Accidental Damage Cover: What It Pays For
The optional add-on most people have and few understand. What it covers, and what it does not.
What it is
Standard household policies cover a defined list of perils: fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, impact and so on. Accidental damage is an optional extension covering sudden, unintentional physical damage that does not fall within any of those headings. Putting a foot through a ceiling while in the attic, drilling into a concealed pipe, dropping a weight on a tiled floor, spilling paint across a carpet, a child putting a hurl through a window.
Buildings and contents are separate options
Accidental damage on buildings and accidental damage on contents are usually sold as two extensions, and having one does not give you the other. A television knocked off its stand is contents. A cracked sanitaryware suite is buildings. It is worth checking your schedule for which you actually hold, because people generally assume they have both.
What it does not cover
Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, and anything that happened slowly. Mechanical or electrical breakdown of an appliance, as distinct from accidental physical damage to it. Damage caused deliberately by you or by anyone lawfully in the property. Faulty workmanship and inherent defect. Damage to an item while it is being worked on or repaired. And in most policies, damage occurring while the property is unoccupied beyond the permitted period.
The gradual-versus-sudden question
This is where most accidental damage disputes live. A pipe pierced by a nail in October that leaks unnoticed until February presents as water damage discovered gradually, and insurers argue the loss was gradual and therefore excluded. The counter-argument is that the damage to the pipe was sudden and accidental and the water damage is its direct consequence. Which view prevails turns on the policy wording and on the evidence. It is a technical argument and it is winnable.
Is it worth having?
On the evidence of the claims we see, yes, and the premium is modest relative to what it covers. The most frequent accidental damage claims are drilled pipes, damaged floors, cracked hobs and worktops, and damage during DIY. Those are not exotic events.
If a claim is refused
A declinature is a position, not a verdict. Insurers decline accidental damage claims on gradual-cause grounds fairly readily, and those decisions are frequently revisited when the mechanism of damage is properly evidenced. If you have been refused, it costs nothing to have us look at it — 085 268 7871.
Dealing with a claim right now?
The first consultation is free and there is no obligation. Call 085 268 7871 or send us the details of your claim.
Call 085 268 7871