Bergen County, NJ

What floods houses here, and what the policy answers for.

Coastal flooding is the local event, and a homeowners policy does not answer for it.

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Bergen County, measured

Homes in the flood zone

Rising water is not the local risk. What comes out of the plumbing is.

July dew point

63°F

Airing out works some days and works against you on others. A meter settles it.

Days at or below 20°F

Cold enough that the policy clause about keeping the heat on decides claims here.

Median year built

1959

Housing this old often has galvanised steel supply, which closes up from the inside.

Drywall cut away in a straight line above the water line, bare studs and wet insulation below — What soaked and cannot be dried through is cut out rather than dried. The height of the cut is decided by readings, not by how the wall looks.

The line most owners find out about too late

A homeowners policy answers for water that escapes suddenly and accidentally inside the house — a pipe, a hose, a water heater, an overflow. It does not answer for water that rises from outside, anywhere in the country. That is flood, it is bought separately through NFIP, and cover starts thirty days after you buy it.

It also does not answer for a leak that has been weeping behind a wall for a year. That is a gradual loss, and the mold that came with it is excluded on the same ground.

(888) 217-5329 Call a contractor

Connects you with an independent contractor about new work. Calls may be recorded.

What floods houses here, and what the policy answers for.

Bergen County, measured

The line most owners find out about too late

Towns in Bergen County