Does Homeowners Insurance Pay For Air Duct Cleaning?

The ductwork in your home is crucial for the health and comfort of your family. Unfortunately, continuous heating and cooling cycles in the winter and summer can clog the ducts deep within your walls. Without routine maintenance, ducts can accumulate dust, hair, and mold, bringing lethal spores and allergens into your house and posing a fire risk.

Many homeowners ask if their homeowner's insurance will cover the expense of duct cleaning, which can cost thousands of dollars. Let's examine duct cleaning and repair insurance options and common coverage exclusions.

Home Warranty is Your Best Option For Repairing Ductwork

A newly-purchased home's ducting or HVAC system may be covered under home warranty plans for a short time. You can submit a service request by calling the business that issued your home warranty coverage. If your coverage covers ductwork, a technician will be dispatched to inspect the damage. If your ductwork requires repair or replacement, you should be responsible for only a co-payment or deductible.

There may be exclusions to your home warranty's ductwork coverage. Before purchasing the insurance, your insurer should have informed you whether the roof was improperly fitted or inappropriate size for the home. Your claim will more than likely be refused if you were aware of the issue yet did nothing to fix it.

Homeowner's Insurance Could Cover Air Duct Cleaning

If your home warranty does not cover ductwork, your homeowners' insurance may cover all or a portion of the cleaning and repair costs. However, the amount you receive may be affected by the following:

Reason for damage: Most homeowner's insurance policies will only cover damage caused by a hazard or a singular event caused by an external force. For instance, if a burst pipe causes water to seep into your walls, mold may form and begin to circulate through your air ducts. In this instance, mold remediation from air ducts may be covered. In contrast, if rainwater flooding has damaged your pipes, it is unlikely that your homeowner's insurance will pay the costs.

Coverage choices:Typically, hazardous circumstances (such as mold) are only covered by an insurance policy if they result directly from a covered peril. If you want mold itself to be considered an active risk, you may be able to acquire add-on coverage for a relatively small rate increase. However, filing a claim may require you to pay a different deductible.

Negligence: If you caused a hazardous condition in your ducts, insurers would deny your claim (or failed to do). For instance, if your washing machine has a slow leak and you do not fix it, you will be responsible for paying for mold damage to the floor, walls, and air ducts.

Caps: Even if your homeowner's insurance company agrees to cover the damage, there may be a max amount on how much they will pay for duct cleaning and mold cleanup. Depending on the amount offered, paying for the damage yourself may be less expensive than filing a claim, especially if your deductible is high.

Poor maintenance: Homeowners are responsible for routine home maintenance, regularly cleaning and inspecting the HVAC system. Insurance does not cover maintenance charges, so you must promptly address leaking pipes or appliances, lack of ventilation via the vents, and other issues. In addition, mold damage after a covered occurrence may not be covered if you do not take measures to safeguard the property, such as purchasing a dehumidifier to prevent mold growth.