In short, no. A home warranty will not cover water damage itself. However, a home warranty from 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10) could help cover many causes of water damage.
For example, say you find a pipe leak under the sink that damages your floor. If the leak was caused by routine wear and tear, your 2-10 home warranty could help reduce the cost to repair the leak. However, your 2-10 home warranty could not help reduce the costs of floor repairs.
Water damage can lead to mold, mildew, and in serious cases, damage to your home’s foundation. That’s why prevention—and understanding what’s covered by your home warranty—is essential.
To help you better understand the relationship between your home warranty and water damage, we’ll look at four key areas:
- Common causes of water damage in a home that a home warranty can address
- How a home warranty can help address certain causes of water damage
- Causes of water damage a home warranty won’t cover
- Why some water damage repairs fall outside of home warranty coverage
Key takeaways
- A home warranty does not cover water damage itself, but it can cover many common causes of water damage, like appliance leaks and plumbing issues.
- Addressing these causes early through your home warranty plan can help minimize costly repairs and protect your budget.
- Understanding the difference between home warranty coverage and homeowners insurance is key to protecting your home against all types of water-related issues.
What Common Causes of Water Damage are Covered by a Home Warranty?
There are countless ways water damage can occur in a home. Storms, burst pipes, worn-out appliances, and even roof leaks can all be culprits. As a homeowner, knowing which causes of water damage are covered by your home warranty can help you plan ahead.
Here are some of the most common sources of water damage that a home warranty can help address:
Leaking or burst pipes caused by routine use
A leaking or burst pipe is one of the most common causes of water damage. On average, a household wastes more than 10,000 gallons of water per year through leaks.1 Changes in temperature, lack of insulation, or routine wear and tear are often the underlying causes.
Look for leaks or drips from faucets, leaking or overflowing toilets, and water around showers and tubs, which may all be indicators of a bigger issue. Luckily, a home warranty can cover repairs for leaks or bursts due to normal wear and tear.
However, pipe leaks or bursts caused by weather are not covered by your home warranty. For weather-related damage, contact your home insurance provider.
Worn or faulty appliances
Your hot water tank, washing machine, refrigerator, and dishwasher are common household appliances that can cause water damage. This usually happens because the hoses and pipes attached to the appliances weaken and crack.
A home warranty could address these sources of damage although the home warranty cannot cover the water damage itself.
Roof leaks
As an added option, a home warranty can cover certain roof leaks. However, like all home warranty coverage, the leak must be the result of routine wear and tear.
Keep in mind that this applies only to leaks over your home’s living area—not your garage or outbuildings.
Certain toilet problems
A home warranty protection plan can cover certain problems with toilets. For instance, if you were to have trouble with your toilet’s tank, bowl, tank assembly parts, flange, or wax ring seals, a home warranty can likely help you. However, issues like overflow from a clogged sewer line wouldn’t be covered.
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How Can a Home Warranty Help Address Causes of Water Damage?
While your warranty won’t cover the damage caused by water, it can help you address the underlying problem before it causes more harm.
A home warranty provides access to quality, independent Pro and helps reduce the financial burden of repairs, which means you're more likely to fix a small problem before it becomes a flood.
Here are just a few things your 2-10 home warranty can help cover:
That’s why so many homeowners rely on 2-10 as a home warranty that helps minimize water damage at the source.
What Common Causes of Water Damage Will a Home Warranty Not Address?
Some causes of water damage are outside the scope of home warranty plans. These usually include:
- Clogged rain gutters: Leaves and debris can quickly accumulate in your gutters. This can cause pooling, leading to damage that isn’t covered by your home warranty.
- Sewage backups: A home warranty likely won’t cover sewer backups.
- Weather-related water damage: Flooding from storms or heavy rain isn’t covered. Your homeowners insurance might help.
Reasons a Home Warranty May Not Cover Water Damage Repairs
A home warranty can be a powerful way to reduce the upfront costs to repair or replace expensive, covered breakdowns to home systems and appliances. But sometimes, home warranty coverage does not extend to a specific issue.
The key concept to remember is normal wear and tear. In an earlier example, we talked about water damage caused by a leaky sink. Let’s return to that again.
If you have a leak in your sink caused by routine use, the Pro we send out will be able to diagnose it as such, and you may be eligible for coverage. But if your leak was. Caused by a pipe freezing, it would NOT be covered, because the damage is weather related.
That’s why it’s a good idea to supplement. Your homeowners insurance with a home warranty. A home warranty helps fill the gaps for things homeowners insurance doesn’t cover, namely, routine breakdowns to covered systems and appliances.
Choosing a Home Warranty Company
A home warranty could help protect your budget against expensive, covered breakdowns to your home’s major systems and appliances. That’s why it’s important to find the right warranty plan that works for your home.
If you are concerned about future water damage, you can consider the following items when choosing a warranty:
- Do they cover plumbing and appliance leaks?
- What maintenance requirements do they have?
- How do they work with homeowners insurance in the event of overlapping issues?
- What are the coverage limits?
2-10 offers powerful home warranty plans that could help you address common causes of water damage before they turn into costly disasters.
