Ok, so you don’t have flood insurance, but what if your basement flooded after Irene because the sump pump failed when the power went out? That sounds “homeowner’s insurance-y,” right? Will insurance pay for it then?

Nope, the Insurance Information Institute tells the NYT Bucks blog. Not unless your homeowner’s insurance policy is one of the handfuls that has a specific clause covering this kind of loss. Otherwise flood damage is excluded from most homeowner’s insurance policies. It doesn’t matter that the flooding occurred only after the pump went out.

So while homeowner’s insurance might cover the sump pump itself if it broke down – though not if the breakdown happened because of the flood – it won’t cover damage that resulted after the pump failed. Nice try!

Hurricane Damage Questions, Part 2: Flooding and Food [bucks.blogs.nytimes]

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