims are kept in a database – called a “clue report”. If your home has too many claims (especially water claims) it can become very difficult to get low cost insurance. So switching carriers, even years after an incident won’t help.
As a result, I chose not to report the incident and repair the damage myself. This required very careful work. I needed to be sure to get rid of or thoroughly dry anything the water had come in contact with. Water damage can lead to toxic mold and I wanted to avoid that. $989.50 later my house was as good as new.
When you have a claim, we sure to talk to your Encharter Insurance Agent. We can help you make the right decision on how to handle your claim. Certainly, in the case of an automobile accident, where others are involved, you must report the incident. However, when it is your property that is damaged, we can help you assess the situation and make the right call for you and your family. After all, at Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”
For up-to-date flood insurance news, as well as rates and coverage information, visit our Flood Insurance Resource Center.
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