DES PLAINES, Ill., March 30, 2016 — The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports today that from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2015, a total of 2,792,331 water damage claims were filed across the United States. In 2015, there were 1,403,054 water damage claims filed—an increase of just 1 percent over 2014’s total of 1,389,277.
The most active months for water damage claims were January and February, averaging 158,087 and 157,136 respectively. November and December posted the fewest averaging 86,840 and 97,185 claims respectively.
The top five states for water damage claims were: California (327,648), Florida (225,222), Texas (222,972), New York (145,390) and Pennsylvania (143,788). The top five cities were San Antonio (19,344), Chicago (19,230), Houston (18,484), San Diego (17,927) and Miami (15,491).
NICB’s report states that “water damage can be defined as property damage due to accidental discharge, leakage, or overflow of water from plumbing systems, heating, air conditioning, and refrigerating systems; and rain or snow through broken doors, open doors, windows, and skylights resulting in damage or destruction of the property scheduled in the policy.
“Typically, water damage may not be covered if the damage resulted from the homeowner’s negligence or failure to maintain home repairs. This type of claim can be fraudulent when the participant falsely reports, purposefully creates, or exaggerates existing water damage with the specific intent of financial gain.”
