Winter delivers $1 billion wallop

Heavy snow storms, aided by wind, are the third-largest cause of headaches for insurance companies each year. Only hurricanes and tornadoes cost more than winter. The Insurance Information Institute (III) recently announced that winter storms result in roughly $1 billion in insured losses each year. From 1999 to 2008, winter’s price tag was $7 billion in insured losses, according to III.

Here are some things you need to know about your car and home insurance when winter weather hits.

Car insurance:

• Car crashes between two or more drivers caused by snowy and slippery roads are covered by liability insurance. A car that crashes into an object would generally be covered under the optional collision portion of an auto policy.
• Physical damage to a car caused by heavy wind, flooding or fallen ice or tree limbs is covered under the comprehensive portion of your policy.

Home insurance:

• Wind-related damage to your home, its roof, contents or other insured structures on your property are covered under standard home insurance policies. Repairs for wind-driven snow or freezing rain that gets into your home because it was damaged by wind are also covered.
• If a tree falls onto your home, the damage it inflicts on the house and the cost of removing the tree is covered, generally up to about $500. Ice or other objects that fall on your house are also covered.
• Damage to your house and its contents caused by the weight of snow or ice, creating a collapse, is covered under standard home insurance policies.
• Freezing conditions such as burst pipes or ice dams, a condition where water is unable to drain properly through the gutters and seeps into a house causing damage to ceilings and walls, is covered. However, there is generally a requirement that you show reasonable steps were taken to prevent these losses (by keeping the house warm and properly maintaining your pipes and drains).
• If melting snow seeps into your home from the ground, that’s not covered by home insurance. For this, you’d need flood insurance, which is provided through the National Flood Insurance Program.
• Most policies will also pay for the “additional living expenses” you incur if your home is damaged by a covered disaster and you have to move out while repairs are made.