An Overview On Water Damages In Home

Water damage is a very common disaster when you are a tenant or owner of a home. It is with a view to covering such damage that insurers have planned to compensate for water damages through home insurance. Depending on the performance of the chosen contract, a greater or lesser number of damages may be taken into account by your insurance. It is therefore essential to choose your guarantees carefully and to know certain actions to adopt in the event of water damage. We explain it to you!

What to do in the event of water damages in your home?

First, you need to find out where the water damage is coming from. If it comes from your home, cut off the water supply or, if the flooding is severe, cut off the electricity as well. Otherwise, warn the occupants of the accommodation where the water damage comes from and complete an amicable report with them.

You must then notify your insurer by sending them, within 5 days, a claim declaration. This period begins on the date you discover the water damages. In general, it is a registered letter with acknowledgement of your contact details, the address of the house concerned your contract number and precisely describing the damage and the origin of the incident. If you are a tenant, tell your landlord. If you live in a building, you must notify the condominium association and/or the manager.

Keep proof of the loss. Take photos and store damaged goods, even irrecoverable ones, so that the expert appointed by your insurer can examine them. Once the expert has passed and with the prior agreement of your insurer, you can start cleaning, drying and restoring the damaged parts of your home.

In the event of water damages, it is better to be covered by home insurance. If you haven’t already, you can use the services of an online insurance broker. They compare the best contracts on the market for you and present you with several home insurance quotes in just a few minutes. You just have to choose the one that suits you best. A real saving of time and money!

Owner or tenant: who is responsible?

Water damage can sometimes involve third parties. It is in this case very important to determine the responsibility of each one so that each party concerned obtains adequate compensation. So in the event of water damages due to flooding at your upstairs neighbour: 

• the neighbour’s liability insurance will take over and compensate you
• flooding that has started in the common areas
• a flood that has occurred in your home
• if you are a tenant, your landlord will be compensated if you have taken out rental risk coverage but not for your personal movable assets (except for an efficient HRM insurance contract ).
• If the disaster affects the neighbours, they will be reimbursed by your civil liability guarantee if you have one (compulsory for unfurnished rentals).
• If, on the other hand, you are a homeowner, it is preferable to take out home insurance because you will have to fully reimburse the damage in the event of water damage.
•  If you rent your accommodation, water damages resulting from a lack of maintenance or a construction defect is your responsibility and not that of the tenant.