The walls in your home provide structure to the entire dwelling. If one of your walls has significant cracks you need to make sure that your home insurance policy is able to cover damages because getting these repairs done quickly is essential.
As long as your walls are not cracking due to wear and tear, your home insurance will cover this incident if it occurs due to a covered peril. By properly maintaining your home and making necessary upgrades as time goes on, you can make sure you are covered by insurance in case of other circumstances.
- Homeowners insurance does cover cracked walls, as long as the damage is not due to general aging or homeowner neglect.
- Wear and tear, earthquake, flood, and sinkhole damage are excluded from home insurance policies when it comes to filing claims where the walls have cracked.
- Assessing any existing visible damage right away will keep your walls in great condition before an incident occurs.
Instances when home insurance will cover cracked walls
Learning about specific incidents that will be covered by your insurance policy is very helpful. This will allow you to see exactly what your insurer is responsible for and which responsibilities fall on you as the homeowner.
- Homeowners insurance covers you against perils such as fire, smoke, lightning, hail, wind, theft, vandalism, falling objects, hurricanes, the weight of snow/ice, and damage caused by aircrafts or vehicles.
- If your home experiences wall cracks as a result of the above perils, then they will likely be covered by your insurance policy.
- Your walls can crack even when they are in good condition due to these perils, so this is where your insurance policy will come in handy. As long as the peril was unexpected and not preventable, you should have coverage.
Exclusions for wall-cracking damage on a home insurance policy
As mentioned, any wear and tear that happens naturally over time is not a peril covered by a home insurance policy. Your insurer expects you to take care of these maintenance requests and repairs on your own time, as they only cover the repair of your cracked wall if it was caused by one of the covered perils. It is important to note that HO-3 and HO-5 policies are open-peril policies that provide protection against all risks unless specifically excluded in the policy.
Sinkholes and earthquakes are excluded from standard homeowners coverages because they are considered to fall under earth movement exclusion (you can get an endorsement to cover earth movement damage). Any wall cracks caused by a flood will not be covered unless you have additional flood insurance.
How to protect your home from cracked walls
There are many steps you can take to make sure your home is durable and protected from damage as much as possible.
- Keeping your gutters clean will remove any debris from resting on your home. These piles can lock in moisture and create leaks and cracks.
- Sloped landscaping can also help keep your foundation strong. This will allow the water to flow down and drain instead of sitting under your home and creating problems.
- Trimming overhanging tree branches is also a good idea. If these branches fall onto your home and gather, they can create cracks in your walls, so hiring a tree trimming service is very useful.
- Pay attention to any existing cracks, no matter how small. If you notice cracks in your wall, take care of them immediately by contacting a professional so the problem does not turn into a larger issue.
Cracked walls can be a big inconvenience to a homeowner, especially when they happen as a result of damage that is seen as preventable. To make sure your insurance policy will cover the damages, you must do everything you can to keep the walls durable before any incident occurs.
