Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Appliances?

A standard homeowners insurance policy generally covers your appliances if they are damaged suddenly by unexpected perils but not if they are damaged gradually or by anything your policy expressly excludes. You can often purchase extra coverage types to insure your appliances against a wider range of perils.

Keep reading to learn more about how homeowners insurance for appliances works including the situations in which your home appliances are and aren’t covered.

On This Page

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  When Does Home Insurance Cover Appliances?

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  What Types of Insurance Cover Home Appliances?

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  How Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Appliances?

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  Should I Consider Equipment Breakdown Coverage?

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  Do Home Warranties Cover Appliances?

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  FAQs

When Does Home Insurance Cover Appliances?

Homeowners insurance covers repairs or replacements after your appliances are damaged or destroyed by certain sudden and unexpected perils. Depending on the type of appliance, your policy may provide coverage for any peril that isn’t mentioned as an exclusion. Otherwise, it should cover damage caused by the following 16 named perils.

Keep in mind that it may not be worth filing an insurance claim to replace an appliance that has been damaged by a covered peril depending on your deductible, which is the amount of money you have to pay out of pocket on all claims. For example, if you have a $500 deductible, there would be no point in filing a claim to replace a $400 washing machine.

When Won’t Insurance Cover a Home Appliance?

Your home insurance company generally won’t insure your appliances against gradual damage and sudden damage that your policy specifically excludes.

If one of your appliances stops working due to poor maintenance or normal wear and tear, your insurance provider will not help you pay to fix it.

Meanwhile, homeowners insurance policies often exclude coverage for the following perils:

• Flooding caused by heavy rains, sump pump overflows and other external water sources
• Earthquakes and other kinds of ground movement
• Pests and infestations
• Mold
• War or nuclear hazard
• Power surges that originate off of your property^[1]

You may be able to make up for these holes in a typical homeowners policy by purchasing extra coverage types such as flood insurance or earthquake insurance. In addition, you should remember that your insurance company won’t cover any losses that exceed your coverage limits.

What Types of Insurance Cover Home Appliances?

Most home appliances should be covered by your personal property insurance. Specifically, this includes movable appliances that can be plugged into an outlet or some other electrical hookup such as the following:

• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Ovens
• Microwaves
• Air fryers
• Hot plates
• Toasters
• Blenders
• Dishwashers
• Washing machines
• Dryers

Meanwhile, your dwelling coverage should insure any appliances that are built into your home like a central air conditioning unit. Similarly, appliances like heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that are built into sheds and other buildings on your property should be covered by your other structures coverage.

While losing an appliance likely won’t trigger your loss of use coverage, it could take effect if your home becomes uninhabitable because of damage that originated with an appliance. For example, your insurance company may help you cover additional living expenses if you have to temporarily move somewhere else due to an oven fire or dishwasher overflow.

How Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Appliances?

Most standard home insurance policies will insure your appliances at their actual cash value (ACV) but you can pay extra to get reimbursed for their replacement cost value (RCV). An appliance’s ACV is how much it is worth when you consider depreciation factors like age. Meanwhile, its RCV is how much it would cost to replace it with a similar appliance.

For example, if you buy a $1,000 refrigerator that is designed to last 10 years, it should depreciate in value by $100 every year and have an ACV of $800 after two years. As a result, if the fridge is stolen after two years, you could pay a $500 deductible then receive $300 from your insurance company through a policy that provides ACV coverage.

If your policy provides RCV coverage, you would likely receive the same $300 payment up front. However, you could then buy a new fridge, submit the receipt to your insurance carrier and receive an additional $200 recoverable depreciation payment to account for the value that the fridge had lost since you first purchased it.

Should I Consider Equipment Breakdown Coverage?

You may want to buy equipment breakdown coverage as an optional home insurance endorsement if you are interested in insuring your appliances and systems against some types of sudden damage that aren’t ordinarily covered by homeowners insurance. For example, you could purchase this coverage type to insure your appliances against internal failures such as mechanical breakdowns or short circuits.

Equipment breakdown insurance may also cover additional losses associated with an appliance failure such as reimbursing you for food that goes bad after your freezer suddenly stops working.^[2] However, this extra coverage type doesn’t cover damage caused by regular wear and tear.

How Much Does It Cost?

Adding an equipment breakdown coverage endorsement to your policy will generally raise the cost of your homeowners insurance premium by $25 to $50 per year.^[2] The price of equipment breakdown insurance may vary depending on your coverage limits and the value of the appliances you want to insure.

Do Home Warranties Cover Appliances?

Home warranties cover major home appliances in case they stop functioning during your coverage period, which usually lasts one year.^[3] A home warranty is a separate service contract rather than an add-on to your homeowners policy and it is the only type of coverage that will insure your appliances against wear and tear. You will usually have to pay between $300 and $600 per year for a home warranty.^[2]