SAN ANTONIO — With so many people having damage related to last month's severe winter weather, the amount of insurance claims in the aftermath is projected to skyrocket across Texas. The chair of the state's insurance committee took time to speak to KENS 5 anchor Sarah Forgany.
Rep. Dr. Tom Oliverson said insurance companies will no doubt be overwhelmed with the huge number of claims. He also offered advice for those who are in the process of submitting claims – stressing the most important things people should do is to document their damage.
Of course, it's always best to check with your individual insurance company on your specific coverage. But homeowners insurance does not usually cover damage from busted pipes. The protection homeowners have is usually two-fold: first, insurers commonly explicitly cover damage that's caused by burst or ruptured pipes.
Secondly, many policies reference power failures to say that as long as an offsite failure results in covered damages to property, the insurer will cover the loss. Water would be such a covered condition if it caused the pipes to burst.
Insurers do not cover damages that were caused by plumbing freezes unless the claimant took reasonable steps — like maintaining heat and turning off one's water — to prevent the situation from worsening.
Damage from flood water, including excess ground water, isn't coverable by a regular homeowners or renters insurance policy. A homeowner would need a separate flood insurance policy to claim damage on the effects of melting snow, for instance, discharging back into the home.