Does homeowners insurance cover home repairs? $500 tree cap

General rules from the Insurance Information Institute, NAIC and state insurance departments. Your own policy's language controls; HO-3 is the common form.

Do this now: before you file a home repair claim

The order matters more than the paperwork: stop the damage, document it, then call.

1. Make it safe and stop the source. Shut the water main for a leak; leave the house for a gas smell or a CO alarm and call 911 from outside; shut the breaker for an electrical burning smell only if you can reach the panel safely.
2. Photograph and video everything before cleanup. The NAIC says photos and receipts are what a claim rests on.
3. Call your insurer before you sign anything. Call your insurer before you sign anything, photograph the damage first, and never sign your claim over to a contractor (Florida CFO). Emergency drying to stop further damage is normal; a full repair contract on day one is not.
4. Keep receipts for emergency work, a hotel if you had to leave (additional living expense is a standard part of the policy, NAIC) and anything you bought to stop the damage.
5. Ask the adjuster three questions: is the cause a covered peril, what is my deductible, and is there a sublimit (mold and tree removal usually have one).
6. Roof claims: call your insurer. Storm and roof claims follow their own rules by state; our roof pages do not take insurance work.

Is it urgent? Claims that have a clock on them

Water, mold and sewage claims have a clock because the damage grows: the Texas Department of Insurance says policies cover sudden and accidental water damage but not gradual leaks, so a leak reported weeks late can turn a covered claim into an excluded one.

• Today: a burst pipe, a water heater that let go, sewage in the house, a tree through the roof, a fire. Call the insurer the same day and get emergency mitigation started.
• This week: a ceiling stain, a soft floor, a musty smell. Find the source first; a gradual leak is usually on you.
• Not a claim: a furnace that died of age, a cracked slab from settling, a spring that snapped. Those are repair bills, and the cost pages below say what they run.
• Water emergencies: water damage restoration; sewage: sewage cleanup.

Does homeowners insurance cover foundation repair?

No, as a rule: the California Department of Insurance lists "earth movement, earthquake, landslide or mudflow, settling, subsidence or sinkhole, erosion, sinking, rising, shifting, expanding or contracting of earth" as standard exclusions, and the Maryland Insurance Administration says policies generally give no coverage against any type of earth movement, which is why foundation repair is usually paid out of pocket; both guides list the exclusion in the same 2 words, earth movement.

• What might be covered: California's fact sheet says most policies cover a fire or explosion that follows earth movement, and a foundation cracked by a vehicle hitting the house or a covered plumbing leak under the slab can be argued as a covered peril. Ask the adjuster about the cause, not the crack.
• Earthquake: a separate policy or endorsement (Triple-I; NAIC).
• Sinkhole: excluded on the HO-3 form (Triple-I); some states sell separate coverage.
• The repair itself: foundation repair for piers, slab and crack prices.

Does homeowners insurance cover tree removal?

Yes when the tree hits the house or another insured structure, the Insurance Information Institute says, and no in most other cases: the Maryland Insurance Administration says a tree that falls and hits nothing gets a limited removal payment, usually $500 to $1,000 per event, if any.

• Tree on the house: the structure and contents are covered; removal of the tree from the structure is part of the claim (Triple-I).
• Tree on the lawn: Maryland says many policies pay $500 to $1,000 for removal, and debris removal is subject to a dollar limit on the declarations page. HomeGuide's tree removal guide puts the typical insurance figure at $500 to $1,000 per tree when the tree damaged a covered structure, and says preventive removal is rarely covered.
• Damage to your trees and shrubs from fire, lightning, vehicles or vandalism is limited to about $500 per tree (Triple-I), 5% of the dwelling limit with a $500 per-loss cap in Maryland's guide; wind and ice damage to plants is usually not covered.
• Neighbor's tree: claimed on your policy; if the neighbor's tree was dead or neglected, your insurer may pursue their policy and refund your deductible (Triple-I).
• Prices without insurance: tree removal cost.

Does homeowners insurance cover AC and HVAC?

Not for a unit that wore out: wear and tear is a common exclusion in Maryland's consumer guide and Triple-I says policies do not cover lack of maintenance, but an equipment breakdown endorsement covers "heating and air conditioning systems" that fail suddenly and accidentally from an electrical or mechanical failure (Florida DFS).

• Covered without an endorsement: lightning, fire, a tree on the condenser, a vehicle, vandalism, or "sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current" (Triple-I; Maryland), which is where a power surge claim lives.
• Equipment breakdown endorsement: Florida DFS says it pays to repair or replace equipment that breaks down suddenly, and excludes wear and tear, rust and corrosion. It is cheap to ask about.
• Not covered: a 15-year-old compressor that quit, a refrigerant leak from corrosion, a system that was never serviced.
• What the repair costs instead: AC repair.

Does homeowners insurance cover a furnace?

The same rule as AC: a furnace that fails from age is wear and tear and is not covered, while an equipment breakdown endorsement covers a sudden mechanical or electrical failure (Florida DFS) and fire, lightning and surge damage fall under the standard perils (Triple-I; Maryland), so most furnace repairs are out of pocket; the endorsement is the 1 route that pays for a breakdown.

• Freezing: the HO-2 and broader forms cover freezing of heating and plumbing systems (Triple-I), which matters when a dead furnace lets pipes freeze. The pipe damage may be covered even when the furnace is not.
• Puffback or fire from an oil or gas furnace is fire damage, a named peril.
• Carbon monoxide: a safety issue, not a claim; see CO alarm going off.
• Repair prices: furnace repair.

Does homeowners insurance cover plumbing leaks?

Sudden and accidental ones, yes: the Texas Department of Insurance says most policies cover a burst pipe or a toilet overflow, and most do not cover gradual leaks or seepage, so the line between a covered and excluded claim is often how long the leak ran.

• Covered: accidental discharge or overflow of water from plumbing, heating, AC or an appliance, and freezing of those systems, on the HO-2 form and broader (Triple-I). The NAIC says water damage from a home's plumbing is typically covered.
• Not covered: the pipe itself in most cases, gradual leaks, seepage, and the mold that follows a slow leak (Texas).
• Sewer backup: not covered without a water backup endorsement (Triple-I; Florida DFS).
• Service line: the buried water or sewer line to the street is a separate add-on; Texas OPIC gives $10,000 or $25,000 of coverage with a $500 deductible as a typical example.
• Finding the leak: leak detection; burst pipe repair.

Does homeowners insurance cover a water heater?

The tank, no; the flood, usually yes: a water heater that rusts through is wear and tear (Maryland lists wear, tear and deterioration as common exclusions), while the sudden water damage it causes is covered as accidental discharge (Triple-I; Texas), so expect to pay for the new heater yourself and claim the water; Florida DFS names water heaters among the 3 equipment types its breakdown endorsement covers.

• Equipment breakdown endorsement names water heaters specifically (Florida DFS) and covers a sudden electrical or mechanical failure, not corrosion.
• Mitigate fast: shut the cold supply valve and the gas or breaker, photograph, then call. Slow seepage from a tank that dripped for months reads as gradual.
• Prices: water heater repair and water heater replacement cost.

Does homeowners insurance cover a garage door?

Yes when a vehicle hits it: "Vehicle or aircraft damage to your property" is a named peril on the HO-2 form in the Maryland Insurance Administration's guide, and Triple-I lists vehicles among covered perils, so a door backed into is a claim while a snapped spring is not; it is 1 of the named perils on the HO-2 list.

• Your car, your door: the homeowners policy covers the door; your auto policy's collision coverage covers the car. Check whether the door repair is under your home deductible before filing.
• Wind: a door blown in by a windstorm is a named peril claim, but it is a storm claim; call your insurer.
• Not covered: springs, cables, openers and panels that wore out.
• Prices: garage door repair and panel replacement.

Does homeowners insurance cover mold?

Generally no: Triple-I says mold is treated as a maintenance issue and is not covered, unless it is the direct result of a covered peril such as a burst pipe, in which case "the cost of eliminating the mold may be covered"; New York's DFS adds that many policies carry a mold limitation, and Florida's endorsement raises the cap to $25,000 or $50,000.

• Covered path: burst pipe, reported promptly, mold found during drying. Maryland says some policies exclude any mold damage, so read yours.
• Excluded path: a slow leak, humidity, a damp basement, or mold found months later (Texas).
• Flood mold: a federal flood policy covers it only when directly attributable to the flood (Triple-I).
• Prices: mold remediation and mold inspection.

Does homeowners insurance cover electrical repairs?

Sudden electrical damage, yes; wiring, no: the HO-2 form covers "sudden and accidental injury from artificially generated electrical currents" (Maryland), and fire and lightning on every form (Triple-I), while rewiring an old house is a maintenance cost the policy does not pay; the HO-2 form names 2 electrical perils, lightning and artificial current.

• Covered: a surge or lightning strike that burns out the panel or wiring; an electrical fire and its damage. Electronics are excluded from the artificial-current peril on some forms (Triple-I).
• Not covered: a panel upgrade, knob and tube or aluminum wiring replacement, a failed breaker. Triple-I's buyer's guide says old wiring can make the policy harder to get at all; see knob and tube wiring.
• Prices: electrical repair and panel upgrade.

What is never covered, and the add-ons that fill the gaps

Flood, earth movement, wear and tear, neglect and mold on its own are the standard exclusions across Triple-I, the NAIC and the state guides, and 4 endorsements cover most of the repair gaps on this page.

Ask your agent which of these your policy already carries before the next repair, not after.

Repair prices without insurance, every trade: home repair costs. Water, fire and mold work: water damage restoration. Calls go to an independent restoration company that serves your area; how calls work.