Coming home from a nice relaxing vacation to the sound of running water and the squish of wet carpets can bring you out of your vacation mode quickly. Your first action would be to turn off the water, but what then? How does the claim get started?
Today, most insurance companies provide 24/7 Claim Call Centers, and agents should have that phone number on their voice mail to make it easier to get help after office hours. The most important thing to remember is that it’s the insured’s responsibility to protect the property from further damage, make necessary repairs to protect the property, and keep records of the cost of these repairs. For wet carpeting, look up Water Damage Emergency Services in the Yellow Pages.
One of the most common causes of water damage loss is bursting of the rubber washing machine hoses. If you’re home and that happens, it can be a quick turn off of water, but if you’re out of town for a couple of weeks, the damage could amount to thousands. The rubber hoses become brittle over time and need to be checked often. One alternative is to replace them with steel ones that can be purchased at any home improvement store and will cost much less than a deductible.
Now let’s discuss the other thing that might be a problem when you get back from your vacation: the lawn needs to be mowed. Sorry, that isn’t a covered peril. Because there are so many kinds of machinery, you need to know your lawn mowing equipment might not be automatically covered on the homeowner’s policy. Motor driven vehicles are excluded on the home policy unless they’re used solely for the service of the insured premises. Liability and named peril coverage generally would be provided. For example, if you accidentally run into a tree while mowing the lawn, damage to the vehicle would be covered. However, once the maintenance vehicle leaves your premises, it may not be considered just personal property any more. Liability coverage applies off premises only in rare situations, so you might need a separate policy. Another factor to consider is the value of your mower. You need to check your policy limits for that type of vehicle.
As always, call your agent for answers to your questions. TPW