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Worried about water damage to your home, building or belongings? We’re here to help. Choose a home insurance policy for whatever you’re trying to protect. You can filter through different policy types and compare up to 4 different products at a time. It’s easy!
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Home insurance for water damage is usually split into three separate types of cover: floods, storms and rainwater, and escape of water. Flood cover is often optional, and you need to be careful a claim isn't rejected due to what insurers call "gradual damage".
Water damage can include sudden or accidental damage as a result of water, most commonly from a burst pipe, water overflow, flood or storm. Home insurance providers usually only cover you for sudden and accidental damage; that is, water damage that occurred quickly and unexpectedly. Gradual water damage, on the other hand, is usually not covered by most home insurance policies. Common claims can include the following:
Gradual damage is damage that has developed over time; it is something that has started small but is visible in some way, sometimes even if the homeowner is not aware of it. It can include damage caused by mould, leaky taps and pipes (provided it starts slow), seepage and a deteriorating roof.
To ensure you avoid gradual damage, it's important to take preventative measures. Keep on top of home repairs and have your home inspected regularly to ensure there's nothing an insurer could deny was the result of gradual damage.
Home insurance usually covers water damage that is the result of floods, storms and rainwater, and escape of liquid. If you live in a flood area, be sure to check you are covered. Flood is often an optional extra you may need to pay extra for. Below is a table of some insurers that include water damage cover for all three services.
Flood | Storms and rainwater | Escape of liquid | |
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Home insurance will most likely cover leaking pipes if the damage was caused by escaping water that occurred suddenly and without warning. In some cases, insurers will cover you if it occurred slowly over a period of time, but you could not have been reasonably aware of it.
A burst pipe generally comes under "escape of liquid or water" and can cover you for a sudden and immediate leak (not something gradual that you were well aware of) as a result of the following:
If you don't know where the leak is coming from, some home insurance providers will pay the reasonable costs up to a certain price to locate the source of the problem.
Home insurance generally does not cover damage caused by storm surges. This is because it is considered an action or movement of the sea, which is usually excluded by most home insurance providers. An action or movement of the sea is generally defined as a rise in the ocean or sea level, a storm surge, a high tide or a king tide.
However, you are generally covered for storms. Damage that is caused by storms, lightning, wind, hail and snow are often included under storm cover as is stormwater overflow from roof gutters and their downpipes. This can also include instances where the storm causes mechanical, electrical or electronic breakdown and failure.
If water damage has occurred as a result of a poorly maintained or deteriorating roof, then your home insurance will most likely not cover you. If a leaking roof occurs as a result of sudden and unexpected damage, like a fallen tree, then your home insurance should protect you.
As a good rule of thumb, if you find yourself thinking "I should really fix this", then you should see that it's repaired as soon as possible. Otherwise, you risk any claim you make being rejected as gradual damage. This includes a roof that needs repair, be it because of rot, mould or corrosion.
To file a successful claim for water damage through your home insurance, follow these steps:
Yes. Homeowners insurance can cover water damage from the accidental overflow of an appliance or fixture like the toilet or bathtub. But keep in mind that in order to be covered for water damage in the bathroom, it needs to be sudden and unexpected.
Yes. Homeowners insurance generally covers water damage from heavy rain caused by a weather event like a storm, so long as it was damage caused by the storm that led to water leaking into your house. You won't be covered if there was damage present prior to the heavy rain. If there is something that needs repaired, you should always fix it beforehand.
"Escape of liquid or water" is an insurance term that means you are covered for damage from liquid or water that is sudden and immediate or that has escaped slowly over time that you couldn't be reasonably aware of. It does not mean something gradual that you were well aware of.
Gary Hunter is a writer at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, health, travel, home and pet insurance for over three years, has pored over hundreds of product disclosure statements and written more than 500 insurance articles. Gary is passionate about helping Aussies understand their insurance policies so that they can get better value for their money.
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