As a homeowner, you understand it’s crucial to protect your investment with quality home insurance. You can supplement your homeowners policy with equipment breakdown coverage (EBC) for even better protection against unexpected events like broken HVAC systems or essential home appliances.
Learn what homeowners equipment breakdown coverage is, why you need it and what Integrity’s coverage can offer you. Plus, find out the differences between equipment breakdown coverage and a home warranty. Spoiler: you should have both of them!
What is homeowners equipment breakdown coverage?
It’s a type of coverage you can add on to your homeowners policy to help cover the costs to repair or replace appliances, systems and equipment that can break down in your home due to electrical or mechanical failure. For most insurance carriers, residential equipment breakdown coverage includes home appliances and HVAC systems. Some additional equipment might include riding lawn mowers, home security systems, Jacuzzis, pool equipment or gym equipment.
Equipment breakdown insurance can come in handy if you lose power and food spoils in your refrigerator or freezer. If your appliances are damaged from a power surge when the electricity comes back on, you may also qualify for coverage.
Home equipment breakdown coverage is also helpful for expensive, essential appliances that can suddenly break due to mechanical or electrical issues. For example, if your air conditioning system has a mechanical failure in the middle of summer, you can get assistance with the repair or replacement costs in a timely manner. If you have to replace the entire air conditioner, equipment breakdown coverage can even help you upgrade to a more energy efficient system.
With equipment breakdown coverage, you can rest assured you’ll get the protection you need to keep your home in working order if a covered system or appliance has mechanical or electrical failure. After you pay your deductible, you can get thousands of dollars of repairs and replacements costs covered. A residential equipment breakdown insurance deductible is typically close to $500.
This add-on coverage may also be available for condo and renters insurance policies.
What makes residential equipment breakdown coverage different than homeowners insurance?
Your standard homeowners insurance policy may cover destruction from certain kinds of events such as high winds, fires or vandalism. However, mechanical and electrical failure of appliances do not usually fall under homeowners coverage. An easy way to tell the difference is that home insurance covers certain damaging forces to the home and equipment breakdown insurance covers appliances or systems that unexpectedly break due to electrical or mechanical issues.
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3 reasons you need equipment breakdown insurance
There are several benefits to consider before adding home equipment breakdown coverage to your homeowners policy. Residential equipment breakdown insurance can help you:
1. Avoid depleting your savings to repair or replace expensive appliances.
Let’s face it, air conditioners, furnaces and other covered appliances are not cheap to repair or replace. Equipment breakdown coverage can help keep your savings intact because you’ll only owe the deductible.
2. Reduce the wait time to repair or replace your appliances or systems.
With equipment breakdown insurance, getting assistance is as simple as submitting a claim. Your insurance carrier will help you get repairs or a replacement for your home appliance in a timely manner.
3. Protect your home appliances in addition to the manufacturer’s warranty.
Even better, if the manufacturer’s warranty is expired, equipment breakdown coverage can still help with repair or replacement expenses.
What is covered in Integrity’s equipment breakdown insurance?
Here’s the coverage you can expect from an Integrity home equipment breakdown insurance policy:
- Cooling and heating systems
- Boilers and water systems
- Ventilation systems and fans
- Pool equipment
- Backup generators
- Central vacuum systems
When your repair or replacement needs are covered, simply file a claim with Integrity and our 24-hour loss reporting service. One of our experienced claims representatives will get you the assistance you need right away.
Don’t forget about a home warranty for additional coverage
Your home insurance policy, a home warranty and equipment breakdown coverage each offer separate types of protection. Home Warranty of America (HWA) says a home warranty is different than home insurance because it’s “designed to protect your home’s appliances and systems from breakdowns caused by normal wear and tear.”
Here’s a simple way to remember the differences when it comes to covered home appliances and systems:
- Home insurance policies cover repairs or replacement costs for your home after damaging events like high winds, fire or vandalism.
- Home warranty plans cover repairs or replacement costs needed for equipment breakdowns caused by normal wear and tear.
- Equipment breakdown insurance policies cover repairs or replacement costs needed for equipment breakdowns caused by accidental mechanical or electrical failure.
Talk to your Integrity agent today
Adding home equipment breakdown insurance to your home insurance policy can save you time and potentially thousands of dollars. Talk to an Integrity independent agent today to learn the next steps to add the coverage to your homeowners insurance.
This article is for informational and suggestion purposes only. Implementing these suggestions does not guarantee coverage. If any policy coverage descriptions in this article conflict with the language in the policy, the language in the policy applies. For full details on Integrity’s home insurance coverages and discounts, contact your local independent agent.
References:
HWA Home Warranty
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