Does Insurance Cover Water & Fire Damage If You're to Blame?

When water or fire harms your Chicagoland property, it becomes quite a tense period while you try to decide the next steps or figure out how to fix the issue. What makes this time even more stressful is if you caused the damage yourself.

Discover how home insurance can help you, whether or not you’re responsible for water or fire damage.

What Water Damage Insurance Does/Does Not Cover

Allstate Insurance Company states that commonly a standard home insurance policy has two kinds of protection which might be relevant here:

• Dwelling coverage: This helps pay for the reconstruction or repair of any physical damage to the structure of a home.
• Coverage for personal belongings: This type of insurance will reimburse you for your possessions that received damage because of water issues.

Based on the policy you have, there might be a deductible amount that you need to pay yourself and also there are limits to how much coverage you get.

Should

plumbing

suddenly break, homeowner’s insurance probably pays for it. But if breakage comes from not keeping up maintenance well, then whether insurance covers it is uncertain. The insurance will not include coverage for the broken item, meaning if your dishwasher leaks and harms the flooring, they would cover the damage to the floor but not to the dishwasher itself.

Usually, damage from a

sewer backup

isn’t included in insurance coverage; however, you might have the option to purchase additional protection for it. Also, traditional insurance doesn’t cover damage from floods, but the

National Flood Insurance Program

might offer coverage in certain areas.

What Fire Damage Insurance Does/Does Not Cover

When there’s been

damage from fire

, insurance for personal belongings and the house itself is included. Coverage also extends to separate buildings like sheds or garages not attached if they get damaged by the fire. You must check how much your insurance covers for personal items to know if it will pay for all things that got damaged. If your house is damaged too severely to stay in it, usually the insurance will cover the cost of hotel stays for a while when they’re fixing your home.

So, let’s say you accidentally left a cloth near the stove and it starts burning. Then your insurance may still pay for the damage. However, if you intentionally set fire to your house, expect that you will have to pay all expenses for fixing it yourself.

Your insurance might also include coverage for your garden or outdoor plants if they get damaged by fire. It’s important to look at the details of your policy to find out if it protects you in case there’s a wildfire.

Whatever the Damage, Call Us Immediately

No matter whether the cause of damage was water or fire, and no matter whose fault it was (No judgments here!), make

ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons

your first call. We'll help you work through the insurance quagmire while working along with your insurance company to determine your levels of coverage. We will remove any trace of water or fire damage to your Chicagoland home and help get your life back to normal as soon as possible.