Home insurance policies are designed to cover various types of damage to the home. Many homeowners wonder if their current homeowner's insurance policy covers damages to plumbing systems.

It can certainly be expensive to carry out plumbing repairs, especially in the event of an emergency. For instance, a burst pipe can cause extensive damage to floors and walls if it's not fixed as soon as possible. But does your current policy cover plumbing repairs? Read on to find out if it covers plumbers.

Types of plumbing damages that are covered

Homeowners' insurance policies are primarily designed to cover sudden and unexpected damages that occur to your home. While each policy is different, many can cover plumbing repair costs associated with sudden and unexpected damage.

For example, most policies cover a pipe that bursts while you're at work and causes damage to floors and walls. If a plumbing failure occurs unexpectedly, your home insurance provider should be able to provide coverage for the plumbing repairs. 

Damage from sudden plumbing failures

To get a sense of what may or may not be covered in your policy, here are some instances of plumbing issues that may be covered.

• Burst pipe

A burst pipe (that did not occur due to negligence) can be covered by your policy. In fact, the policy should not only cover repairs to the pipe but also repairs to any other parts of the home that were damaged in the process.

Depending on the specific clause in your policy, structural damage to the home (including floors, walls and appliances that occurred due to a burst pipe) should be covered.

• Washing machine failure

If your washing machine fails and leaks water into various parts of the home, you may also be covered. Overflowing water can clog your drains, damage your sinks and cause other types of structural damage. Also, if a sink suddenly/accidentally becomes clogged and overflows, your policy may provide coverage for the resulting damage.

• Damage from inclement weather

Floods, tornadoes and other adverse weather conditions can damage your plumbing system and cause blockages. If you have flood insurance, your policy will cover plumbing repairs to your drainage system due to the flooding that occurred.

Types of damage that may not be covered

Not all plumbing repairs are covered by home insurance. Most policies will not provide coverage for negligent damage, mould removal or any other issues that occurred slowly over time. Make sure you have an emergency plumber handy for cases such as gradual leaks, sewage backups, mould accumulation and routine maintenance of your plumbing system.