TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — Right now families are working to find help cleaning up after floods destroyed many of their belongings. In too many cases, they are finding out they did not have the insurance coverage they thought they did.
Samantha Fletcher says an alarm went off Wednesday morning around 2 a.m. The drain in the basement was overflowing.
“Usually when we have an issue with the drains we can clean it up quickly with the shop vac," Fletcher said. "By 5 a.m., it was to our ankles and it just kept rising."
She called her insurance company to make a claim and found out she didn’t have flood or sewer backup coverage. She says she is a new homeowner and did not realize they were not standard.
“That is what you buy it for, in case something catastrophic happens," Fletcher said. "This to me is catastrophic."
She is not alone. We are hearing from many in the same situation. Is there any help available?
We reached out to Attorney Nicholas Draugelis. He said insurance companies don’t have a legal obligation to explain what is not covered. Could there be any relief? He says a lawsuit or government action might help.
“Sometimes if the flooding gets bad enough there are state or government resources made available,” Draugelis said. "In the past there have been civil actions brought against different municipalities for the failure to maintain the sewer systems.”
Fletcher says she hopes the government takes action to make sure consumers are informed of what they are NOT buying from insurance companies.
So what can you do to protect yourself? You have to be proactive. Ask your insurance company if you are covered if there is a flood or sewer back up – before it happens.
