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Insurance after water damage in Georgia

Leaks and wind-driven rain are usually covered; floods usually are not. Georgia's insurance commissioner says home insurance generally covers extra costs to live elsewhere if the house is uninhabitable, and its Consumer Services Division may help with a claim complaint.1

Last reviewed October 24, 20264 sources, numbered in the textSee sources

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Covered or not

How most Georgia policies treat water

From Triple-I and Georgia's Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Your policy decides.

Usually covered

  • Burst pipes and wind-driven rain.3
  • Damage to the house and its contents, and extra costs to live elsewhere while it is uninhabitable.1

Usually not, without extra cover

  • Floods and other natural disasters, under most policies; that cover is usually a separate policy.1
  • Sewer and drain backups, unless you added a backup rider.3
  • A new flood policy usually waits 30 days to start.4

How a claim tends to run

  1. Contact your agent or company right away and ask your filing deadline.2
  2. The insurer may send a proof of loss form, or an adjuster may visit first.2
  3. Get written bids from licensed contractors with materials and prices line by line.2
  4. If you must stay elsewhere, keep records of the expenses; Triple-I says the amount is generally 20 percent of the insurance on the home.2

Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire

If a claim goes badly

Georgia's insurance commissioner says its Consumer Services Division may be able to help with a complaint about an insurer, agent or claim. Phone (404) 656-2070 or (800) 656-2298, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.1

How this works

What happens when you call

It is free to call, and calling commits you to nothing.

  1. A woman on a screened back porch talks on the phone after a summer storm, broken pine branches on the wet lawn.
    1

    You call

    Tell them what happened and where. Have the address ready.

  2. 2

    We connect you

    A call network puts you through to an independent local restoration company that serves Gainesville and is taking calls.

  3. A technician crouches by a washing machine and shows the homeowner its supply hose, a water stain along the wall behind.
    3

    They assess and quote

    If you want a visit, they look at the damage and quote their own price. Ask for it in writing.

We are a free referral service, not a contractor. The company that answers sets its own prices. How this service works

A couple sit on the back steps of their brick house with glasses of iced tea and smile, pines behind them after the rain.

Want a local company to look at it?

Free to call. An independent restoration company that serves Gainesville answers, and you decide what happens next.

Call (770) 536-9258

Gainesville Water Damage Advice is a free referral and information service, not a contractor. Calls go through our call-tracking line to independent local restoration companies, and we may be paid when a call qualifies. We do not do the work and do not set prices or availability. How it works

Sources

Each numbered note on this page points here. We read every page on October 24, 2026. Where sources disagree we say so; where we could not find a source we left the claim out. We are not affiliated with any of these organizations.

  1. Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, Home insurance. No date shown. oci.georgia.gov/insurance-resources/home
  2. Triple-I (Insurance Information Institute), Settling insurance claims after a disaster. No date shown (page copyright 2026). www.iii.org/article/settling-insurance-claims-after-a-disaster
  3. Triple-I (Insurance Information Institute), How to protect your home from water damage. No date shown (page copyright 2026). www.iii.org/article/how-to-protect-your-home-from-water-damage
  4. FEMA FloodSmart (National Flood Insurance Program), Buy a Flood Insurance Policy. No date shown. www.floodsmart.gov/get-insured/buy-a-policy
Call (770) 536-9258Free service. We'll connect you with a local restoration company. How it works