Accidents happen to everyone and can sometimes cause damage in your home.
While a broken mug handle isn’t much to think about, some accidental damage at home can be costly.
Read on to find out what accidental damage cover is, what it includes and if it’s right for you.
What is accidental damage cover?
Accidental damage protects against the unexpected and is available to buy on contents, buildings or combined home insurance.
We define an accident as unintentional, unexpected and visible loss or damage.
Do I need accidental damage cover?
It depends if you want cover for accidental damage to your home and its contents.
While you might be careful around the home, it’s worth thinking about if you have children or lots of visitors, as this can increase the chance of an accident happening.
To work out if it’s worth it, find out the cost of issues like repairing your home after a DIY disaster or replacing a work surface damaged by a hot pan.
You can then compare that to the cost of accidental damage cover and the lowest excess you need for cover (i.e. the mandatory excess).
How much does accidental damage cover cost?
The cost of accidental damage can change between insurers and depends on the level of cover you want.
It's likely covered within the cost if your policy includes it as standard.
If you want to add it on to your policy, it’s not usually a set price like other home insurance add-ons (for instance, home emergency cover).
What does accidental damage cover?
Buildings and contents insurance includes different types of accidental damage cover.
Each insurer has a way of splitting the cover between insurance levels.
Below, we’ll talk generally but mainly explain how we split our cover options.
Examples of accidental damage for buildings insurance
Accidental damage claims for buildings are less common but are often bigger and more complicated. We have two cover levels of accidental damage for buildings insurance:
1. Accidental breakage of glass and sanitary fixtures: including window glass, sinks, fixed ceramic hobs, etc.
2. Buildings: accidental damage to your home's structure, windows, fixtures and fittings.
Below are some accidents we’d likely cover:
- hammering a stray nail through a water pipe
- windows smashed by a football
- a perfume bottle falling and cracking your bathroom sink
Examples of accidental damage for contents insurance
We have three cover levels of accidental damage for contents insurance:
- Audio-visual equipment: accidental damage in your home to electric items that aren’t portable like TVs.
- Mirrors or glass: accidental breakage of mirrors and internal glass in your home.
- Contents: accidental damage to your home’s contents.
Contents accidental damage includes items such as:
- paintings
- jewellery
- sofas
- mattresses
- rugs
One of the most common claims is for carpet damage – whether by spilt wine or toppled paint tins. Some other common accidents include:
- knocking your TV off its stand
- breaking your favourite bracelet
- burning your carpet with straighteners
For Admiral home insurance customers
The amount of accidental damage cover you have depends on what level of home insurance you have:
- Admiral Platinum: includes full buildings and/or contents accidental damage cover as standard.
- Admiral Gold: includes accidental damage cover for external glass and internal sanitary fittings (like toilets and wash basins), mirrors and internal glass (like free-standing ceramic hobs and glass-top tables) and non-portable audiovisual equipment (like TVs and gaming consoles). Full accidental damage cover is optional for buildings and contents.
- Admiral: accidental damage cover is optional for buildings and contents.
Some insurers exclude any damage caused by your pets. However, we cover accidents like your excitable puppy knocking your TV off its stand.
Please check your policy book for more information as pet-related claims are more complicated than other family members.
What usually isn’t covered?
Depending on the type of insurance and level of cover, we also don’t cover damage caused:
- deliberately (intentionally pouring a glass of water on your laptop)
- because of wear and tear (worn-out carpets on the stairs)
- by pets chewing, tearing, vomiting, scratching or fouling
- while your home is unfurnished or unoccupied
- by poor workmanship
Check your policy book for a full list of limits and exclusions.
What about damage outside of my home?
We have another type of insurance called personal possessions cover that protects items you wear or carry with you outside of your home like:
- laptops
- tablets
- jewellery and watches
If any of the above is worth over £2,000, you may need to add it as a specified item on your policy.
Our Platinum level of home insurance covers personal possessions up to £2,000 as standard. This automatically comes with personal possessions cover on your Platinum policy.
Personal possessions cover isn’t included on Admiral and Gold levels but can be added as an optional extra for cover up to £20K.
Check your policy book for a full list of limits and exclusions.
Damage caused by guests
We cover accidental damage even if a family member or someone who doesn’t live in your home causes it.
However, home insurance doesn’t cover you if a paying guest causes damage. Consider landlord insurance for long-term tenants.
There’s also host insurance for short-term guests and other overnight stayers, like Airbnb guests.
How do I make an accidental damage claim?
Read your policy documents to see if we cover your claim. You can view them on MyAccount.
Remember to check your excess. If it’s higher than the cost of the damage, we can’t accept the claim, and you’ll need to pay for it.
If you’re confident that the situation is covered by us, get in touch via our make a claim page or on MyAccount.
