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Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Air Conditioning?

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Alexa Goyette

Homeowners insurance generally covers built-in and central air conditioning units. This typically includes damage from:

  • House fires, fallen trees and other problems covered by the policy.
  • Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam from within an AC unit.
  • Freezing of a central AC system, as long as you've had the heat on in your home and kept your AC unit drained of excess water.

What isn't covered

You won't be covered if your air conditioning is damaged from problems excluded by your homeowners insurance policy, which often include:

  • Wear and tear
  • Floods
  • Earthquake
  • Other earth movement, like a sinkhole

Does homeowners insurance cover window air conditioning units?

The personal property portion of your homeowners insurance generally covers window AC units. Since they aren't built into the wall, like central air conditioning, window units aren't considered part of a home's structure.

Home insurance will usually cover window AC units for fire, vandalism, theft and other problems covered by the policy. As with central AC units, window units aren't covered for wear and tear, floods, earthquakes and other policy exclusions. Window units are also usually covered for theft, just like other possessions such as furniture.

Filing an insurance claim on air conditioning

Before filing a homeowners claim for air conditioning damage, decide if it's worth it after the deductible. A deductible is the amount subtracted from an insurance claims check. If your air conditioning will cost $400 to repair and you have a $1,000 deductible, it's not worth making a claim. Also, filing a claim might lead to a rate increase when you go to renew your policy. So if you're only getting a small amount after the deductible, it might not be worth the potential rate increase.