Home Insurance: What Counts As Accidental Damage?

Accidental damage cover is an optional extra that can be added to your home insurance policy to cover the cost of repairs or replacements caused by sudden, unexpected damage to your home or its contents. Accidental damage is defined as damage that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly by an outside force. This includes damage to the structure of your home, such as broken glass in windows or damage to pipes, as well as damage to your possessions, such as laptops, furniture, and carpets. Accidental damage cover can provide peace of mind and increased protection, but it is important to carefully review the policy details, terms, and conditions to understand any exclusions and limitations.

Accidental damage insurance is optional

Accidental damage insurance is an optional extra you can add to your home insurance policy. It covers damage to your home or contents caused by sudden, unexpected, and non-deliberate events. This is distinct from home and contents insurance, which typically covers damage from fire, storms, or theft. Accidental damage insurance is particularly useful if you have children or pets, as it covers damage caused by them.

Accidental damage insurance can be added to your contents insurance, buildings insurance, or both. Contents insurance covers objects inside your home, such as TVs, jewellery, carpets, and sofas, while buildings insurance covers damage to the structure of your home, including pipes, kitchen fittings, doors, and windows. Adding accidental damage cover to your policy will protect you from the cost of repairs or replacements due to spills, breakages, or other mishaps.

When considering accidental damage insurance, it's important to note that there are usually exclusions. For example, portable electronics and clothing are often excluded from contents insurance accidental damage policies. Damage caused by pets is also typically not covered, although some policies may offer this as an additional extra. It's important to carefully read the terms and conditions of any policy to understand what is and isn't covered.

The cost of accidental damage insurance will depend on your circumstances and the level of cover chosen. Adding this extra cover will increase your overall home insurance premium. Additionally, making a claim under your policy will reduce your No Claim Discount when you renew. There will also be an excess amount to pay towards any replacement costs.

It covers contents and buildings

Accidental damage cover is an optional add-on to your home insurance policy, which covers sudden and unexpected damage to your property or contents caused by an outside force. This could include spilling a drink and staining the carpet, or drilling through a pipe.

Accidental damage cover can be added to your contents insurance, your buildings insurance, or both. It is important to note that accidental damage cover is not included in all home insurance policies as standard, so it is worth checking the details of your policy.

Contents Insurance

Accidental damage cover for contents insurance will protect your household items, valuables, and personal belongings. This includes objects inside your home, such as TVs, expensive jewellery, carpets, and sofas. For example, if a friend or family member knocks over your TV, you will be covered as long as it was unintentional. Contents insurance with accidental damage cover will also protect your belongings when you are outdoors within the confines of your property, when you are moving house with a professional contractor, and when you are on holiday if you have personal possessions cover.

Buildings Insurance

Accidental damage cover for buildings insurance will protect you financially in case someone unintentionally damages the structure of your home. This includes damage caused by your children or visiting children, falling through the attic floor, broken glass in windows, doors, fan lights, skylights, and solar panels, damaged wash basins, baths, sinks, toilets, and showers, and broken or blocked service cables, pipes, septic tanks, and wires.

What's Not Covered

It is important to note that accidental damage cover does not include everything. Common exclusions include animal-related accidents, damage caused by wear and tear, water entering the home (except during storms and floods), electrical breakdown or failure, faulty workmanship, or defective building materials. Portable electronics and clothing are also often excluded from contents insurance accidental damage policies.

It covers accidents that are sudden and unexpected

Accidental damage is defined as sudden and unexpected damage to your property or contents by an outside force. This could include spilling a drink and staining the carpet, or drilling through a pipe. It covers accidents that are sudden and unexpected, meaning it happens out of the blue and is non-deliberate.

Accidental damage insurance covers the cost of repairs or replacements caused by sudden, unexpected damage to your home that happens by mistake. It provides protection against accidental damage to your building and/or its contents. It is separate from standard insurance perils, which include damage caused by storms, fires, floods, and theft or attempted theft.

Accidental damage cover isn't included in all home insurance policies as standard. It is sometimes included in home insurance, but usually, it is sold as an optional extra. You can get accidental damage cover for your possessions as well as for your building. You can add it to your contents insurance, your buildings insurance, or both.

Accidental damage cover for buildings insurance provides financial protection in case someone unintentionally damages the structure of your home. This could include damage caused by children, falling through the attic floor, broken glass in windows, damaged wash basins, broken or blocked service cables, pipes, septic tanks and wires, and broken locks or keys.

Accidental damage cover for contents insurance covers your household items, valuables, and personal belongings. This could include damage to your laptop, mobile phone, or tablet at home, unintentionally physically broken TVs and stereo systems, damage to furniture including sofas, tables, and mattresses, damage to carpets, broken vases, mirrors, and ornaments, and damage to jewellery and watches.

It doesn't cover damage caused by pets

Accidental damage cover is an optional add-on to your home insurance policy. It covers the cost of repairs or replacements caused by sudden, unexpected damage to your home that occurs by mistake. This includes damage to the structure of your home, such as broken glass in windows, damaged wash basins, and broken pipes, as well as damage to your household items, valuables, and personal belongings. However, it is important to note that accidental damage cover does not usually include damage caused by pets.

Pet damage caused by your own pets is generally not covered by homeowners or renters insurance policies. This includes damage to your house's structure or anything inside your home caused by your pet. For example, if your dog tears through a section of drywall or your cat scratches and tears up a sofa, your insurer will not cover the cost of repairs. This is because pets are considered under your control, and any damage they cause is seen as the result of the property owner's behaviour.

While your insurance policy may not cover damage caused by your pets, it can provide liability protection if your pet damages someone else's property. This means that if your pet destroys someone else's belongings or causes damage to their home, you can make a claim through your insurance policy to compensate the other person. Additionally, if someone else's pet damages your property, you can use your insurance to make a claim for the repairs.

It is worth noting that some insurers may offer bespoke policies that cover specific types of accidental damage caused by pets, such as knocking over an expensive item. However, these policies are not common, and it is important to carefully review the terms and conditions of your policy to understand what is and is not covered.

To protect your belongings from pet damage, you may consider purchasing separate insurance specifically for pet damage. Alternatively, you can employ tactics to prevent your pet from damaging your belongings, such as providing appropriate chew toys or scratch posts, training your pet, and supervising them closely.

It doesn't cover wear and tear

Accidental damage insurance is an optional add-on to your home insurance policy that covers sudden and unexpected damage to your property or contents caused by an outside force. For example, spilling a drink and staining the carpet, or drilling through a pipe. However, it's important to note that accidental damage insurance doesn't cover wear and tear.

Wear and tear refer to the natural damage that occurs to your home and items over time due to regular use, age, or exposure to the elements. This can include faded or worn carpets, colour fading on furniture, appliances breaking down due to old age, or rotting window frames. While accidental damage insurance provides peace of mind for unforeseen incidents, it's important to understand that it doesn't cover this type of gradual deterioration.

Home insurance policies are designed to protect against sudden and unexpected events such as fires, floods, or theft. Wear and tear, on the other hand, is considered a result of poor upkeep or natural ageing, which is expected to occur over time. For example, a carpet with stains, scuffs, and fade marks from general living would typically fall under wear and tear and wouldn't be covered by accidental damage insurance.

In the case of an insured event, such as a fire or water damage, if the affected item exhibits signs of wear and tear, the insurer may reduce the claim amount. This is because the item has lost value compared to its original state. Therefore, understanding the distinction between accidental damage and wear and tear is crucial when considering insurance coverage.

To summarise, accidental damage insurance provides valuable protection against unforeseen incidents. However, it's important to be aware that it doesn't cover wear and tear, which is considered a separate category of damage resulting from the natural ageing process of your home and its contents.

Frequently asked questions