Storm damage? This does and does not cover your insurance

For example, home contents insurance does not cover flying roof tiles. Home insurance does. And you have that, if you have a house with a mortgage, anyway. This is mandatory when you take out the mortgage. Are you renting a house from the housing industry? Even then you can assume that you are well insured. What kind of damage can the storm cause? We check with the insurance comparison site Independer.

First of all, the ‘standard’ storm damage. Think of storm damage such as a tree falling on your house or roof tiles blowing off your home. Your insurance will only cover storm damage if the wind force is higher than 7. Good to know is that every insurer has a deductible for storm damage.

Water damage
Water damage is often caused by heavy precipitation. It is possible that the wind causes blown roof tiles, causing the rain to come in. A leak in your roof is enough to cause significant water damage. Water damage will be reimbursed by your insurer. It is important that you tackle the cause of the damage as soon as possible. Then report the damage to your insurer.

Lightning damage When lightning strikes, you often have to deal with a lot of damage
. In addition to the fire that occurs, cracks can also appear in the walls. Also, many electrical appliances are under too much voltage due to lightning strikes. These can therefore become unusable. Lightning damage is reimbursed by your insurance.

The majority of people have both home insurance and contents insurance. But which damage is covered by which insurance?

Home insurance
With the home insurance you insure the house itself and actually everything that is nail-tight to the house. These include the walls, superstructure and roof. But your built-in kitchen and bathroom are also covered by the home insurance, as are any solar panels.

With a contents insurance you insure all (loose) items in your home. Think of your (garden) furniture, equipment, clothing and crockery. In fact, everything you take with you when you move is covered by the contents insurance. If loose items break down due to the storm, you are insured for this.

What is not covered by home contents insurance?
A home contents or home insurance does not compensate damage due to:

– Floods
– Mostilt (war, uprisings)
– Earthquakes
– Atomic nuclear reactions

Some insurers exclude even more damages. This can be found in the policy conditions of your insurer.

In addition to your house, your car is of course also susceptible to storm damage. Is your car only insured against liability? Then you are only insured for damage that you yourself cause to others. If a tree falls on your car, you will not be reimbursed. You will be reimbursed for the damage with a liability + limited hull insurance (for wind force 7 or higher) and a liability + full hull insurance (the so-called All Risk, with every wind force).

Claiming storm damage is in most cases not at the expense of the no-claim discount, reports Independer. This means that you will not pay more premium because you claim storm damage. Check in advance in the conditions how your insurer deals with storm damage. Do you have car insurance with a deductible? Then the insurer deducts the deductible from the compensation you receive. Because you also pay the deductible in case of storm damage.

With a house for sale, a housing association and a liability + car insurance, you don’t have to worry much. But damage is damage, and its settlement takes time and effort. Prevention is better than cure, it sounds even now. So how do you prevent storm damage? Seven tips from the insurers:

– If possible, don’t park your car under a tree.
– During a heavy shower, it is smart to keep a little extra distance and not to drive too fast.
– Don’t go out with a trailer if you don’t really need to.
– Check the trees around your home for loose branches or protruding branches that may hit walls or windows.
– Check if all the roof tiles are still lying well and whole.
– Close all windows tightly.
– Store garden furniture and flower pots so they can’t blow around and cause damage.