Protect Your Home from Heavy Rain

Damages due to typhoons and heavy rains have frequently occur in various places. Due to heavy rainfall, flooding of roads and houses are becoming more and more inevitable. Hence, properties such as houses are more prone to become damaged. If this happen, you’ll surely need a huge amount of money to repair or replace the damage. However, you can save yourself from this expenses. Here’s how:

Understand Water Damage and Flood Damage

It’s important to understand the differences between water and flood damage and to be sure you understand your insurance coverage in both scenarios.

Water damage is usually caused by plumbing, such as a backup from a toilet, a flooded air-conditioning unit, or an overflowed washing machine.

Flood damage is usually caused by water originating from a natural disaster, hurricane, or heavy rain event. This can include flash-flooding, sump pump failure, or prolonged roof leaks.

Understand Your Insurance Coverage

In insurance-speak, flooding only happens when water touches the ground before it enters your house. If rain washes off the street and onto your property, you’ve experienced flooding. If instead, rain flows through a leaky roof or a hail-shattered window, that counts as water damage. Most homeowners policies protect against water damage, but flood insurance does not. The reverse is also true. Flood insurance covers only flood damage and not water damage. Take note, however, that homeowners insurance policies specifically exclude water damage caused by flooding. Flood insurance is the only policy that protects against rain-related and other flood damage.

Know How to Protect Your Home from Heavy Rain Damage

• Clean your gutters and downspouts. This is basic maintenance for homeowners, but because you likely can’t see inside your gutters most of the time, they can easily be overlooked. Gutters are designed to direct water from your roof away from the foundation or other vulnerable areas. When leaves, twigs, and other debris collect in gutters and downspouts, water runoff from the roof backs up. With nowhere to go, heavy rain can damage your roof or allow water to collect around your foundation, a bulkhead, or even a window.
• Install French drains. A French drain, also called a rock drain, can help prevent basement or crawl-space flooding by redirecting groundwater away from the foundation. This is especially helpful if your property has even a slight slope. In simple terms, a perforated pipe is placed at the bottom of a narrow trench that’s dug around the perimeter of your home. Gravel or rock is filled in over the pipe and enables water to drain easily into the pipe, which redirects the water away from at-risk areas.
• Install (and maintain) a sump pump. This preventive measure is important, especially if your basement (or crawl space) is below the water table. Sump pumps are activated automatically when water starts to accumulate in their specifically recessed location in the floor. Be sure to test the pump ahead of anticipated heavy rains or other storms, because a failed pump won’t be covered in your homeowners insurance policy without a special endorsement.
• Do a roof health checkup. This is another simple preventive measure, but it’s one that can make a big difference. How old is your roof? Are there any damaged or missing shingles? Be sure your roof is in top shape; it’s literally the first line of defense when it comes to heavy rain.

Water is one of the biggest threats to your house and belongings. To avoid it from damaging your properties, talk to ONYX Insurance Brokers and insure your properties. Contact or email now!