Farmers Insurance Policy Didn't Cover Groundwater and Mudslide Damage

Are You Covered?: Insurance for Storms

A warning to all homeowners: with the start of hurricane season and summer storms it's time to think about your insurance and what it may or may not cover if something happens to your home.

We all think it will never happen to us. But when it does, we realize it's too late to do anything about it. For one local woman, the damage in done. But as she works to pick up the pieces she hopes her story will encourage others to think "what if that were me."

"I felt my bedroom shake and tremble," remembered Mary Gordon Hall. The storm that hit Charlottesville earlier this month caused major damage to her Batesville home.

She continued, "There were cinder blocks mud deep, and there was no wall. The wall had been blown out."

Water pressure that had built up behind a wall in the basement became too much. Gordon said, "Everybody's faces were always 'whoa.' I could tell by the walk around and the things they said and the way they reacted to my house that this was pretty serious"

Structural engineers have determined house is unsafe to live in. Gordon has been staying with a friend for the past two weeks and it's unclear if she'll ever be able to move back home.

Gordon filed a claim with Farmers Insurance. Turns out, she isn't alone. Farmers Insurances' Rico Metzroth shared, "Just in those few days, May 8th, 9th and 10th, we had slightly over a 100 needs. So we were here meeting with our customers."

Investigators determined she's dealing with groundwater and mudslide damage. Nothing is covered. An earthquake policy would have been the only thing that could have helped.

"The typical consumer would not think of buying that type of policy. They would not even think of earth movement as being part of that policy," stated Metzroth.

For things to get back to normal, land must be moved, the basement will be demolished and a wall re-constructed. That work is estimated to cost $30,000 to $40,000.

"You know it's one step at a time," said Gordon. "I just have to wait and see. Hopefully, I'd feel safe when it's all fixed."

Gordon says the one positive thing that's come out of this ordeal is the community support. She told us everyone from the school where she works and her friends have been unbelievable. She also said they're all checking their policies as well.

We know there is a lot to this issue and the details can get tricky. We have additional information here in a Word document that can help answer any further questions.

Reported by Jenn McDaniel
Source: nbc29.com