You probably know that your home’s boiler or furnace is one of the most important components of your heating and air system. Of course, you don’t want it to stop working suddenly, but you can’t prevent every breakdown that might occur.  

You might wonder, in these stressful scenarios, whether your homeowners insurance will cover the necessary repair costs. While it might indeed provide benefits, the causes of the damage to your systems might be the determining factor in whether you have coverage. 

Consider the situations that might cause boiler or furnace breakdowns, and what you can do to avoid these issues to the best of your ability. 

The Causes of Breakdowns & Their Effect on Insurance 
Homeowners insurance will contain dwelling coverage, which is designed to protect you when your home sustains unavoidable, unexpected damage. This means that in circumstances where the home sustains damage because of a fire, severe weather or similar unpreventable incident, then your coverage should pay you for these losses. It will help you repair the damage and restore the system to the way it was before the incident. 

However, homeowners insurance does not cover damage caused by normal wear & tear. Therefore, if your boiler or furnace explodes, corrodes or otherwise stops working simply due to age, lack of maintenance or a pre-existing issue, then your policy will not provide coverage.  

Still, there are certain exceptions to this rule. A furnace fire or boiler explosion might still occur because of an existing issue that you still did not catch in time. A slow leak in the boiler, for example, that was hidden from your view might eventually lead to an explosion, which could severely damage your home.  

In these cases, your insurer will review the damage to determine if you still could have done nothing to prevent the incident. Therefore, they will agree to pay for your losses.  

Damage deductibles and your overall policy limit will apply to your eventual settlement. Additionally, some policies will not cover all types of perils. Therefore, you must ensure that your policy covers the cause of the damage in question, even if it was unexpected. 

Are There Ways to Cover Boiler or Furnace Breakdown Costs? 
If you are concerned about the cost that an unexpected boiler or furnace breakdown might bring, then ask your home insurance agent if you can apply an equipment breakdown endorsement to your policy. These policies will cover simple mechanical breakdowns to these essential systems, and help you afford the costs of repairs. However, the breakdown still often must be unexpected, and must not be related to neglect, for you to qualify for coverage.