Music Room and Floods

Hopefully somebody with insurance knowledge will chime in. With your house being that age, check and see if there are any other newer homes further(uphill/altitude) up from you, that may tie into you sewer system. Those newer homes may help overload the sewer system, and have been overlooked by governing officials. You might be able to get an idea with Google earth. Moving the cursor the cursor will give you somewhat of an idea on altitude(bottom of screen),yours plus other newer homes above your home. They have storms all the time, that they measure in rainfall inches per hour, and for a time length I believe (something like that). Your home hasn't been around long enough to find out, unless it was built in a neighborhood that was there a lot longer. A lot of areas have laws that say you can't have a footer drain run into the sewer system. That helps, but the right storm will overload the footers sump pump, cause that water to run over into the sanitary sewer, overloading it. When a storm like that comes along, you could end up with raw sewage in your basement. The correct insurance is all you have left, to my knowledge. Definitely make sure what you have covers sewer backup, and anything else they may call it.

Davt,

I think if you shop around, you'll find an insurance company willing to insure your equipment and the room in case of flood or water damage. There may be a higher deductable, however. I think you should figure out replacement costs and ask around. Hope this helps.

I have a house in Brookline, MA which never had water in 7 years and a year ago, it had water in it twice, even with a sump pump. (The tenant didn't know it was a sump pump and had it unplugged). It ended up costing me $40,000 to rip out drywall 4 feet up from the ground, install Boston Basement Technologies, essentially a pipe with holes at the entire interior perimeter with two battery backed up sump pumps and replaced heat, sheetrock, electrical, plumbing, stairs and everything else. I now have the minimal flood insurance which costs about $150 per year. This covers $12,000 for the building and about $8000 for personal property. It is extremely cheap insurance. I have mine through USAA. You should try and give them a call at 1-800-531-8111. Now I have peace of mind and can sleep at night. Good luck.

I agree with the above. I have carried Flood Insurance on my residence for more than 10 years, even though I do not live in a flood prone area. The main reason is that flood insurance covers not only damage from floods, but also from ground water entering your home. And the annual cost is amazingly cheap. It is a no-brainer in my opinion.

My sump pump failed during a period of heavy rain and I got just enough water in mine to ruin the carpet etc. Luckily my insurance covered it as it was due to the pump failure and not flooding per se. I had a back up sump pump installed which works off the water pressure in my city water pipes. You might check this out, my plumber thought it was better than battery systems. I also got some vinyl flooring that can be easily taken up and relaid; looks very good.

Coverage from an Umbrella policy does not extend to underlying personal property coverage.

Choose your insurer wisely because the personal property coverage provided by Company A will oftentimes respond differently than the personal property coverage provided by Company B. Make certain that your insurance agent understands what your expectations are in the event of a lightning strike, a fire, flood, sewer backup, or theft. If you get evasive answers, ask the agent to point to the words in the Inclusions and Exclusions sections of the coverage agreement.

Thanks for the ideas. My insurance guy states that the maximum coverage for all things related to water seepage, etc. is $10,000, this includes repairs and personal property. My basement is only about 3 1/2 feet deep, the rest is above ground so risk is a bit less. I will have a sump backup installed as well as sewer deverter and will look for other coverage and be sure to read all of the fine print.

If things go wrong in the neighborhood, it can happen on the first floor also.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xblfSuBRx8&feature=related]