If the storm pushed the water into the house through the storm surge, Allstate should pay, unless a rider specifically excludes 'wind driven water' or all water damage.
If it's a levee break or a river flood, then Allstate shouldn't have to pay.
Seems pretty cut and dried to me.
Allstate has a pretty crummy reputation in the auto insurance area for denying valid claims. My wife had to sue an Allstate insured in a clear case of liability where the other driver jumped a median and sideswiped her. I've heard they're also bad about not using OEM parts on auto repairs. Don't know how they are about homeowners insurance.
When I was a claims rep, the rule of thumb was if it (flood) fell from the sky, it was covered. If it came up from the ground, it wasn't.
Therefore, I would think damage claims from storm surge, wind and rain through an opening caused by wind would be paid. Levee breaks and river floods would not be.
I was an auto adjuster for Allstate for a couple of years. They used to encourage me to circumvent the state laws in a number of different areas, particularly concerning the use of aftermarket replacement parts (as opposed to OEM)
Yup. Because a falling tree is covered. If the storm pushed the water into the house through the storm surge, Allstate should pay, unless a rider specifically excludes 'wind driven water' or all water damage.
Nope. And the standard policy DOES exclude damage caused by "rising waters"... which this certainly was.
Man... if you choose to live on the ocean and BELOW sea level... you've got to plan accordingly.
It does. Here's the wording from the ISO standard homeowners policy:
"Water damage. Water damage means flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind."