Is A Leaking Skylight Covered By Insurance
Knowing whether or not your skylight repair bill is covered by your home insurance policy can mean a lot to your wallet. Roof leaks and leaking skylights can cause significant damage to your property, leaving your home vulnerable to mould, structural damage, and moisture infiltration.
More often than not, your home insurance will cover most, if not all, of your skylight repair bill or entirely new skylight cost–unless your skylight damage is the result of a few key criteria.
Let’s take a look at when and why–if at all–you’ll be on the hook for your leaking skylights and what you can do to prevent costly bills in the future.
Common Causes of Leaking or Damaged Skylights
When a skylight becomes damaged, whether it’s the skylight cover or the structural components, the entire roofing system is vulnerable, and the interiors of your home may not be protected from the outdoors. This can lead to skylight leaks and drops in your property’s energy efficiency.
These vulnerabilities can come from:
- Improper skylight installation and repair.
- Lack of maintenance.
- Build-up of debris.
- Damaged or worn flashing.
- Impact damage from falling debris or precipitation.
- Unique damage to specific skylight options.
When any of these are the case, your skylights need to be repaired immediately before they affect other parts of your roof or interior space.
Depending on the vulnerability and its cause, your home insurance policy might cover the skylight repair bill.
Is a Leaking Skylight Covered By Home Insurance?
If your property has suffered from a leaking skylight, the damages can be significant.
While home insurance policies are taken out specifically to cover home and home contents damage, whether or not your leaking skylight is covered by insurance will come down to the circumstances of the leak and the particular home insurance policy.
For the most accurate answer, you will need to check your individual policy or get in contact with your insurance provider.
A standard homeowner or building insurance policy covers the most common risks and dangers to your property. On your insurance policy, the situations covered may be listed as perils.
Your policy will also disclose the named exclusions (the instances in which your claim will not be covered). It’s important to take note of these perils and exclusions as they will determine how helpful your homeowner’s insurance policy will be.
Home insurance typically covers unavoidable, accidental causes
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Impact damage from falling debris or precipitation.
- Accidents.
- Vandalism.
Interestingly enough, licensed building contractors and tradesmen are required to purchase builders home warranty insurance prior to commencement of their work.
As a homeowner, you are covered for both non-completion of work and failure to correct faults made within the nominated warranty period.
All of this means that if your skylight leak is caused by improper skylight installation, negligence, or any other damage during installation or repair of the skylight itself or other roof components, you may be able to file a claim for part or all of the skylight repair bill through your builders warranty insurance policy.
Home insurance typically does not cover avoidable causes.
Generally speaking, homeowner’s insurance will not cover roof leaks if the cause is negligence or lack of maintenance. Neglecting the roof, including the accessories installed and connected to the roof such as skylights, is a common mistake that many homeowners make.
The most common policy exclusions include, but are not limited to:
- Lack of maintenance.
- Mould or wood rot.
- Roofing materials settling, shrinking, bulging, or expanding.
- Animal and insect damage.
Looking out for these signs and getting ahead of the problem may be the difference between catching a leaking skylight early and not having to deal with a lack of insurance coverage or your property suffering from significant damage and completely being exempt from the policy.
Skylight Repair and Replacement
A common misconception is that once your skylight becomes damaged, it cannot be repaired and will need to be entirely replaced. Sometimes it’s just the skylight cover that needs replacing. Always consult your roofing professionals before making any large decisions about remedying your skylight problems.
Depending on what is causing your skylight problems, it might not make sense to pay the entire skylight cost; and instead, a repair and supplementary roof maintenance plan could be just what you need to keep your skylights lasting for many more years.
How to Install A Skylight and How to Replace a Skylight?
These are two questions that most people should not be tackling.
Improper skylight installation or replacement can lead to damage not only to your home by way of water leaks and decreased energy efficiency, but damage to the surrounding roof structure.
If you damage your roof shingles, tiles, roof deck, or lining, you’ll be looking at much higher costs than you anticipated and whether or not you’ll be covered under your home insurance policy is highly unlikely.
Please consult a professional before considering installing or repairing your own skylights.
I Have a Leaking Skylight, Should I Call My Insurance Company?
DIY skylight repair is not recommended for most people as you can end up damaging the surrounding roof shingles, tiles, or metal–even if it’s something as simple as replacing the skylight cover.
Relying on a professional to repair your skylight means relying on an experienced, skilled and qualified roofer who will ensure the use of high-quality materials and craftsmanship.
Feel free to contact us with any skylight installation, maintenance, and repair questions you might have regarding your property
We are the best providers of roofing and gutter cleaning services throughout New South Wales so please don’t hesitate to call our trusted team of roof and gutter experts. We’re here to help.