Quick Answer: Usually, yes. Most homeowners policies cover sudden water damage from a pipe that freezes and bursts, after your deductible, as long as you used reasonable care to keep the heat on or to shut off the water and drain the pipes. The risk is an empty house: if the heat fails while nobody is checking, the freezing exclusion can apply, so tell your agent before you leave for the winter.
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Watch: Pat Explains Frozen Pipe Coverage
Patrick McHugh, Personal Lines Producer · 0:55
Frozen pipes are a classic Chicago-area winter claim, so here's what your homeowners policy actually says. If a pipe freezes and bursts while you're living in the house, the water damage is usually covered, after your deductible. The catch is when the house is empty. Many policies exclude freezing damage while a home is vacant or unoccupied, unless you took reasonable care: you kept the heat on, or you shut off the water and drained the pipes. So if you're heading south for a few weeks, or a parent's house is sitting empty, that sentence matters. Three things this week. Keep the thermostat at 55 or higher when you're away. Know where your main water shut-off is. And have someone check the house. If you'll be gone for the season, call me first. I'm Pat McHugh with Pro Insurance Group. Call 833-776-4671.
For a home you live in and heat normally, a pipe that freezes and bursts is usually a covered loss. The policy pays to repair the water damage to your walls, floors and belongings, minus your deductible. That is the good news, and it is the answer for most Illinois households most winters.
The fine print is one sentence. The standard homeowners form excludes damage from the freezing of a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or sprinkler system, and then says the exclusion does not apply if you used reasonable care to maintain heat in the building, or to shut off the water supply and drain the systems. Your carrier's own form may word it differently, so your policy controls.
The policy does not name a temperature. In practice, a claim adjuster will want to know whether the heat was on and working, and if you were away, whether someone was checking the house. The American Red Cross recommends leaving the heat on at no lower than 55 degrees when you will be away during cold weather.
Burst pipe claims get harder when nobody is home. Some policies apply the freezing condition only while a home is vacant or unoccupied, and the standard form also limits vandalism claims once a dwelling has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days. If you head south after the holidays, or a parent's house is sitting empty after a move, those are the sentences that matter.
The fix is to call before you leave. We will check how your policy treats an unoccupied home and what it expects from you, and suggest simple steps such as a monitored thermostat, a water shutoff or a neighbor who checks in.
These are three different claims. A pipe that bursts inside your home is usually a homeowners claim. Water that backs up through a floor drain or a failed sump pump is excluded unless you have added water backup coverage. And surface water from outside is a flood, which needs a separate flood policy. See Pat's guide to flooding and your home insurance for that side of it.
Usually, yes, if you used reasonable care. Most homeowners policies cover sudden water damage from a pipe that freezes and bursts, after your deductible, as long as you kept the heat on or shut off the water and drained the system. Without that care, the freezing exclusion can apply.
The standard homeowners form says the freezing exclusion does not apply if you used reasonable care to maintain heat in the building, or to shut off the water supply and drain the systems. The policy does not name a temperature. The American Red Cross recommends leaving the heat on at no lower than 55 degrees when you are away.
Tell your agent before you go. Some policies apply the freezing condition only while a home is vacant or unoccupied, and many limit other claims, such as vandalism, once a home has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days. A monitored thermostat, a water shutoff and someone checking the house help on both counts.
No. A pipe that bursts inside your home is usually a homeowners claim. Water that backs up through a drain or a failed sump pump needs water backup coverage, and surface water from outside is a flood, which needs a separate flood policy.
We will check how your policy treats an empty house, and compare your home and auto across 20+ carriers while we are at it.
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Written by Patrick McHugh, Personal Lines Producer
Illinois licensed insurance producer #2121371. Licensed since 1992, and ran his own agency for 27 years before going independent.
This article is general information, not a coverage determination. Your policy terms control.
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