Edit: Appreciate the comments so far.
- No, this isn't AI slop. I'm sorry we've reached a point where good grammatical structure indicates AI use. This is, unfortunately, very real for me.
- Many of you have validated that this is a really gray, tricky area. Thank you!
Hey everyone, looking for perspectives on whether my insurance company is handling this correctly or if I have a legitimate dispute on my hands.
Quick Summary:
- Homeowners policy with AAA in Illinois
- Policy includes the "Water Damage – Sewer, Drain and Sump Pump" endorsement that I pay extra for.
- Loss date: April 14, 2026
Long story short: I have an exterior basement stairwell with an areaway drain at the bottom — its job is to collect rainwater and drain it away from the foundation, so water doesn't pool against the basement door. During the storm, that drain got clogged and backed up. Water overflowed the drain, accumulated in the stairwell, and eventually the volume and pressure forced water through, around, and underneath the exterior basement door into our basement. About 4 inches of water in the basement foyer, mechanical room, and laundry closet. Damage to walls, trim, doors, and flooring.
Denial: AAA denied my claim twice, initially saying that my policy has water damage exclusions. They ignored my endorsement outright that literally has provisions from the endorsement to include this. I called it out and said the language they're using is what's reflected on my endorsement (the initial denial letter made no reference to my endorsement).
After pointing out my endorsement, I was denied again: even though the areaway drain clogged and backed up, the water that accumulated in the stairwell became "surface water." Because it entered the basement through the door rather than directly through the drain fixture itself, they say it falls under the base policy flood/surface water exclusion and the endorsement doesn't apply.
The endorsement covers water "from outside the residence premises plumbing system that enters the dwelling or additional structure through household sewers, drains or drainage fixtures." The areaway drain IS a drainage fixture. It backed up. That's why water entered my home.
1.) Is ACIA's interpretation of the endorsement reasonable, or are they stretching to deny a covered loss.
2.) Has anyone dealt with a similar areaway drain / exterior stairwell backup and had success getting coverage under a sewer/drain endorsement?
(US-IL) AAA denied my water damage claim citing flood exclusion, but I pay for a Sewer, Drain and Sump Pump endorsement. Am I crazy?
byu/NukinDuke inInsurance
Posted by NukinDuke
6 Comments
[removed]
I don’t have an answer to your second question but reading what you quoted from the policy it says “enters through household sewers, drains, or drainage fixtures.” Based on your account of what happened the water didn’t enter the residence through any of those but through areas around the door according to what you posted. I’m not sure you have any leg to stand on based on the information provided. If the drainage was in the residence and flooded then I could see you making a case.
not an expert, BUT, from what i can tell unfortunately it sounds like the basement flooding wouldnt be covered. the best comparison i can think here is imagine for whatever reason, someone is having a bonfire right next to your house on a very windy night. if the high winds blow the fire in such a way that causes a house fire, the insurance claim falls under fire damage, not wind damage, even though the wind caused the fire to transfer over to the house. the drain caused the water to back up to the point of flooding, but it still would be a flood claim and not a drain/sewer claim.
No. More. AI. Slop.
It’s going to depend on State and carrier but generally these endorsements refer to water literally coming out of a pipe into a house. Essentially it’s a hole for water to drain out but instead it went back up and it by doing that directly into the home.
It sounds like this drainage area is directly adjacent to your home and it stopped draining so then it over topped your foundation.
Now that said, a good carrier with good claims practices probably covers this under that. The captive carrier that I was with when I started in this industry absolutely would have covered this. The carriers are right now… Some of them probably would some of them wouldn’t. Water backup language is not consistent from carrier to carrier.
I was an independent adjuster for many years. If I’m understanding your situation correctly, I can’t think of any of the carriers I worked with who would cover this type of loss. The key is where the water entered your home. It didn’t enter “*through* household sewers, drains or drainage fixtures.” It entered at ground level from around the door (again, if I’m understanding correctly.)
Generally speaking, anytime water enters the home from the ground it will not be covered and the endorsement doesn’t change that. The clogging of the exterior drain just prevented that ground water from being directed away from your home. You are still dealing with ground water here. Rain fell, the exterior drain was clogged, the rain water (now ground water) had no place to go and that ground water therefore entered the home from the exterior at the door. It didn’t enter the inside of your home through a drain. In fact, the drain being on the exterior inherently means that it didn’t enter *through* the drain. The water from the outside at ground level is still excluded under the basic policy language and the endorsement doesn’t apply. I’ll hedge my bets for the third time here by saying the “if I’m understanding correctly” line again.