Compare Home Insurance Plans in Ohio
Find your best options in less than 2 minutes
When Home Insurance Does (and Doesn't) Cover Appliances
Understanding how your homeowners insurance treats appliances comes down to one key distinction: what caused the damage. Standard home insurance is built to protect you from sudden, unexpected events — not the inevitable wear and aging of everyday household equipment.
Your appliances fall into two coverage buckets depending on how they're installed:
- Personal property coverage — Portable plug-in appliances like refrigerators, washers, dryers, and microwaves
- Dwelling coverage — Built-in systems like HVAC, furnaces, and water heaters that are permanently attached to your home
Coverage applies only when a covered peril causes the damage. Here's a quick look at what that means in practice:
| Covered Peril | Example Appliance Scenario |
|---|---|
| Fire or lightning | Kitchen fire destroys your refrigerator |
| Theft or vandalism | Washer stolen from an unlocked garage |
| Windstorm or hail | Storm damages an outdoor HVAC unit |
| Smoke damage | Smoke from a house fire ruins appliances |
| Sudden water discharge | Burst pipe soaks your washer and dryer |
All claims are subject to your deductible, and payout is based on either actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost value (RCV) depending on your specific policy.
Compare Home Insurance Plans in Ohio
Find your best options in less than 2 minutes
What Home Insurance Does NOT Cover: Standard Exclusions
This is where most homeowners get surprised. The majority of everyday appliance failures are explicitly excluded from standard homeowners policies. If your refrigerator compressor dies, your washing machine just stops working, or your HVAC system breaks down after years of use — your standard policy will not cover it.
The Big Three Exclusions
1. Mechanical Breakdown
If an appliance fails due to an internal mechanical issue — a seized motor, a failed compressor, a broken pump — that's considered a mechanical breakdown. Home insurance is not designed to cover the natural failure of machinery, regardless of how expensive the repair is.
2. Wear and Tear
Gradual deterioration from regular use is never covered. A dishwasher that becomes inefficient over time, a dryer drum that wears down after years of loads, or an HVAC system that loses efficiency as it ages — these are all maintenance realities, not insurable events.
3. Neglect and Improper Maintenance
Insurers can and will deny claims where damage resulted from a failure to properly maintain equipment. A water heater that slowly leaks for months before failing, or an HVAC system that breaks down after years without a filter change, falls squarely into this category.
Other Common Exclusions
Protect your home with State Farm
Average Rate:
Homeowners who bundle and save with State Farm save an average of $1,000 per year!
You're in Good Hands® with Allstate
Average Rate:
Get comprehensive home coverage with flexible policy options.
Customize your home coverage
Average Rate:
Only pay for the coverage you need with personalized home insurance.
Smart coverage for your home
Average Rate:
Protect what matters most with award-winning home insurance.
Covered vs. Not Covered: Real-World Scenarios
To make this concrete, here are side-by-side examples of how actual appliance situations are typically handled under standard homeowners insurance.
What About HVAC Specifically?
Your HVAC system is one of the most expensive items in your home — replacements can run $5,000–$12,000 or more. Because it's permanently installed, it falls under dwelling coverage. It's covered if a hailstorm destroys the outdoor condenser unit or a fire damages the system — but if the compressor simply burns out after 10 years of use, you're paying out of pocket.
Learn more about well pump and home system coverage and how built-in systems are treated under standard policies.
If your HVAC breakdown results in a water leak, check out our guide on water damage and home insurance to understand what related damage may be covered.
Equipment Breakdown Coverage: The Affordable Fix
The good news is that there's a solution specifically designed to fill this gap: the equipment breakdown endorsement. This optional add-on to your existing homeowners policy covers sudden and accidental mechanical, electrical, or pressure system failures — exactly what a standard policy leaves out.
What It Covers
Equipment breakdown coverage protects appliances and home systems when they fail due to causes like:
- Power surges or short circuits
- Motor burnout
- Mechanical failure (sudden, not gradual)
- Electrical arcing
- Ruptures in pressure systems
Covered items typically include refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens, washers, dryers, HVAC systems, furnaces, water heaters, computers, smart home systems, and even solar panels — depending on the insurer.
Some policies also include bonus perks like food spoilage reimbursement (up to $3,000) when your refrigerator or freezer breaks down. Learn more about food spoilage coverage and how it can protect your grocery investment.
What It Does NOT Cover
Equipment breakdown coverage still excludes wear and tear, rust, corrosion, mold, neglect, pre-existing conditions, or improper installation. It's designed for sudden failures, not gradual decline.
Cost Breakdown
| Insurer | Approx. Annual Cost | Coverage Limit | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | ~$39–$45 | $50,000/occurrence | $500 |
| Edison Insurance | ~$50 | $100,000/occurrence | $500 |
| The Hartford | ~$25–$50 | Varies by policy | Varies |
| Industry Average | ~$25–$50 | $25,000–$100,000 | $250–$500 |
For most homeowners, adding equipment breakdown coverage to a policy costs as little as $25–$50 per year — making it one of the most cost-effective endorsements available.
Home Insurance vs. Home Warranty for Appliances
These two products are frequently confused — and that confusion can leave homeowners with an unexpected repair bill. Here's how they compare:
| Home Insurance | Home Warranty | |
|---|---|---|
| What triggers coverage | Sudden perils (fire, storm, theft) | Wear, tear, and mechanical breakdown |
| Appliance coverage | Only from a covered peril | Breakdowns from normal use |
| Annual cost | Part of your premium | ~$300–$800/year |
| Per-claim cost | Your deductible | $75–$125 service fee |
| Excludes | Wear and tear, breakdowns | Pre-existing issues, disasters |
| Best for | Large unexpected losses | Routine appliance failures |
Which Do You Actually Need?
The answer for most homeowners is: both, but for different reasons.
- Home insurance protects you from catastrophic losses — a house fire, a major storm, theft.
- A home warranty protects you from the predictable reality of aging appliances and systems breaking down from normal use.
They don't overlap — they complement each other. If your washing machine breaks down after 8 years of use, a home warranty handles it. If that same washer is destroyed in a fire, your homeowners insurance handles it.
For burst pipe situations that may damage appliances indirectly, our guide on burst pipe coverage explains when the resulting water damage is covered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does home insurance cover a broken refrigerator?
Only if the refrigerator was damaged by a covered peril such as a house fire, lightning strike, or theft. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover a refrigerator that stops working due to a compressor failure, internal mechanical breakdown, or wear and tear. If you want coverage for those everyday failures, you'll need an equipment breakdown endorsement or a home warranty. Some equipment breakdown policies even include food spoilage reimbursement if the fridge fails suddenly.
Does homeowners insurance cover HVAC breakdown?
No — standard home insurance will not pay to repair or replace an HVAC system that breaks down from mechanical failure, age, or lack of maintenance. However, your HVAC is covered under dwelling coverage if it's damaged by a named peril such as a lightning strike, hailstorm, fire, or a fallen tree. For breakdown coverage, you'll need to add an equipment breakdown endorsement to your homeowners policy, which can cover motor burnouts and electrical failures.
Does home insurance cover washer and dryer breakdown?
Washing machines and dryers are covered under personal property only when damaged by a covered peril — like a fire, flood from a burst pipe, or theft. If your washer simply stops working after years of use, that's considered a mechanical breakdown or wear and tear, which is excluded from standard policies. An equipment breakdown endorsement or a home warranty would be the appropriate coverage for routine breakdowns.
What is equipment breakdown coverage and is it worth it?
Equipment breakdown coverage is an optional endorsement you can add to your homeowners policy for roughly $25–$50 per year. It covers sudden and accidental mechanical or electrical failures in appliances and home systems that a standard policy excludes — things like motor burnouts, power surges, and short circuits. Given that a single HVAC repair can cost thousands of dollars, most homeowners with newer, higher-value appliances will find it well worth the modest annual cost.
What's the difference between appliance insurance and a home warranty?
The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but a home warranty is a service contract — not insurance — that covers the repair or replacement of appliances and systems that break down from normal wear and tear. Appliance insurance (or equipment breakdown coverage) is an endorsement added to your homeowners policy and typically covers sudden, accidental failures like electrical surges. A home warranty usually costs $300–$800 per year plus a service fee per visit, while equipment breakdown coverage is far cheaper but more narrowly focused on sudden failures rather than age-related decline.