Does homeowner’s Insurance cover gas leaks? You’ll find varying answers to this question online because the real answer depends on a few things, including your specific homeowner’s insurance policy, the cause of the gas leak, and the kind of damage the gas leak caused. To better understand what kind of coverage you have right now, as well as your options to increase your gas leak insurance coverage, read on.

Basic Homeowners’ Insurance Coverage

Everyone’s basic homeowners’ insurance policy has certain covered perils or risks that the policy will cover. The specific perils your policy covers may be different from your neighbor’s, but most still do cover explosions from gas leaks. So, if you have a major gas leak that causes an explosion or a fire, these perils are most likely covered by your insurance. However, it is always a good idea to confirm this with your broker.

Basic homeowner’s insurance policies are unlikely to cover other more minor gas leaks, especially if they are caused by things that are not covered under the policy, such as defective equipment, poor installation, or failure to maintain the gas appliance. However, if the leak was caused by something that is covered by your insurance, such as a lightning strike or a fire, then you are much more likely to get the damage covered by your insurance company. Keep in mind that your home insurance will cover not all natural disasters.

It is also worthwhile to know that some gas leaks may not be your responsibility. A portion of your gas line is owned by the gas company or your municipality. Typically, they own the portion of the line up to your home’s meter. If a leak occurs in their portion, they are responsible for repairs and for damages.

Additional Gas Leak Policies

Many insurance companies offer additional policies that you can add to your home insurance to cover gas leaks. Typically, these are called service line insurance policies. While every policy is different, these are usually designed to cover the gas leak risks that your homeowners insurance does not. They might include coverage for minor leaks of your line or leaks caused by other perils not covered in your base policy.

Should You Get More Coverage?

Just because your insurance company offers additional policies, doesn’t mean it is necessarily wise for you to get the coverage. You should consider the cost of the policy and weigh it against the likelihood that you’ll suffer a gas leak covered by it, and the costs that gas leak may incur for you. Those who has multiple gas lines and appliances will get more benefit from these kinds of policies. However, you should also consider that gas lines are typically quite safe. There is always the risk of leaks, but your specific risk may be quite low.

It is worthwhile to discuss these policies with both your insurance broker and your plumber. Your plumber can help you better assess risk too.

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