Insurance FAQs
Why doesn't home insurance cover wear and tear?
Your home insurance isn't designed to cover the cost of maintaining your home - it's for one-off events like a storm, fire, flood or theft.
Home insurance doesn’t cover wear and tear. Your house, and the things you buy to make it a home, will all get bumps, scuffs and wear out from use over time.
For example, if your washing machine starts to make a funny rattle when it’s on the spin cycle, you won’t be able to claim for a new one.
Wear and tear also applies to the actual fabric of your house. For example, your roof can start leaking for a variety of reasons. The leak might just appear from nowhere - or something might happen and you notice the water coming in. You might assume that your insurance covers a leaky roof - but often your roof leak is due to wear and tear. This means you’d have to pay for any repairs.
You can prevent wear and tear from becoming a bigger problem by checking your home regularly. Use our interactive ‘Home MOT’ guide for ideas of how to stay on top of it.
Home insurance doesn’t cover wear and tear. Your house, and the things you buy to make it a home, will all get bumps, scuffs and wear out from use over time.
For example, if your washing machine starts to make a funny rattle when it’s on the spin cycle, you won’t be able to claim for a new one.
Wear and tear also applies to the actual fabric of your house. For example, your roof can start leaking for a variety of reasons. The leak might just appear from nowhere - or something might happen and you notice the water coming in. You might assume that your insurance covers a leaky roof - but often your roof leak is due to wear and tear. This means you’d have to pay for any repairs.
You can prevent wear and tear from becoming a bigger problem by checking your home regularly. Use our interactive ‘Home MOT’ guide for ideas of how to stay on top of it.