Matthew George suffered water damage to his property when a third party blocked a drainage ditch and water was diverted onto Matthew's property as a result of the blockage. Matthew, having a homeowner's insurance policy 
immediately made a claim against the insurance company. The insurance company denied coverage.
Push came to shove and Matthew sued his insurance company, State Farm Lloyds. The policy that Matthew had did not provide for coverage for water damage. The policy defined water damage as, "flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind". In addition, the policy did not provide coverage for a loss caused by, "conduct, act, failure to act, or decision of any person, group,
organization or governmental body whether intentional, wrongful, negligent, or without fault". Based upon the language of the policy, the insurance company stood its ground and did not pay Matthew's claim.
In the case of George v State Farm Lloyds in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for the State of Texas, the court sided with the insurance company and agreed that its denial of coverage was proper under the policy. The full decision in the case can be found HERE.
As I mentioned in my blog, "Flood Insurance Considerations" a homeowner's property damage insurance policy generally does not cover flood damage, and this case highlights that fact even when the flood is caused by the actions of a neighbor diverting water onto an adjacent property. A suit may lie aginst the third party for damages, but not against a standard insurance policy. As previously pointed out, a property and the dwelling on a property need not to be located in a high risk flood area in order to obtain flood insurance from the NFIP.
Image courtesy of energyroyd.co.uk
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