Your clients may need groundwater insurance coverage before their next significant project and must understand all it covers. Groundwater is an essential natural resource that flows into rivers and supplies potable water. However, your clients may not be happy to see it when it appears as a pond in their basement. It can happen after an extended period of rain or any other event that causes the water table to rise.
Insurers who serve areas where this is possible should confirm that their clients have adequate groundwater insurance coverage.
Why Groundwater Insurance Coverage Is Necessary
Anybody who has experienced a flooded basement can confirm how essential groundwater insurance is. Unfortunately, most homeowner’s insurance policies do not extend coverage to this type of incident. It means your clients may face expensive out-of-pocket repairs if they do not have another policy to provide protection. Helping your clients with groundwater insurance can spare them from this fate because it covers flooding resulting from water that enters a home from below its surface.
Assess Your Customers’ Overall Risk Factors
When tailoring a groundwater insurance policy to your clients, you must remember that every customer’s needs will differ. For example, a client who lives in a luxury home will likely need higher coverage limits than one who lives in a small bungalow. Similarly, if you have clients in areas prone to heavy rainfall, you should prioritize insurance because they are the most vulnerable to groundwater flooding. Other variables include a home’s age and its drainage systems’ condition.
Provide Prevention Tips for Flooding
Once you’ve connected your clients with the right groundwater insurance coverage, you should provide them with tips to avoid and deal with potential flooding. According to the National Ag Safety Database, homeowners can lift appliances, fixtures, and furniture above the ground. It will protect essential items from damage. Homeowners can also install a false door above the basement slab, allowing drainage and preventing water from accumulating and flooding.
Offer Insurance to Commercial Clients Too
Residential clients aren’t the only ones who face liabilities associated with groundwater. If you insure commercial and industrial clients working in groundwater operations, they likely deal with risks such as contamination and methane pollution. The drilling process can also be fraught with liabilities as it increases the risk of disrupting natural aquifers. It may compromise the surrounding water table, causing it to decrease due to the gradual water loss. A commercial groundwater policy can shield your clients from these and other drilling-related liabilities.
Benefits of Groundwater Insurance Coverage
Groundwater insurance coverage offers plenty of benefits to both residential and commercial clients. You can serve homeowners in your client roster by protecting them against flooding. You can also help your groundwater business clients by encouraging them to invest in a policy that limits their liability. Remind your clients that their existing liability or property insurance probably needs to cover the specific risks associated with groundwater.
About Watercolor Management
Watercolor Management has insured the water industry for over 30 years. Our policies include unlimited defense cost coverage in the event of a lawsuit against you. Call us at (855) 929-0824 or email info@watercolormanagement.com for a quick quote for your Water Business Professional, Products/Completed operations, Pollution and General Liability Insurance.