Accidents happen to everyone, but sometimes they can cause damage in your home.
While a broken mug handle isn’t much to worry about, sometimes accidental damage can be pricier to fix.
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 cover is there to protect against the unexpected – from DIY mishaps to spills and breakages.
It's an optional extra you can add to contents, buildings or combined home insurance policies.
It means if your home or the things inside it are accidentally damaged, we’ll help repair or replace them.
Do I need accidental damage cover?
Even if you’re super careful around your home, accidents can happen to anyone.
Whether that’s your child kicking a football through the window or hammering a nail through a pipe while doing some DIY.
To know if it’s right for you, work out how much it would cost to fix an issue like replacing a damaged work surface, smashed TV or stained carpet.
Then compare that to the cost of accidental damage cover and the excess you’d need to pay if you claimed.
What does accidental damage cover?
It depends on whether you have buildings, contents or combined insurance:
Accidental damage for buildings insurance
This is for if you accidentally damage the structure of your home, or the fixtures and fittings. These types of claims are often bigger and more complicated.
Here are some accidents we’d likely cover:
- hammering a nail through a water pipe
- windows smashed by a football
- a perfume bottle falling and cracking your bathroom sink
Accidental damage for contents insurance
This is for when you accidentally damage your belongings or furniture inside your home. That might be things like:
- paintings
- jewellery
- sofas
- mattresses
- rugs
Some common accidents we usually cover include:
- spilling something on the carpet
- knocking your TV off its stand
- breaking your favourite bracelet
- burning your carpet with straighteners
Combined home insurance
You can choose accidental damage cover for your buildings, contents or go for both so you're completely covered.
What about damage caused by guests?
We cover accidental damage even if a family member or someone who doesn’t live in your home causes it. But we won’t cover you if a paying guest causes the damage.
If you have a long-term tenant, you’ll need landlord insurance instead – we offer extra cover for damage they may cause while renting your property.
What isn't usually covered?
Depending on your type of insurance and level of cover, we don’t cover damage caused:
- intentionally, like pouring a glass of water on your laptop
- because of wear and tear, like worn-out carpets on the stairs
- by pets chewing, tearing, vomiting, scratching or going to the toilet
- while your home is unfurnished or unoccupied
- by poor workmanship
Check your policy book for a full list of the limits and exclusions that apply to your cover.
What about damage outside of my home?
We offer another optional extra called Personal Possessions cover. It protects items you wear or carry with you outside of your home, like:
- laptops
- tablets
- jewellery and watches
Our Platinum level of home insurance includes cover up to £2,000 as standard. But you can upgrade that to £20,000 if you like.
It’s not included as standard on Admiral and Gold levels but just let us know if you’d like to add it as an extra.
If any of your possessions are worth over £2,000 each, you’ll need to add them as a high-risk item on your policy. Otherwise, they won't be covered for their full value.
Check your policy book for a full list of the limits and exclusions that apply.
How do I get accidental damage cover?
Some home insurance policies will already include some accidental damage cover as standard.
With us, it depends on what level of home insurance you have:
- Admiral Platinum: you’ll have full buildings and contents accidental damage cover included as standard.
- Admiral Gold: you’ll have some accidental damage cover included (for example, for bathroom fixtures, some non-portable tech like TVs, and mirrors). You can upgrade to full cover if you’d like.
- Admiral: you won’t have any accidental damage cover as standard, but you can buy it as an add-on.
Already a customer? You can check your policy documents in MyAccount to see if your level of cover includes it.
If you’d like to upgrade, you can do it in MyAccount or by getting in touch with us.
How much does accidental damage cover cost?
The cost of accidental damage cover can change between insurers and depends on the level of cover you want.
If your level of home insurance already includes it, then it’s covered in the overall cost of your policy.
If you want to add it on to your policy, you'll find out how much it'll cost you when you get your quote.
How do I make an accidental damage claim?
Check your policy documents first to see if we cover your claim. You can find them on MyAccount.
Remember to look at your excess too. If it’s higher than the cost of the damage, we can’t accept the claim, and you’ll need to pay for it another way.
If we cover your situation, you can get started on our make a claim page or in MyAccount.
