Home Home insurance Claims Does homeowners insurance cover water leaks? Does homeowners insurance cover water leaks? Water leaks are covered by home insurance as long as they are accidental, caused by a covered peril and not the result of neglect or poor maintenance. View Carriers Please enter valid zip Compare top carriers in your area Written by: Nupur Gambhir Nupur Gambhir Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service. | Reviewed by: John McCormick John McCormick John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology. | Updated on May 6, 2024 Why you can trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing the timely, accurate and expert information consumers need to make smart insurance decisions. All our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. Our team carefully vets our rate data to ensure we only provide reliable and up-to-date insurance pricing. We follow the highest editorial standards. Our content is based solely on objective research and data gathering. We maintain strict editorial independence to ensure unbiased coverage of the insurance industry. Homeowners insurance covers water leaks, but only in specific circumstances. Homeowners insurance won’t pay out for water leaks due to poor maintenance, wear and tear or negligence. However, water leaks from faulty plumbing or ruptured pipes are usually covered. Leaks that happen as a result of weather damage will also be covered. For example, if a storm damages your roof and water leaks in, the damage is covered. Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage from floods, however; you need a separate flood insurance policy for that. Key Takeaways Home insurance does not cover damage from normal wear and tear, but it does cover leaks from sudden events, like a ruptured appliance hose. A standard home policy also does not cover overland flooding, but does cover water entering your home from above, such as rain leaking in when a storm damages your roof. Prevent water damage by periodically checking behind appliances and under sinks to ensure everything is dry. What types of leaks are covered by homeowners insurance? Not all water damage is covered by homeowners insurance. Types that are covered include: Burst pipes Frozen pipes Faulty plumbing Faulty appliances, like washing machines and dishwashers Leaks through a roof that was damaged by a covered peril Remember that homeowners insurance will not pay to replace the faulty appliance that caused the leaks. For example, while home insurance may cover the water damage to the ceiling, floor, walls or furniture, it won’t pay for replacing the burst pipe or the broken washing machine. Additionally, before the insurance company pays out, they will want to see that you’ve regularly maintained your house and that none of the damage is caused due to neglect. And, that as soon as the damage happened, you took steps to fix it. “What’s really important to know for leaks is when did the insured notice it and take action,” says Christine G. Barlow, a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and managing editor of National Underwriter and FC&S Online, which interprets insurance policies for the industry. What types of leaks aren’t covered by homeowners insurance? Unfortunately, not all water leaks are covered by homeowners insurance. If the cause of the water leak is gradual damage, or damage that happened over time and because of deterioration, you likely won’t get a payout. Most of the time, you won’t get a payout for a water leak that happened for one of these reasons: Leaks due to neglect or poor maintenance Flooding Clogged pipes Sewer line backups There are, however, some rare policies that cover gradual damage. Also, if you can prove that the gradual damage wasn’t caused by neglect, and that you were unable to see it happening to stop it, you may be able to get money for the damage from your homeowners insurance company. How to file a successful water leak insurance claim You will be more likely to receive a claim payout if you follow these steps when filing a water leak insurance claim: Regularly maintain your home throughout the year to demonstrate that any damage is not due to neglect and keep all of your receipts Document everything, from the initial leak to any additional damage you find Try to repair and control the leak Contact a contractor to evaluate the leak and determine the cost of the repairs You’ll want to carefully check your policy details before conducting repairs to determine what is covered. QuickTake Does home insurance cover roof damage from heavy snow? What is sewer backup insurance? Does homeowners insurance cover storage units? How do I find the homeowners insurance policy after a parent passes away? Can my homeowners insurance get canceled because my house is empty? Does home insurance cover accidental kitchen fires? 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One of my trees fell into my neighbor's yard last night during a storm. It did not cause any damage. Do I need to call my home insurance company to file a claim? That's gross! Why home insurance won't pay for disgusting problems We left a faucet turned on in my home and it caused water damage The trouble with drunk friends Homeowners premiums fluctuate with community's fire-fighting ability Home insurance policies cover damage from trees downed by ice and snow See more > How to prevent a water disaster Will Southcombe, director of standards and performance at PuroClean, a property-damage restoration service, suggests ensuring all holes are properly caulked and sealed and keeping eaves and downspouts clean. He recommends periodically checking behind appliances and under sinks to make sure everything is dry. That means moving out the stuff under the kitchen sink for several years. Note: Be careful when pulling out the refrigerator to check for a leak in the icemaker water line and avoid running over the water line or crimping a copper line. Southcombe also suggests replacing rubber supply hoses to appliances with braided hoses, which are made of rubber surrounded by wire mesh. Braided hoses can still spring a leak, but they won’t burst. “So you have a nuisance on your hands instead of a catastrophe,” he says. Generally, you should replace water supply hoses on appliances every five to seven years. Frequently asked questions Does home insurance cover ceiling damage due to leaks? Sometimes. Whether or not homeowners insurance covers ceiling damage from leaks depends on what caused the damage in the first place. The ceiling damage will only be covered if the cause is included in your homeowners insurance policy. Does home insurance cover plumbing leaks? Homeowners insurance only covers plumbing leaks if the leak happened suddenly or was an accident. Any plumbing leaks caused due to neglect will not be covered by homeowners insurance. Does homeowners insurance cover window leaks? Most homeowners insurance will pay for the damage caused by the window leaks, but will not pay to replace the windows themselves. A leaking window is not covered because homeowners insurance companies view it as a defect that happened gradually and should have been maintained or repaired. Does homeowners insurance cover hidden water damage? In some cases, if you can prove the hidden damage was not due to neglect, your homeowners insurance policy may cover it. Nupur GambhirManaging Editor | . .Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. 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