Restoring the past, building the future
By: Uri Shalev | Last updated: 12/14/2025
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Water damage coverage depends on your policy and the source of the flooding; sudden and accidental indoor leaks are usually covered, floods and long-term leaks are not. Don’t call your insurer first as it may hurt your claim – call M&M first so that our mitigation team and licensed PA can build a clean, verifiable scope for a faster, fuller payment.
Short answer: “Yes, but…”.
Long answer: Homeowners policies usually cover water damage when it is sudden and accidental and the water originates inside the home. Typical covered events include a burst supply line, a failed water heater, or a washing machine overflow. However, coverage is far more limited for water that comes from outside the structure, slow leaks that develop over time, or any damage tied to poor maintenance.
As for flooding from rain or surface water, this requires a separate flood policy. Sewer or sump backups are commonly excluded unless a specific endorsement was added.
Here’s a useful table that covers the different scenarios, click to expand:
Scenario | Usually covered by homeowners? | Notes |
Burst or frozen supply line inside the home | Yes | Sudden and accidental discharge. Resulting damage to floors, walls, and contents is typically covered. |
Appliance overflow (washer, dishwasher, water heater) | Yes | Coverage applies to resulting damage. Wear and tear on the appliance itself is often excluded. |
Water used to extinguish a fire | Yes | Resulting water damage is generally covered as part of the fire loss. |
Rain enters after a covered opening (broken window, wind-damaged roof) | Often yes | The opening must be caused by a covered peril. Pre-existing wear or open windows left during a storm can trigger exclusions. |
Gradual leak or long-term seepage | No | Considered maintenance. Insurers expect prompt repair once a leak is discovered. |
Flooding or surface water from outside the home | No | Requires separate flood insurance. Las Vegas does see flash flooding in certain areas. |
Groundwater or hydrostatic pressure through slab or walls | No | Typically excluded under homeowners policies. |
Sewer or sump backup | No without endorsement | Look for a water backup endorsement with a specific dollar limit. |
Mold resulting from a covered water loss | Limited | Often subject to a mold sublimit. Ask about optional mold buy-ups. |
We recommend that you review your policy for water exclusions, mold sublimits, ordinance or law limits, and whether you carry a water backup or flood policy. Knowing what you are owed is half the battle. But what happens when things get real and you have to deal with actual water damage in your home?
Water damage can happen to anyone. In Las Vegas there’s ~244,000 households, with a homeownership rate near 55%, or roughly 135,000 owner-occupied homes. Applying the U.S. water damage claim rate of 1.6% to insured homes suggests approximately 2,000 to 2,200 water damage claims per year, that’s a lot.
From our experience, the first 60 minutes set the tone for both damage control and your insurance claim. Here’s a detailed step by step guide to lead you through the process:
If water is near outlets, appliances, or the breaker panel, cut power to the affected circuits. Do not step into standing water if power might be live. If the source is plumbing and you know the location, shut off the main supply valve. If you cannot locate it, close fixture valves.
Once the area is safe, call us. We dispatch mitigation immediately and, as licensed Public Adjusters, we start the claim file correctly from minute one. We will guide you on shutoffs, which photos to capture, what to move, and what to save.
With our guidance, close any visible supply valves, cap broken lines if you can safely reach them, and place a bucket under drips. If a water heater is involved, close the cold supply and set the thermostat to off.
Do not throw out anything wet yet. Keep damaged pipe sections, failed hoses, soaked carpet pad, baseboards, and any failed parts in a bag labeled Save for insurance with the date. These items prove cause and scope.
Do not punch random holes or rip out drywall without a plan. Our team will set containment, begin controlled removal if needed, and start the drying process once all the water has been pumped out.
Open a note or spreadsheet and record times, what you did, and who you spoke with. Keep invoices and receipts for tarps, wet vac rentals, plumber visits, hotels, pet boarding, and meals if you are displaced. This supports reimbursement and Additional Living Expenses.
You have two jobs on day one: stop the damage and create a clean record of what happened. Calling a qualified restoration company, like M&M Restoration first, handles both. We shut off the source, stabilize the site, and document cause and resulting damage with photos, saved parts, and moisture readings. That documentation becomes the backbone of a strong water damage insurance claim that a claims examiner can verify.
This is not about being adversarial with your carrier. Policies require you to mitigate promptly and to keep records. A mitigation-first call sequence simply puts safety and evidence in the right order so later decisions are based on field conditions, not assumptions.
Insurers move high volumes of losses through intake, triage, and desk review. Much of that early work is done from photos and notes. If your file arrives with a measured scope, room-by-room photos with timestamps, a preserved failed part, and initial drying logs, you reduce back-and-forth and avoid avoidable scope disputes. Recent public testimony about disaster claims highlighted delays and revisions during internal reviews. You do not need to take a position on that to see the practical takeaway: bring facts first.
Simply put, a licensed Public Adjuster acts as the policyholder facing the insurer. Since M&M Restoration has our own Nevada-licensed in-house Public Adjuster , we’re able to take your case from A-Z. In practice, that means we structure the submission, align the estimate to industry standards, and manage supplements using field evidence rather than opinions.
Furthermore, while typical public adjuster cost is a percentage of the claim, when M&M performs the mitigation and reconstruction, we may credit or waive our PA fee. This also allows us to put the terms in writing so your net cost is clear before work begins.
Unfortunately, at some point in life there’s a good chance you will find your home flooded. When that happens and water shows up where it shouldn’t, clarity beats panic. Know what your policy is likely to cover, act in the first hour to stop the source, and call a water damage mitigation company.
Who you call first shapes that record. With M&M on site as both your mitigation crew and a Nevada-licensed Public Adjuster, the work and the claim move in step: safe stabilization, smart documentation, and a scope written to standards.
