Flood Damage claims · № 05 of 10
Flood and backup claims live and die on coverage lines
At a glance
- Licensed Illinois public adjusters
- $0 upfront — fee from the recovery only
- Residential & commercial
- Denied & underpaid claims re-opened
No claim type produces more wrongful walk-aways than flooding. Homeowners hear "flood isn’t covered," accept it, and absorb tens of thousands in losses — when the actual cause was a sewer backup or sump-pump failure their policy endorsement did cover, or a separate flood policy applied all along.
The first job is forensic: where did the water actually come from — over land, up a floor drain, through a failed sump, or from a burst line that happened during the storm? Each path lands on a different coverage line with different limits. We establish the cause with evidence, match it to every coverage you carry, and document the loss room by room, contents included.
What the damage looks like
- Water entering basements through floor drains or sump pits
- Overland water entering at grade after heavy rain
- Sump-pump failure or power loss during a storm
- Sewage odor or contaminated water — a Category 3 loss requiring full remediation
- Water lines on foundation walls, ruined flooring and swollen base cabinets
What carriers routinely leave out
- Sewer/drain backup endorsements the homeowner forgot they carried
- Category 3 contamination protocols — proper remediation costs far more than "drying"
- Contents inventories: everything stored in the basement counts
- Code-required backwater valves and sump upgrades on rebuild
Every item on this list is money. Our job is making sure each one is documented, valued and in the claim.
My experience with State Adjusting Services was smooth — they helped us work around insurance with our flooded basement. The workers were polite! Definitely recommend!
Flood Damage questions, answered
My agent said flood isn’t covered. Should I even file?
Don’t decide on a phone call. "Flood" is a specific legal cause; sewer backup and sump failure are different causes with their own endorsements. We read the actual policy before anyone concludes anything — the answer is frequently better than the first phone call suggested.
What’s the difference between flood and sewer backup for insurance?
Flood is surface water entering from outside — excluded on standard homeowners policies and covered by separate flood insurance. Sewer backup is water rising through drains, covered when you carry that endorsement. The physical evidence usually shows which one happened.
Sewage got into my basement. Why does that change the claim?
Sewage is Category 3 ("black") water. Proper protocol requires removing porous materials it touched — drywall, carpet, insulation — plus disinfection and testing. A claim priced as simple water drying is underpaid by design.
Related claim types
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