If your home or business has been damaged or destroyed due to heavy and/or wind-driven rain, high winds, fallen trees, mud flow or rising water, your first steps should be to stay as safe as possible, photograph the damage, find your insurance policy and check your deductible. If it’s fairly clear that the cost of repairing the damage will be higher than your deductible, notify your insurer immediately and open a claim. Then focus on preventing further damage and drying out your home and possessions.  Your insurer should bring in a qualified professional to do that.  If they don’t, you should notify your insurer in writing that you’ve waited long enough, your property needs to be protected, you’re going to go ahead and hire someone to do that and you expect them to reimburse you promptly for the expense. Keep good notes and records on all conversations with insurance company and repair professionals.

The information you’ll find here and throughout our website can help you understand what types of damage are typically covered in a home insurance policy (wind-driven rain that enters through openings in the building envelope, tree damage, backed up sewers and drains, damaged culverts/drains) versus typically excluded (rising flood waters from an inundation, landslides, mudslides).

In almost all cases, property insurance policies exclude flood damage, mud and landslides unless triggered by a wildfire in the region.  A flood insurance policy (which very few Californians carry) covers flood damage and mudflow.

If a landslide or mudflow impacting your home was triggered by a recent wildfire in your region, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has previously put insurance companies on notice that he expects them to process claims quickly and fairly. See: notice-re-coverage-for-mudslide-and-earth-movement

UP recommends focusing on drying out and preventing further damage, photographing and documenting damaged and destroyed property if you can access it, getting a complete current copy of your insurance policy, and finding temporary lodging that is comfortable and safe.  If you are unable to return to your home, you may be able to access insurance funds through your “Additional Living Expense” Coverage.

Tips on wind-driven rain, flooding and storm damage:

• Do your best to prevent further damage and dry out your property to prevent mold growth.
• Find and read the parts of your home or business insurance policy that explain what types of water damage is covered and excluded, including backed up sewers and drains and the definition of “flood” or “flooding”.
• Check your deductible.  If damage is relatively minor and repair won’t be above your deductible, filing a claim may not be the smart move.  If your insurer isn’t going to pay it anyway, it’s best to avoid having the claim on your record/risk profile.
• Focus on completely inventorying and valuing all damage and costs to repair or replace your property, regardless of your insurance situation.
• Keep a diary of conversations with insurance, repair, government, and other professionals
• Flood policies have different rules than home policies.
• If you did not have flood insurance, there may still be damage that may be covered under your homeowner’s policy, depending on how it is written.  Examples could be wind-driven rain, sewage backup due to electrical failure of a pump or other device, other damage due to power outages or surges.
• If you find yourself in a situation where a relatively recent wildfire burned hillsides and areas near your home and caused mud or debris flow that damaged your property, you can make a claim under your home policy, (even if you have no coverage for flood damage) on the grounds that the fire (a covered peril) caused the flow that caused the damage.  More information can be found here.
• Give your home and/or flood insurer a chance to do the right thing, but advocate for yourself and get help from the California Department of Insurance and/or experienced professionals if you feel you’re not being treated fairly.
• If a home or flood insurance adjuster says damage isn’t covered, but you feel it should be, get an independent professional opinion before giving up on getting some or all of your claim paid.

UP offers tips, information, sample letters and tools to help each person recover the full amount they’re entitled to and avoid and solve problems during the insurance claim adjustment process.  Our resources draw on the personal and professional expertise of our volunteers and staff, many of whom lost homes in past disasters.  UP does not sell insurance, give legal advice, or represent individuals in claim matters.  Rest assured, our information and resources are designed to help you, the consumer…no catch, no hidden agenda. Sign up on the right hand side of this page to receive information and alerts from United Policyholders.

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Expert Answers to Your Questions:  The ”Ask an Expert” tool is an easy and safe way to ask direct questions to attorneys, claims professionals and previous disaster survivors who serve as UP volunteers and get the answers you need. The expert doesn’t see your contact info, but you can contact them if you want to follow up on their answer. Please visit the “Ask an Expert” forum here.