How does my homeowner policy cover water damage?

Water Damage coverage on Texas homeowners insurance often falls into 3 main categories:

Sudden & Accidental-loss sustained from a sudden and severe onslaught of water-ex: hot water heater breaks, or dishwasher overflows. The key word here is “sudden,” as in something that happened quickly and not over time. This coverage is included with most named peril and broad peril policies.

Water Back Up, off-premises backup of water or sewage through a drain or pipe. Note that this is often confused with a toilet back up. Generally, a toilet back up would be considered “sudden & accidental” since it happened inside the house. Water back up refers to something that backs up into the home from outside (sewer main, ect)

This coverage can generally be added by endorsement

Water leakage/seepage, one of the more common claim types that I have seen as an agent, is a loss of this type that is a result of a leak or drip from a pipe, appliance, etc that occurs over time. Losses like this are excluded in a large number of Texas homeowner polices (note that coverage differs depending on the company). While this is a common exclusion, a few carriers have begun offering coverage for slow water leak/seepage via policy endorsement.