I get a lot of blank stares and confused looks when I tell people I am in the “disaster restoration” business.  Yes, this is technically the name of our industry, but most don’t understand what the term means.  I will attempt to explain.

When you think of a ‘disaster’, you might think of earthquakes and volcanoes.  The majority of our work is a result of water damage due to plumbing leaks, sewage back-ups, etc.  We also respond to smoke damaged buildings and storm damaged buildings.  Our basic function is emergency response to minimize the damage done by these situations and others we are called to.  This might include roof tarps, window board-ups, water extraction/drying services, corrosion mitigation, soot cleaning to contents and structures, or whatever emergency needs arise.

Time is of the essence in our business in order to minimize additional damage to structure and contents.  Because of this, we guaranty 4 hour arrival in our home coverage area.  This area consists of Bloomington, IN and surrounding counties and Columbus, IN and surrounding counties.  The counties covered are as follows:  Monroe, Lawrence, Owen, Greene, Morgan, Brown, Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings, Decatur, Shelby, and Johnson.  We will cover counties outside this home coverage area – we just can’t guaranty 4 hour response.

Our services are generally, but not always, covered by a standard property insurance policy.  If you have any additional questions or comments about the services offered by CleanWorks Restoration, don’t hesitate to drop us a line or give us a call.

Well, the short answer to this question is:  Probably. (Don’t you hate wish-washy answers) The important question to ask in determining whether your water damage is covered is “What was the source of the water?”  It doesn’t even matter if it was a result of your stupidity – insurance really will pay for you doing stupid things and making messes. 

Let’s start with what is generally NOT covered.  Most insurance policies DO NOT cover water damage that is a result of bad drainage around your house, i.e. the river flooded its banks and came in your house, your flower beds next to the house are above the level of your slab and allowing water intrusion, your basement leaks (although there can be an exception to this I’ll talk about in a minute), your gutters are clogged causing standing water next to your house and subsequent water intrusion.  You get the idea.

A good way to think about it is: If the water hit the ground before it came in your house, it probably is NOT covered by insurance.  However, there is insurance for these situations as well.  These events would be addressed by the National Flood Insurance Program through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Authority).  Contact your insurance agent for details.  Your agent can sell it to you.  Here comes a myth buster: You do NOT have to live in a flood plain to get this insurance – virtually any homeowner can buy this insurance.  In fact, if you don’t live in a flood plain the premium is quite low.

This means that pretty much any other water damage is covered by homeowners insurance.  Here is a brief listing of examples of losses that ARE generally covered by insurance.

Washing machine hose break

Dishwasher malufunction

Toilet malfunction

Plumbing fittings fail

Started filling the bath tub, forgot about it, and left the house to eat dinner while your house flooded (yes, this really happens)

Outside water spigot freezes (always disconnect garden hoses in the winter)

Sump pump failure in the basement

ATTENTION BASEMENT OWNERS:  The last one, sump pump failure, is ONLY a covered event if you have a special endorsement on your insurance policy.  This is very, very important if you have a finished basement.  Contact your insurance agent for pricing – it isn’t very expensive but will save you thousands when you need it .  Basement floods usually start at $2,000 - $3,000 dollars and go up from there – sometimes WAY up with ruined carpet, furniture, drywall, etc.  We recently did an $8,000 water damage in a finished basement that was NOT covered by insurance because they didn’t know they needed an endorsement – OUCH!  It would have been more expensive, but we were able to save their old carpet.  Needless to say they were happy about that.

There is one final water damage we have not discussed – sewage backups.  These, like sump pump failure discussed earlier, require an endorsement on your policy.  Consult with your insurance agent to make sure you are comfortable with your coverage here.  There is nothing crappier (pun intended) than coming home to sewage all over your bathroom floor or, worse, a 1” pool throughout your home.  We’ve seen it before and, probably like you, they didn’t think it would happen to them either.  When you come home to that, the rest of your day goes down the toilet pretty fast (yes, I did it again).

At CleanWorks, our primary business is water damage drying.  We are regularly paid by insurance companies for our services.  In fact, we are often referred to our customers by the insurance companies.  So, is your water damage covered by your home owner’s insurance?  The answer is … it depends.

I hope we have been helpful.  If you ever have any questions about water damage in your home or business in South Central Indiana, feel free to contact us.  We serve Columbus, Indiana and surrounding counties as well as Bloomington, Indiana and surrounding counties.  Our coverage area includes Johnson County and the south suburbs or Indianapolis.

Brad Knauer

CleanWorks Restoration