Unfortunately, no two insurance companies are exactly the same in their policies and decision making just as no two ice dams are the same. Therefore, it’s virtually impossible to determine if you’ll be covered and if so, for how much.

Although you can’t predict your coverage, you can maximize your chances of having at least some of your ice dam removal costs covered – IF you know how insurance companies view and handle ice dam claims.

Continue reading this page to learn more!

Short Answer: ice dams are NOT considered a “covered peril” on most traditional policies.

A “covered peril” is insurance lingo for an event your insurance will cover. Examples may include: a lightning strike, fire, theft, vandalism, hail, etc.

Long Answer: ice dams are NOT considered a “covered peril” on most traditional policies.A “covered peril” is insurance lingo for an event your insurance will cover. Examples may include: a lightning strike, fire, theft, vandalism, hail, etc.

You can typically find the “covered perils” of your policy under: Section 1>Property>“What We Cover”. You can typically find what is not covered under the “Exclusions” section.

Most policies are written in plain English and are actually fairly easy to read and understand (despite what you may have heard). The majority of homeowners have just never sat down and read through their insurance policy. AFTER scheduling your ice dam removal (I’ll explain this later on) is a great time to read your policy front to back. You’ll be surprised and what “is” and “is not” covered.

The Long Answer continued: So why doesn’t your insurance company typically pay for ice dam removal?!

Here is how an insurance professional has explained it:

An ice dam is like an oak tree hanging over the roof of your house. If the tree falls on your roof, your insurance will most likely pay for the repairs to your home. The insurance company may even pay to remove the part of the tree that fell on your house (they typically won’t pay to remove the remainder of the tree that is in your yard or grind the stump).

The insurance company is not, however, going to come out and remove the tree as a preventative measure. Why? Because there’s a good chance the tree will not fall, and even if it falls, it may not fall on your house.

Insurance companies are not in the preventative maintenance business (like tree trimming or ice dam removal). Responsibility falls on the homeowner to do their part in protecting their own home. You have a responsibly as the homeowner to show “due diligence” in protecting and maintaining your home. This is stated in almost all insurance policies.

If you’re still with me…it’s the same with ice dams. Your insurance company will most likely pay to cover the damage done to your home caused by your leaking roof, and they may even pay to remove the portion of the ice dam that’s directly causing the leak. However, they won’t typically pay for the removal of the ice dam itself before there are leaks, as that is considered to be the homeowner’s responsibility. Remember that whole “due diligence” thing?

BUT WAIT - THERE’S HOPE!
It doesn’t happen often, but there seems to be a growing trend in insurance companies that are opting to foot the entire bill for ice dam removal services!

Continue reading to learn how to better you chances at getting your insurance company to help!

Insurance companies determine your level of coverage on a case-by-case basis. They are almost never required to cover your ice dam removal, BUT sometimes they do. It seems (in our opinion), this decision is largely dependent on these six factors:

1. Your insurance adjuster -
they are only human and unfortunately, if they are having a bad day you may get nothing or very little. Then again, if they are having a good day and you offer a little hospitality (such as offering a cup of coffee, a bottle of water or baked treat) you may be on your way to getting help with your ice dam removal bill!

2. Your insurance agent -
although insurance agents hold less clout with the insurance companies than they used to, your agent still holds some influence over the claim. A good agent will do his or her best to go to bat for you!

3. How long you’ve been with your current insurance company -
have you been with them for 1 year or 10 years? This can factor into the company’s decision.

4. Number of prior claims you’ve had -
the more claims you’ve had, the less likely they are to pay for your ice dam removal costs.

5. Extent to which you’ve tried to prevent ice dams -
how diligent have you been about removing snow from your roof? Raking or shoveling your roof does not guarantee help from your insurance company, but it may demonstrate your commitment to avoiding the risks that ice dams pose to your home. If you’ve taken measures to prevent ice dams, be sure to make your adjuster aware of what you’ve done!

6. Willingness of your insurance company to accept ice dam removal claims -
we have never encountered an insurance company that simply covers ice dam removal. However, most insurance companies have paid for some of their clients’ ice dam removals at one time or another.

That sounds like silly advice, but a lot of people take a bit too much comfort in the idea that insurance companies “almost always cover water damage caused by ice dams”.

What these people forget is that although some of the damage to their home may be covered, the damage to (or total loss of) valuables inside the home may not be covered. Furniture, televisions, pictures, family heirlooms, etc. can easily be damaged or destroyed by water leaks and certainly by a roof collapse. Coverage of the items inside of your home will depend on your specific policy (be sure to read it front to back).

IMPORTANT!
Another really important thing to keep in mind is any time water leaks into your home, you have both a mold and a fire hazard on your hands. You may not even notice a leak in your roof when you first notice an ice dam, especially if the insulation is soaking up the water, but wet insulation and electrical wires throughout your attic and wall cavities can spell disaster for your home and finances.

Be sure and reach out to a professional to remove your ice dam asap!

BAD IDEA!
After reading all of this information, some people may think “if my insurance company won’t pay to have my ice dam removed, but they will pay for the damage it does to the interior of my home…to heck with it it! I’ll just let it leak and let my insurance company cover the repair.”

Remember: your insurance company may deny your entire claim for the repairs because they know the risks of waiting (water damage, fire, mold). To them, it looks like you’d rather have your house take a beating than to spend some money to avoid the damage. After they deny your claim, they may even go so far as to cancel your policy.

GOOD IDEA!
Most people want to protect their home and don’t want to file an insurance claim. They’ll try their best to prevent ice dams from forming and will typically get ice dams that do form removed by a professional.

Remember: your insurance company may be more likely to cover some of your ice dam removal costs if you get it removed sooner rather than later. This is because you are showing your insurance company that you are taking responsibility for protecting your home which is a “good-faith” effort in preventing damage from an ice dam in the first place.

But however you choose to handle an ice dam problem, at least make sure your valuables are out of harm’s way!