My basement flooded during recent December storm, will my insurance cover the damages?

Many of our customers sustained water damage to homes, condos, and apartments from heavy rains that drenched the greater Seattle area December 2nd and 3rd. Unfotunately, most standard home and business insurance policies don’t cover storm related flood and water losses. Further, most insurance policies do not cover any type of water damage caused by surface water flooding, seepage, leakage, or storm, sewer, or sump pump back-up. Water damage is usually covered on a homeowner’s policy is when a pipe suddenly and accidentally bursts, while most other types of water damage are not covered.

Our agency offers flood insurance in Washington State protection through the National Flood Insurance Program, however the flood policy excludes most damage to basements. Flood insurance only covers flood damage; it does not cover leakage or seepage in basements where there was no surface water. Some losses that are not covered by insurance may be filed with a local government entity if water damage caused due to the back up of a city maintained storm water or sewer system.

To submit a claim contact the city or government entity that is responsible for the water back-up:

King County - 800-523-5044
http://www.metrokc.gov/prepare/

Snohomish County - (425) 388-5060 www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Emergency_Management

City of Everett - 425-257-8800
http://www.everettwa.org/default.aspx?ID=62

City of Mukilteo - 425.355.4141, Ext. 225
http://ci.mukilteo.wa.us/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=10

City of Seattle - (206) 684-8213
http://www.seattle.gov/riskmanagement/

If you need guidance on how to begin to repair damages here are few helpful links:

Pumping out a flooded basement
http://www.metrokc.gov/health/disaster/basementflood.htm

Mold Prevention
http://www.epa.gov/mold/table1.html

Dealing with flood damage (news story w/ links)
http://www.komotv.com/news/consumer/12102331.html

To clients of the Cascadia Agency – if you have incurred water damage from the recent storm please call our agency at 425-353-1499 for advice on how to process the claim.

If you are thinking about buying flood insurance there is one important statistic to remember; almost 25% of all flood insurance claims came from areas no one considered high risk. A single inch of water, which you may not think of as a flood, can cause costly damage to your home or business. It is important to remember that there is a 30 day waiting period in order to receive flood coverage.

Our agency philosophy is to meet each household once a year to ensure coverage stays current with the needs of each client and reviews your exposure to uncovered risks. We want to make sure our clients understand each policy and review limits and discover potential gaps before a loss occurs.