Water Damage Insurance Claims in Central Texas
Water is the claim people assume will be simple. It is usually the one that gets cut the most, because almost every decision in it turns on a word in the policy rather than on the damage in front of you.
Michael Acerra is a licensed Texas public adjuster, license #2358069, and a licensed contractor — which means he can read both the policy wording and the real cost of putting the property back.
Where Water Claims Are Won and Lost
- Sudden and accidental — the four words that decide the claim.A supply line that bursts is sudden. A shower pan that has been weeping behind the tile for two years is not. Texas HO-A policies cover sudden and accidental water leaks and exclude damage from continuous or repeated leakage. Same wet floor, opposite outcome, and the difference is decided by how the cause is documented before anything is torn out.
- Rising water is flood, and your homeowners policy excludes it.Water that comes up from a creek, a street, or a storm drain is flood. That needs separate flood coverage. Water that comes down — a burst pipe, a failed water heater, a roof opened by hail — is usually covered. In Central Texas both can happen in the same night, to the same house.
- What you cannot see is most of the loss.Water travels. It goes under flooring, into wall cavities, along joists, into insulation. A fast inspection finds the stain on the ceiling and misses the framing above it. Whatever is not written into the scope does not get paid for.
- Mold is a separate fight in Texas, with its own rules.Many Texas policies do not cover mold remediation at all, and those that do usually cap it. A mold claim is also recorded in the CLUE database, which can affect renewing your policy or selling the house later. And under Texas licensing rules the same person may not both assess and remediate mold on the same project — if a company offers to do both, that is a problem.
- The clock is on your insurer.15 days to acknowledge the claim. 15 business days to accept or reject it in writing once they have what they asked for. 5 business days to pay what they accept.
If It Just Happened
The first hours decide more than the next three weeks.
- 1Stop the water, then stop touching things.Shut off the supply. After that, the most valuable thing you can do is nothing — until it is photographed.
- 2Photograph and film before any drying starts.Wide shots, then close-ups, then a slow walkthrough. Include the source. Mitigation crews work fast and the evidence goes with them.
- 3Keep what gets removed.Cut-out drywall, pulled carpet and pad, the failed part itself. The failed supply line or water heater part is often the single most important object in the claim.
- 4Keep every receipt.Emergency plumber, drying equipment, a hotel if the house is not livable.
- 5Get the cause documented before the carrier decides it.Sudden or ongoing is the whole claim. Once their adjuster writes it down, changing it is an argument rather than a fact.
Water Damage Right Now?
Call before the drying crew finishes and before the carrier’s adjuster inspects. The consultation costs you nothing, and Michael works on contingency — 10% of your settlement, nothing until your insurance company pays you.