Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Plumbing and Pipe Leaks?

Any sudden and unexpected water damage caused by a plumbing malfunction or broken pipe should be covered by your homeowners insurance policy. However, most home insurance policies exclude gradual damage to your home, such as a slow, constant leak, as well as damage caused by regional flooding.

Furthermore, depending on the cause, some types of water damage, such as mold, may be excluded from your standard policy. However, if you want coverage, you can usually add it as an optional rider.

Does homeowners insurance cover water damage from leaking pipes?

Your homeowners insurance policy should cover any unexpected and unintentional water damage caused by a plumbing failure, such as a burst pipe or a ruptured water heater.

Water damage could cause enough damage to require you to repair a portion of your home's structure, replace destroyed property, and possibly relocate for a few nights. Fortunately, there are three different clauses in your homeowners insurance policy that may cover water damage to your home:

  • Dwelling coverage: The dwelling coverage clause in your policy insures the structure of your home, such as the roof, walls, and floorboards. If a covered leak damages a portion of your home, or if you have to remove a portion of a wall to repair a leak, your dwelling coverage will reimburse you. Dwelling insurance also covers the built-in appliances in your home, such as a water heater, if they are damaged.
  • Property coverage: Your policy will reimburse you for any personal property destroyed by a plumbing malfunction in your home, such as clothing, televisions, and furniture. However, unless you add an optional rider to your policy, certain luxury items, such as jewelry, may only be covered up to a $1,000 to $2,000 limit.
  • Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage: ALE coverage, also known as loss of use, pays for hotel, travel, and food expenses if you are temporarily displaced from your home.

If water started pouring out of your washing machine unexpectedly while you were away, it could cause your wooden floorboards to buckle. Water could also leak through the floor and damage the walls or ceiling of the floor below.

In this case, your insurance would most likely cover you. An insurance adjuster would come to your home to assess the damage after you filed a claim. If the cost of repairing or replacing your floor, molding, and lower-floor ceiling is $3,000, and you have a $1,000 deductible on your home insurance policy, your insurance company will pay the remaining $2,000.

What kinds of plumbing damage aren't covered by home insurance?

Home insurance policies do not cover normal wear and tear, and they will not reimburse you for water damage caused by a clogged drain or flood unless you have an endorsement.

While plumbing malfunctions and burst pipes are covered, it's important to understand that certain situations or types of damage aren't. When you file a claim for water damage, your homeowners insurance company will dispatch an insurance adjuster to determine the extent and cost of the damage. They will assess:

  • The location of the pipes or other sources of damage
  • Whether any of the damage is from an old leak or a new one
  • Whether there are any signs of deterioration, such as rust, that should have signaled a future leak
  • Whether the leak is simply due to aging or wear and tear

These evaluations will be used by the adjuster to determine whether you could have reasonably prevented the leak. They may deny coverage if they determine you could have.

Lack of maintenance

Water damage caused by normal wear and tear or a lack of maintenance is not covered. For example, you may notice a minor leak but fail to address it for several weeks because only a small amount of water is leaking. That leak could gradually cause a bulge in your wall, prompting you to file a claim.

Unfortunately, if you had decided not to address the issue immediately, you would have void your coverage weeks earlier. Your insurance company will most likely deny any reimbursement because you failed to perform routine maintenance.

A burst pipe during the winter is another common claim that many insurers deny. If you go away for the holidays and turn off your heat completely, the temperature may cause your pipes to freeze and burst. In this case, you may be held liable for the repairs because you could have prevented the damage yourself.

Sewage backup

While your homeowners insurance policy may cover a leaking toilet, a flooded or backed-up sewage system is not, even if it may overload your plumbing system.

Fortunately, most home insurance companies provide sewer or water backup coverage as a low-cost rider to your policy. This optional coverage is recommended because sewage damage can be extremely dangerous to your family and destructive to your home and property.

Flood damage

Water damage occurs when a utility or pipe fails, whereas flood damage occurs when water from heavy rains, an overflowing body of water, or snowmelt rises to a level high enough to enter your home or overload your plumbing system. While flood damage is not covered by your homeowners insurance policy, you can purchase flood insurance from your insurer if it is a member of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

View the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood map for your area and consult your insurance agent to assess your home's flood risk. After determining your risk, you can decide whether flood insurance is required for your home.

In some cases, the distinction between flood and water damage is hazy. As a result, it's always a good idea to contact your insurance agent as soon as possible to find out how you're covered and what steps you should take to minimize the damage.

Mold damage

Mold damage is typically not covered by most homeowner policies. However, insurance companies offer varying degrees of protection against mold damage caused by a covered leak. To determine your coverage, carefully read the wording of your policy, and expect a reimbursement limit of $1,000 to $10,000 for mold remediation.

While any coverage is beneficial, typical mold claims can range between $15,000 and $30,000. As with sewage backup, however, many insurers provide additional coverage in the form of an optional rider. However, if you live in a mold-prone area, such as Florida or parts of California, mold coverage could be significantly more expensive.

In addition to purchasing mold protection, you should clean, ventilate, or dehumidify areas ripe for mold growth on a regular basis to keep it from spreading. These are some examples:

  • Basements, or any other rooms partially below ground
  • Bathrooms, especially if they’re used for showering and don’t have windows
  • Laundry rooms
  • Cabinetry beneath sinks
  • Garages
  • Crawl spaces

How can you tell if you have a water leak?

A leak will be obvious and disruptive in many cases. Sometimes it can go on for days without you noticing, causing increasing damage until it's fixed. Use the following tips to find any leaks in your home:

  • Look: Even if the leak is not directly visible, it will often create a sagging spot on your ceiling, a bulge on your wall or stains and discoloration. While these spots may appear minor at first, they will quickly grow larger and more noticeable, indicating hidden damage. Responding to the problem as soon as possible is critical, both to minimize damage and to ensure that your insurance company honors your claim.
  • Listen: If you suspect a leak, listen for it when the house is quiet, such as at night. A leak is indicated by a faint trickling or dripping sound.
  • Smell: Does a particular room in your house have a musty odor? This indicates moisture and mold growth, both of which indicate leaking. Even if the odor is in an area without water pipes, moisture can leak through foundation cracks and cause damage. While you look for the source of the leak, run a dehumidifier to reduce the mold risk.

What to do if you have a leak

If you discover a leak in your home, you must act quickly to avoid further damage. The first step should be to try to stop the flow of water. Some leaks can be fixed by properly connecting a dishwasher hose or tightening a loosely connected pipe. In other cases, you may need to turn off the water supply to your home while you investigate the source of the leak.

Document the damage with photographs before removing any water. This evidence may assist you in defending your claim with your homeowners insurance company. Once you've documented the damage, take the following steps to remove the water as soon as possible:

  • Elevate any personal belongings, furniture, and rugs to prevent further damage.
  • Allow air to circulate through the room by opening windows.
  • To remove moisture from the air, use an air conditioner or dehumidifier.
  • To remove standing water, use a shop vac or a sump pump.
  • To avoid electrocution, turn off your electricity at the breaker if the leaking has occurred near any electrical wiring.
  • Any wet rugs or carpet should be hung to dry.

Removing the water as soon as possible will help to reduce the overall cost of the damage. Contact your homeowners insurance company to file a claim after you've documented and removed the water.