When you wake up in the middle of the night and find a broken window in your home, it can be scary. You might feel violated because someone broke into your house to steal something valuable from you or stress over how much money you’ll need to cover for its cost. When it comes to replacing windows, homeowners insurance generally covers these expenditures depending on what caused the breakage: was it deliberate damage? Was there an accident? Or were they defective due to prior owners’ poor installation techniques?
Is It a “Covered Peril” If My Window Is Shattered?
When your home insurer determines whether or not to cover window replacement, they’ll likely define it as a “covered peril” if the breakage results from specific factors. These may include an accident (like hailstones), vandalism (such as rocks thrown through windows by vandals), or theft (when someone steals another car’s side-view mirror and smashes the glass in your house).
However, if you broke a window yourself (either by accident or on purpose), homeowners insurance typically won’t cover it. Some insurers will cover a broken window due to defective glass, but you may need to pay an increased premium for this protection. Be sure that the policy language does not exclude “defects” – otherwise, it won’t apply if your windows were manufactured with poor quality materials or outdated installation methods.
Also, note whether or not there is any mention of an “act of God” or natural disasters. If you live in an area that’s prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires, and other harsh weather conditions – your insurer may exclude coverage for these events.
Will Your Insurance Cover the Cost?
Before buying a new window replacement policy with homeowners insurance, it’s essential to determine if the coverage will match your needs. This means asking yourself a few questions about what you’re trying to protect and how much money it’ll take to replace those items in case they break due to covered perils.
For example, an older home with many beautiful, antique windows may be worth thousands of dollars – so finding insurance that covers them will be a priority. On the other hand, you might live in an area that gets very few severe weather events – so pay attention to policy exclusions and ask your insurer if they’ll cover it or not.
What if your child broke your window? Will insurance cover it?
What if your child broke a window in the house, and it was not deliberate damage?
If your child broke a window, you should file an accident report. If the damage was not deliberate, then it is likely that homeowners insurance will cover the cost of replacing the glass pane.
However, even if your child was not careless or did not break the thing on purpose, there are some circumstances when the insurance does not cover this.
For example, if the window was broken due to tampering or vandalism on the part of your child, then it is unlikely that you will be able to claim a replacement from an insurance company. In cases where negligence can be proven, homeowners may have to foot the bill for repairing or replacing windows themselves.
In some instances, though, homeowners may not be able to claim a replacement even if the damage was accidental and their child did not intend to break it. This is when other people in the house could have been responsible for causing this accident or damage, such as pets or strangers. In cases where negligence cannot be determined, homeowners will need to pay out of pocket for window replacement.
The best way to determine whether you can claim the costs of replacing a broken glass pane from your insurer is to read through your policy carefully or contact an insurance agent for clarification. You should also file an accident report with the police if there are any suspicions about vandalism so that it does not affect future claims.
What to do if insurance does not cover window replacement?
If your home insurer doesn’t include glass breakage as a covered peril, you’ll need to purchase special coverage. You may be able to get it through an endorsement or rider on the policy, but these typically only apply for specific perils like storms and vandalism (not accidents). Therefore, you’ll need to contact your agent and ask what other options may be available.
Be sure that the added glass coverage is a “no-sublimit” endorsement or rider – this means that it will cover any type of damage, no matter how much money it takes to fix it. Without a no-sub-limit clause, homeowners insurance won’t provide enough money to replace a broken window completely.
Also, ask whether or not you can get this coverage for your entire house – or just the windows exposed from the outside of it. Some insurers will only cover single-story homes, so check with them if you have additional floors and need to find out how much extra it’ll cost.
