What happens when the power goes out for an extended period of time? One side effect is that the food that was in your refrigerator and freezer thaws out, and then spoils. If you have a homeowners insurance policy, then all that spoiled food is covered.
When your electricity goes out, due to a storm or a hurricane, it is more than just an inconvenience. If you have no power, and it is the middle of Winter, then it means you are unable to heat your home. If it happens during the Summer, then lack of electricity means that you can’t turn on the AC and cool off the inside of your home. Both situations can be deadly.
If your power goes out, it could also create some rather expensive situations for you. Lack of electricity means that your refrigerator and freezer shut off. This means that the food inside of them will thaw, and then will start to spoil.
There are a lot of families that stock their freezers full of meat, frozen dinners, and frozen breakfast foods. It will cost a lot of money to replace all that spoiled food that you had to throw away due to a power outage.
Your homeowners insurance can help you with that expense. A standard homeowners insurance policy covers damages caused to “refrigerated property” or “refrigerated products”. Essentially, this means that when the power went out, and all your food spoiled, you can be reimbursed for at least part of the cost of replacing it.
You should check to make sure that this type of coverage comes automatically with your homeowners policy. Some of them will require you to pay a little extra in order to add this type of coverage onto an existing homeowners policy. It is better to find out for certain what your policy covers right now, then to be disappointed to learn that things are not covered after tragedy strikes.
If you file a claim for spoiled food, you need to be aware that the burden of proof lies with you. Take photos of the food that has gone bad while it is still inside your refrigerator or freezer. Bring those photos, and the receipt that you got from the grocery store when the food was purchased, with you when you speak with your insurance agent. This could make getting a reimbursement from your insurer much easier.
Image by Lars Plougmann on Flickr