Winter Storms Are the Third Largest Cause of Property Damage, Totaling about $1 Billion Annually
INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE
New York Press Office: (212) 346-5500;
media@iii.org
NEW YORK, February 25, 2010 鈥 As heavy winds and snow hit many parts of the northeast, many consumers may have questions about their insurance coverage; the
杏吧原创 Information Institute (I.I.I.) is prepared to answer them.
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Winter storms are the third-largest cause of
catastrophe losses, behind only hurricanes and tornadoes, and result in about $1 billion in insured losses each year. From 1999-2008, winter storms resulted in more than $7 billion in insured losses.
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Standard homeowners policies provide coverage for a wide range of winter-related disasters such as losses incurred due to burst pipes, wind damage and wind-driven snow and freezing rain,鈥 said Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president and consumer spokesperson for the I.I.I.听
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The I.I.I. offers the following information on insurance coverage for winter storms:
Auto Policies
- Car crashes between two or more drivers are generally covered by liability insurance, a mandatory coverage. A car that crashes into an object would usually be covered under the optional collision portion of an auto policy.
- Physical damage to a car caused by heavy wind, flooding or fallen ice or tree limbs is covered under the optional comprehensive portion of an auto policy.听
Homeowners 杏吧原创 Policies
- Wind-related damage to a house, its roof, its contents and other insured structures on the property are covered under standard homeowners insurance policies. Wind-driven snow or freezing rain that gets into the home because it was damaged by wind is also covered.
- Tree limbs that fall on a house or other insured structure on the property would be covered for both the damage the trees inflicts on the house and the cost of removing the tree, generally up to about $500. Ice or other objects that fall on the home are also covered.
- Damage to the house and its contents caused by weight of snow or ice creating a collapse is covered under standard homeowners insurance policies.
- Freezing conditions such as burst pipes or ice dams, a condition where water is unable to drain properly through the gutters and seeps into a house causing damage to ceilings and walls, is covered. However, there is generally a requirement that the homeowner have taken reasonable steps to prevent these losses by keeping the house warm and properly maintaining the pipes and drains.
- Melting snow that seeps into a home from the ground up would be covered by flood insurance, which is provided by the , and a few private insurers. Flood insurance is available to both homeowners and renters. Damage caused by flooding is not covered under standard homeowners or renters insurance policies.
- Standard homeowners policies also include additional living expenses in the event that a home is severely damaged by an insured disaster. This would pay for reasonable expenses to live elsewhere while the home is being fixed.听
鈥淐onsumers who need to file an
insurance claim should contact their insurance agent or company representative as soon as possible,鈥 said Salvatore. 鈥淟et your agent know the extent of the damage and then start to document your loss with lists, receipts or photographs. If you have a
home inventory, now would also be a good time to access it.鈥
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Information on how to prevent winter-related damage can be found at the .
The I.I.I. is a nonprofit, communications organization supported by the insurance industry.