20 Feb Prevent basement flooding from snow melt and sump pump failure

Prevent basement flooding from snow melt and sump pump failure

By Rick Kinney

advocatepubadj@verizon.net

Twitter: @privateadjuster  

Bucks County Pennsylvania — While most residents in Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County and in the Philadelphia area are surely ready for higher temperatures and the resultant snow melt that will accompany them, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Services employees and all of the above mentioned county employees that have been plowing local roads all winter long now have another equally important task — to prevent storm drain flooding.

Crews have been working the last few days on storm sewer drains making sure that they are not blocked or frozen over from the accumulated snow and ice from this winter. In addition to clearing and digging ‘Catch Basins’ that help water runoff into area’s to help with storm sewer systems.

With temperatures expected to hit highs of between 41 and 45 degrees during today and 60 – 65 degrees Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Local areas such as BucksCounty, Chester County, Delaware County, MontgomeryCounty and Philadelphia accumulated snow on the ground is expected to melt significantly.

To make matters worse, Friday’s forecast also calls for a 100 percent chance of precipitation and thunder storms. Saturday to be in the upper 50’s as well as Sunday.

Prevent basement flooding if possible and have the right insurance protection

Homeowner’s need to understand that water that leaks through basement walls or backs up from a storm sewer or drain is specifically excluded under the exclusions part of the insurance policy found in Section 1 Property Coverages.

If you have a basement that has a sump pump then you will need to have the sump pump overflow endorsement or backup of sewer and drain endorsement in order for coverage to exist. Sump pumps should be check every year to see if they are working correctly and should have a battery backup just in case a severe storm causes a power outage. It is also important to make sure that the discharge line from the sump pump is not frozen.”

Please be advised that there are only a few companies’ that offer these types of endorsements. More importantly if you are lucky to get a sump pump or backup endorsement then make sure you select the correct limit of liability coverage. Some carriers will only offer $5,000.00 in total for dwelling-building coverage in addition to personal property damage in the basement. There are higher limits that you can select from such as $10,000.00, $20,000.00 or even the actual loss sustained which is the best coverage you could possibly get. The actual loss sustained means that the limit of coverage allowed would fall under the Coverage Dwelling limit.

Let’s face it a heater could cost $5,000.00 at minimum to replace. If you have a $5,000.00 limit and have thousands of dollars worth of building/ personal property damage then this obviously would not be enough and you will be out of pocket thousands of dollars. In addition to drying out the basement to avoid mold issues. Mold remediation can cost THOUSANDS of dollars to clean up professionally.

If you have any questions regarding the home insurance claim process then contact ‘Rick Kinney’ or his staff for a FREE No Obligation Policy review. Do not wait until its too late and the damage is done. Mold 

Rick Kinney       ‘Your Advocate in Property Damage Home Insurance Claims ‘ Basement Flooding Bucks County, Basement Flooding Chester County, Basement Flooding Delaware County, Basement Flooding Montgomery County, Basement Flooding Philadelphia, Bucks County Sump Pump Failure, Chester County Sump Pump Failure, Delaware County Sump Pump Failure, Montgomery County Sump Pump Failure,

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