A Guide To Accidental Damage

What is Accidental Damage Cover?

Accidental Damage is a non-deliberate act of damage that occurs in the home. This is a sudden, unexpected and unintentional one off instance that causes damage to your property or contents.

Accidental damage cover is something that can be added to your home insurance policy or it may be included as standard on your policy. It replaces or repairs the contents caused by the accidental damage that has occurred or put the property back in the position it was in before the incident happened. Accidental damage cover can be added to either the building, contents or both.

What is covered under buildings accidental damage?

Building accidental damage cover can be a cost effective way to avoid expensive mistakes to your property and although the incidents covered are vast and varied, typical claims include; damage to worktops in kitchens, toilet basins, sinks and other bathroom fitting products, broken glass or windows and damage to fixtures and fittings.

Accidents can happen when decorating – whether it be an unintentional hole in the wall or putting a foot through the ceiling from the attic or damage to pipework. Children who are aspiring artists may damage walls with pens or crayons and the avid gardener may hit an underground pipe hidden in the ground. The examples are endless however by having accidental damage insurance for buildings – you can help to keep the physical structure of your home protected in the event of a claim.

What is covered under Contents accidental damage?

Accidental damage insurance for contents can help to protect the physical items and personal items that you purchase and keep inside your home and could offer financial cover for things like spillages on carpets, cracked or smashed screens on mobile phones, tablets, televisions, damage to furniture including stained sofas and smashed coffee tables, dropped laptops and other personal belongings.

Although smashed electronics and spillages are obvious contenders for claiming under your contents, jewellery is also a very common accidental damage claim. Whether stones from an engagement ring fall out or a necklace becomes un-tied and goes down the drain, accidental damage cover will look to replace or repair.

Does accidental damage have exclusions?

Accidental damage cover is not without its limits. There are certain things not covered such as wear and tear – a carpet for example will get dirty and worn over time which is not covered by accidental damage; a glass of wine spilt over the surface of a carpet however would be considered a one off and a claim could be made. Mechanical or electrical breakdown of items, again is not covered, as over time phones and televisions etc. will begin to break as they get older which is common on electrical devices.

Pest infestation, chewing, scratching, tearing or fouling by insects or vermin is not covered under accidental damage on your home insurance as it is considered poor maintenance. Similarly, any damage from pets or other animals in your property, will not be covered under an accidental damage claim. Finally, faulty workmanship and defective materials from work carried out in or around the property would not be considered accidental damage as the workman or company would be at fault.