Water damage. What is insured?
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AT A GLANCE
The water in your aquarium leaks, damaging the parquet floor. A burst pipe floods your cellar. The power of water should not be underestimated and can cause significant damage. But which insurance covers water damage? We have the answers for you here.
What is water damage?
Water damage is damage within a building caused by water entering from the outside or leaking from pipes, for example.
Water damage is often caused by:
- Leaky roofs
- Clogged drains
- Burst pipes
- Defective washing machines
- Defective pipes
GOOD TO KNOW
Damage caused by flooding is classified as natural hazard damage, not water damage.
Which types of water damage are insured?
Water leakage
Your dishwasher springs a leak. The supply pipe to your washing machine bursts. Your waterbed starts dripping. Back-up from the sewers inside your building floods the bathroom. If water leaks from pipes or equipment and causes damage, this will be covered by the insurance. Incidentally, this also applies to oil leaks from heating or tank systems.
Water ingress
The roof leaks, your gutter and external drainpipes are blocked, the sealing on your windows and doors fails. Water always finds a way. Rainwater, slush, meltwater and groundwater – e.g. from the subsoil – can often enter buildings unnoticed and cause major damage. This is usually paid for by the insurance.
Frost damage
A pipe freezes during a particularly cold winter. Now it has burst and flooded your cellar. Here, too, the insurance will pay for the water damage caused.
Which insurance pays out in the event of water damage?
When deciding which insurance will pay for water damage, the questions of what was damaged and who caused it are key. Depending on the claim, household contents, buildings or liability insurance will come into play.
Water damage to household contents: when does household contents insurance pay?
Are furniture, clothing or other valuables damaged because your aquarium has leaked or a pipe has burst? Your household contents insurance covers water damage to the movable property in your home.
Water damage to buildings: when does buildings insurance pay?
Your ceilings, floors and walls are wet. Your parquet flooring has swollen up and your windows and doors are warped. Water damage to a building is covered by buildings insurance. It also pays the costs of locating, uncovering and repairing leaking pipes and repairing or replacing soaked ceilings, floors and walls. You only need buildings insurance if you are the owner.
GOOD TO KNOW
Unlike natural hazard damage, cantonal buildings insurance generally does not cover water damage. Buildings water insurance is required – and recommended – for this.
Water damage to third-party property: when does liability insurance pay?
Your bathtub overflows, submerging the bathroom and flooding your neighbours’ apartment below. Personal liability insurance covers losses suffered by third parties.
Which water damage is not insured?
Not all types of water damage are insured. As always, if you caused the damage intentionally or through gross negligence, the insurance company will not pay, or it will only pay part of the costs.
GOOD TO KNOW
"Gross negligence" is defined as damage that could have been prevented with due care. According to a common definition, gross negligence is committed when a person fails to observe basic precautions that a reasonable person would have followed in the same situation. In such cases, the insurance company may not cover the loss, or it may only pay for part of it. The "waiver of reduction in benefits in the event of gross negligence" add-on helps in the event of damage caused by gross negligence. You can include this optional cover in our household contents and personal liability insurance.
What does household contents insurance not cover?
If you leave the window or door open and rain damages objects in the house, the insurance will not pay for the loss. That is because this could easily have been prevented.
What does buildings insurance not cover?
Buildings insurance does not cover damage caused by construction faults. It also will not pay for damage to the house façade caused by water from guttering or external drainpipes, for example.
Our checklist: what you can do if you notice water damage
And here’s how to prevent water damage:
THE BOTTOM LINE: insured against water damage
Water can cause a lot of damage, and it can do so quickly. Which insurance covers this depends on what has been damaged. Household contents insurance, personal liability insurance or buildings insurance for owners covers you against water damage.
Frequently asked questions and answers
Household contents insurance covers all types of damage to movable property. The owner is responsible for taking out buildings insurance.
Inform your insurer as soon as possible so you can discuss the next steps.
Document the facts as well as possible with photos. You will also need to provide receipts.
Nina
Senior Segment Manager Private Customers
Senior Segment Manager Private Customers
In her over 20 years of experience at Allianz, Nina has worked in a number of areas of the company, including both distribution and the sales force. When she isn’t out and about with her dog, she can usually be found planning her next diving holiday or hike, tending to her garden or meeting up with friends.
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Household contents insurance
Be it glass breakages, theft or water damage – with our household contents insurance, your belongings are optimally covered against loss and damage.
Tenant's liability insurance
Wherever people live, they also cause damage. To ensure that you do not end up footing the bill as the tenant, it is advisable to have tenant's liability insurance.
Buildings insurance
Although we cannot recover your destroyed possessions with our buildings insurance, we will at least cover the financial consequences.
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