Insurance company denies claims from Connecticut flood victims

SEYMOUR, Conn. (WTNH) — Homeowners in southwestern Connecticut say they are frustrated because their insurance won’t cover damage from last week’s flooding.

Emily Brisch says her Seymour home is uninhabitable after five feet of water filled the house.

She said she had tried to file a claim with her insurance company but was denied.

“(The insurance company) told us flat out, ‘No,’ that they wouldn’t cover anything because it was a flood,” Brisch said. “Even if it was a federal natural disaster, they said it doesn’t matter.”

She is not alone.

On Tuesday, the cleanup of the mess at Dorothy Pierce’s Southbury home continued.

“We paid thousands of dollars to the insurance company for our homeowners insurance, and now our home is no longer protected,” Pierce said.

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The homeowners indicated that they need help and answers now.

“We’re all very frustrated,” Pierce said. “It’s physically and emotionally draining.”

Brisch said there has also been no help from the state.

“We are largely left to our own devices,” she said.

Both homeowners indicated that they did not need to purchase flood insurance when they moved here years ago because they do not live in a flood zone.

“This is a once-in-a-thousand-year event, so there is a lot of damage outside the flood zones,” said Gerard O’Sullivan, deputy assistant commissioner for consumer affairs at the Connecticut Insurance Department.

According to O’Sullivan, homeowners need to understand what is covered under their insurance policy.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer for them,” O’Sullivan said. “We want other consumers to be able to understand what is covered under their homeowners insurance. Flooding is not covered under standard homeowners insurance. That’s why the National Flood Insurance Program was created.”

O’Sullivan said people should contact their insurance company to request a quote for future flood insurance.

In the meantime, he encouraged homeowners to report their current damage to their local emergency services.

For more information, visit Ct.gov/CID or call the Connecticut Insurance Department at (860) 297-3900.

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