Flooded basement during contractor work (insurance, house, deductible)

[ChrisB80]

I've had some fairly significant work going on in my basement with home renovations recently. First, I had a second hot water tank installed to add a heating zone to the house. With that job, the original water tank was moved over a couple feet. Currently, I'm having an egress window added to the basement and they had to re-run the main waste line and route it higher (over the top of the window), and also add an ejector pump. Tonight, the main water heat for the home had it's release valve go off and filled up half the basement with about an inch of water.

The plumber claims that he didn't install or modify the original hot water tank so this wasn't his doing. I find it to be more than mere coincidence that this happens the day after he re-routed the plumbing and installed the ejector pump. Obviously, the pressure throughout the system changes etc. Does this sound like something they could be held liable for? After he came and assessed the flood tonight and pinned it to the release valve, he was talking about assessing it to figure out what the fix is. At this point, I am hesitant to even pay for the original job, never mind throw more money at it. This was not the first problem we've had with the plumber during this work, but it is by far the worst.

[LIHR]

Call another plumber to evaluate but this time don't use "cheapest" as the main criteria for your plumber selection.

[JB from NC]

Originally Posted by ChrisB80

I've had some fairly significant work going on in my basement with home renovations recently. First, I had a second hot water tank installed to add a heating zone to the house. With that job, the original water tank was moved over a couple feet. Currently, I'm having an egress window added to the basement and they had to re-run the main waste line and route it higher (over the top of the window), and also add an ejector pump. Tonight, the main water heat for the home had it's release valve go off and filled up half the basement with about an inch of water.

The plumber claims that he didn't install or modify the original hot water tank so this wasn't his doing. I find it to be more than mere coincidence that this happens the day after he re-routed the plumbing and installed the ejector pump. Obviously, the pressure throughout the system changes etc. Does this sound like something they could be held liable for? After he came and assessed the flood tonight and pinned it to the release valve, he was talking about assessing it to figure out what the fix is. At this point, I am hesitant to even pay for the original job, never mind throw more money at it. This was not the first problem we've had with the plumber during this work, but it is by far the worst.

Rerouting the waste pipe and adding an ejector pump (to send the waste up) shouldn't change the pressure in your hydronic heating system.

[SandyJet]

inch of fresh water? How does that cause damage?

[deeken]

Originally Posted by SandyJet

inch of fresh water? How does that cause damage?

It causes psychological damage. The damage done to ones psyche is irreparable.

[ughhnyc]

should be covered under your homeowners policy.

also, find a new plumber.

[Coronaria]

Originally Posted by ughhnyc

should be covered under your homeowners policy.

also, find a new plumber.

Wrong.

Flood damage (even if caused by plumbing) is not covered under a homeowners policy. Read the Exclusions.

Neither is damage caused by mold resulting from water damage, or the cost of mold remediation.

Neither is damage from pests or vermin (rodents, squirrels, raccoons etc)

You'd be amazed at what a homeowners policy does NOT cover.

But I agree, find a new plumber.

Eta: some homeowners policies may have coverage for "backup of sewers and drains" but that is an extra coverage, usually on premium policies rather than basic. It is usually a fixed limited dollar amount of coverage, and not a whole lot either.

[commoncourtesy]

Originally Posted by Coronaria

Wrong.

Flood damage (even if caused by plumbing) is not covered under a homeowners policy. Read the Exclusions.

Neither is damage caused by mold resulting from water damage, or the cost of mold remediation.

Neither is damage from pests or vermin (rodents, squirrels, raccoons etc)

You'd be amazed at what a homeowners policy does NOT cover.

But I agree, find a new plumber.

Eta: some homeowners policies may have coverage for "backup of sewers and drains" but that is an extra coverage, usually on premium policies rather than basic. It is usually a fixed limited dollar amount of coverage, and not a whole lot either.

Hey expert on insurance policies you are WRONG. Read your insurance policy. If the damage is "sudden and accidental it is covered under the homeowner's insurance policy". What happened to the OP is "sudden and accidental". If it was a pipe that leaked over a period of years then it finally gave, that would be a maintenance issue and no coverage. But in this instance he has coverage for everything that was damaged. He can recover from his insurance company less his deductible. His company will then subrogate against the plumber's insurance company to recover what was paid out to the OP including his deductible. A flood is not covered i.e. like we had with Super storm Sandy. You would need Flood insurance. In this instance the OP is good to go if he wants to file a claim against his homeowner's carrier.

[85dumbo]

My parent's house had a frozen pipe burst and it was covered under insurance policy. However, the insurance co dropped the policy when it was time to renew. So I would only use your insurance for catastrophes. Even if they don't drop you, watch your premium go way up if you start making claims.

[twingles]

Someone is confused about what a flood means in relation to a homeowners policy.