The damage happened after that violent June 15 storm that dumped a foot of hail parts of Bergen County.
Pebble-sized hail completely covered Stewart's driveway drain. As a result, drenching rain water had nowhere else to go and backed up into his basement.
"Which resulted in about 2 feet of water inside the house."
Stewart thought he was fine. Hail damage is covered by his homeowner's policy. But Stewart's insurance company classified Stewart's losses were caused by a flood, not by hail. And that's not covered.
Stewart's not convinced. "As far as I'm concerned the resulting damage was from the hail and I should be covered by it."
"The general way to look at it is water from the ground up is going to be covered by a flood insurance policy," says Insurance Information Institute's Jeanne Salvatore.
Jeanne says once water hits the ground, no matter what the form: hail, sleet, snow, it's not covered, unless you have flood insurance. "Flood insurance is probably one of the most important insurance coverages that everybody should consider purchasing."
Stewart's insurance company did come through and covered some sewage damage in his downstairs bathroom as well as some above the ground water damage. Experts say you can buy flood insurance, even if you don't live in a flood plain, you can get it through some private insurers or the federal government.
There is one website, www.floodsmart.gov that will estimate what you might pay for flood insurance. All you have to do is enter your address.
To get a flood insurance estimate: www.floodsmart.gov/b>
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Story by: Tappy Phillips
Produced by: Steve Livingstone
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STORY BY: Eyewitness News reporter Tappy Phillips
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