A burst pipe in Michigan: the first hour, step by step

Why the first hour matters more than the claim

A burst pipe is a race between the water and the clock. The longer it runs and the longer the material stays wet, the more of the house you lose and the harder the later conversation with your insurer becomes. EPA says to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, and that clock starts when the water does, long before the crew arrives.

So the order below puts the water first and the paperwork second. The insurance questions are real, and we cover them further down, but none of them can be answered while the pipe is still running. If water is on your floor right now, do the steps and come back.

The steps, in order

1. Shut off the main water valve. It is the valve on the line where water enters the house. If you do not know where it is, or it will not turn, say so when you call a plumber and when the restoration company calls: both need to know the water is still running.
2. Check for gas and electricity before anything else you touch. If you smell gas, leave and call 911, then your gas utility from outside: DTE at (800) 947-5000, or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Do not touch electrical equipment that is wet, and do not stand in water to reach it. MiReady says to turn off electricity to prevent shock only if it is safe to do so.
3. Photograph and film the damage before you clean. DIFS asks you to photograph all damage and list damaged belongings before cleaning, and to keep damaged items until the insurer says otherwise. Keep notes on every call: date, representative’s name and claim number.
4. Call your insurer. Tell it you have water damage and want to know what coverage is available. DIFS advises against simply saying flood.
5. Call a plumber for the pipe and a restoration company for the water. They are different trades, as the next section explains.
6. Save every receipt. DIFS says emergency repairs and temporary supplies may be reimbursable, and may is as far as its wording goes. Keep the receipts in one folder with your photographs and call notes.

A plumber and a crew do different jobs

Michigan’s Occupational Code says a person shall not work as a plumbing contractor, master, journey or apprentice plumber without a license, and that only a licensed master or journey plumber shall perform plumbing. A restoration crew’s work is the water: extraction, drying and removal of what cannot be saved. The industry standard, ANSI/IICRC S500, assumes the property owner is responsible for fixing the source of the water, so someone has to repair the pipe, and that someone holds a plumbing license.

If one company offers both, ask for the plumber’s license number and check it on the state lookup before the work starts. If a company quotes plumbing and cannot name who is licensed to do it, treat that as a reason to look elsewhere for that part of the job.

What your insurer will and will not likely ask

DIFS’s winter-storm page says standard homeowners or business owners policies cover a wide range of winter-related disasters, including burst pipes, ice dams, wind damage and leaky roofs, and that backup of sewers and drains may be available by endorsement. It also says flood is excluded from most standard policies. That is a general statement from the regulator. Your own policy’s terms control, so the useful question is what yours says.

DIFS’s list of policyholder duties is short: notify the insurer as soon as possible, take reasonable action to minimize the loss, cooperate as the policy requires, and give an inventory of damaged personal property. Shutting off the water and starting to dry the house are reasonable action. Replacing a floor is not, until the insurer has inspected or says to proceed.

What not to do

Do not throw away damaged belongings before you have photographed them and the insurer has said you may. Do not sign an insurance check over to a contractor: DIFS lists requests to sign checks directly over to a contractor among its warning signs, along with demands for full payment upfront, high-pressure tactics and unsolicited door-to-door offers. Do not start permanent repairs before the insurer has inspected. And do not let a company convince you that a burst pipe is automatically a sewage job: the water category depends on where the water came from and on inspection, which the water category explainer walks through.

If the pipe burst while you were away

This is the case that tends to turn into mold. A pipe that ran for hours or days into a closed house gives water time to reach insulation, framing and the floor below. EPA’s 24 to 48 hour window may already have passed when you walk in. Say so on the call, expect the crew to open walls to check, and expect the insurer to ask when you last saw the house dry. The mold remediation page covers what follows if growth has started, and the guide on how long water damage takes to dry covers the drying log.

Keeping it from happening again

DIFS’s tip is to keep the home at least 65 degrees to prevent freezing pipes. If you leave a house for the winter, that tip is the one sourced number we can give you. The restoration sources we use do not cover insulation or pipe wrap, so for prevention beyond it, ask the plumber who repairs the break what failed and why.

Calling the right number

The call is free, and the line only refers you on; it is not the company’s own. Before you agree to anything, ask the company for its scope in writing, and read the burst pipe cleanup page for what a fair scope names.