Your AC Died in a Heat Wave. Does Homeowners Insurance Cover It?

It's July, it's 92 out, and the outside unit is making a sound it's never made before. Then it quits. The house is 84 degrees and climbing, and your HVAC guy says a new system is going to run somewhere between $6,000 and $12,000.

So you call me and ask if your homeowners policy is going to help. Most of the time I have to tell you no. I want to explain why, because there's a fix for it and it isn't expensive.

A homeowners policy covers sudden damage from outside causes. Lightning, fire, wind, a tree through the roof. What it doesn't do is pay for things wearing out. A compressor that finally gives up after fifteen summers is wear and tear, and every standard policy I've ever read excludes it.

The company isn't being difficult about it. A homeowners policy was never meant to work like a home warranty.

There are situations where a dead AC is covered:

• Lightning hits the unit or the house. Lightning is a covered peril, so the unit and anything the strike fried are covered, minus your deductible.
• A tree or a limb comes down on the condenser. That's wind or falling objects. Covered.
• A fire. Obviously.
• A power surge from the utility. This one is muddy. A lot of policies cover sudden damage from electrical current but then exclude circuit boards and electronic parts, which is exactly what a surge takes out. I'd have to read your policy to tell you.

And the one that happens most, where it just quit on a hot afternoon, isn't on that list.

For somewhere around $25 to $50 a year, you can add equipment breakdown coverage to most homeowners policies. It covers mechanical and electrical failure of the systems that run your house: the central air, the furnace or heat pump, the water heater, the well pump, the electrical panel, and usually the big appliances. It typically has its own deductible, and that deductible is often lower than the one on the rest of your policy.

There's a difference between "it wore out" and "a part broke." A compressor that seizes, a blower motor that burns up, a control board that shorts out, those are breakdowns, and this is what the coverage is for. If the unit is just old and nothing specific broke, that's not a claim, and I'd tell you so.

For what a new system costs, I think this is about the best few dollars you can spend on a home policy. I have it on mine.

The other cheap one, since we're here. Service line coverage is for the buried lines between the road and your house: water, sewer, electric, gas. When one of those collapses or fills up with tree roots, digging up the yard and replacing it can run $5,000 to $10,000, and a regular homeowners policy won't pay for it. The add-on is about $30 to $50 a year.

Those mailers you get from the water company about a "line protection plan"? This is the same idea, usually for less money, on the policy you already have.

• Pull out your declarations page and look for "equipment breakdown," "home systems protection," or "mechanical breakdown." Different companies call it different things.
• If it's not there, call us. Adding it is one phone call.
• Keep your HVAC service records. If you ever do file a claim, showing the unit was maintained makes for an easier conversation with the adjuster.

Call the Elkins office and I'll pull your policy up while we're on the phone. It takes about two minutes to check.

This is general information, not specific advice for your situation. Every policy is different.