When you walk into your home and there is standing water in your home or basement, after figuring out the safety of everybody, the next thing to figure out is where the water is coming from. This is huge for limiting damage to the property and once the source of water is found, will determine whether it is flood damage or water damage. What they might not know is that water and flood damage are actually different from the other. Often believe these two are interchangeable but this mistake is often realized by people too late when they try to file a water damage claim for flooding and find out that flooding is a different thing altogether.
The Difference:
The biggest difference between flood damage and water damage can be as simple as if the water came from inside or outside the house. Most flood damage stems from a natural source such as weather (heavy rains or floods), overflowing tidal waters or inland waters, like rivers and creeks, sudden accumulation of runoff water from one source, such as mountains and hills or, mudflow from deforested mountains and hills to name a few.
Water damage can come from water pipes burst, toilet overflows or some type of artificial water source to the home or property. Also if something is wrong a part of your home that could lead to water damage can be classified as water damage instead of flood damage such as severe rainstorms soak through your roof, damaging walls and floors or a hailstorm breaks your windows and allows water into your home.
It is actually can be easy to differentiate flood damage from water damage. Between indoor or outdoor, natural or artificial, and the number of homes affected. If one of many homes that suffer from the same problem it most likely is flood damage. When your home suffers from water damage, your home is the only one that has such an issue.
When flooding happens, it helps for you to have flood damage coverage on your insurance since water damage does not cover any repairs and restoration that is done due to floods.
The Similarities:
With both types of damages, the similarities can be obvious, both wreak havoc on a home by submerging your belongings, causing structural damage, and making you lose important items that are irreplaceable. Also similar for both is the cleanup process and the steps you need to take to ensure that your claims will be honored by your insurance company are also generally the same.
To ensure that the claims for your water damaged or flood-damaged home is processed by your insurance company, you need to follow these steps:
Take pictures and videos of the damage
Make a list of the damaged items in your home
Contact your insurance company
Contact a restoration company
Wait for your insurance adjuster to inspect your home
Clean your home after the insurance adjuster has assessed it
Have your home restored and repaired after your insurance claim has been processed
Blue River Restoration, LLC uses leading industry water mitigation and drying techniques and equipment to efficiently remove moisture from even the hardest-to-reach areas of your property. Our restoration contractors are continually trained and certified. With our immediate response, proven techniques and cutting-edge equipment, you can rest assured you will receive the best quality service at a lower cost.
