Guides
Winter storms, freezes and power outages
What a homeowners policy pays after ice, snow and hard freezes, why burst pipes turn on reasonable care, and why a power outage by itself is not a covered loss.
A standard homeowners policy covers most of the physical damage a winter storm causes: wind, the weight of ice and snow, falling trees, and water from pipes that freeze and burst. It does not cover the outage itself. If the utility loses power off your property, the policy pays nothing for the lost power, the spoiled food or the hotel room you rent to stay warm, unless the outage leads to a loss from a covered peril on your property. Burst-pipe claims carry one condition that decides a lot of them: you must have used reasonable care to keep the house heated, or to shut off the water and drain the system.
This guide uses the ISO HO-3 (form HO 00 03 05 11) as its model. Your insurer's form, your state's amendatory endorsement and your declarations page control.
What the HO-3 does with winter damage
| Winter loss | Usually | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe freezes and bursts, water damages the house | Covered | Not covered if you failed to use reasonable care to maintain heat or to shut off and drain the water |
| An ice dam pushes water under shingles | Usually covered as sudden water damage | Old roofs, poor ventilation and neglect invite disputes; see ice dams and roof damage |
| Roof collapses under snow | Possible | Collapse is handled by an Additional Coverage with a narrow definition; see below |
| Limbs or a tree fall on the house | Covered | Tree removal is limited to $1,000 per loss and $500 per tree (falling tree damage: who pays and when) |
| Wind damage from the storm | Covered | A wind/hail deductible may apply |
| Fence, pavement, patio, pool, retaining wall, foundation damaged by freezing, thawing or the weight of ice | Excluded | The form removes these from Coverages A and B |
| Food spoils in a power outage | Excluded | Off-premises power failure; see food spoilage and power outage coverage |
| Hotel while the power is out | Excluded | Loss of use pays only when a covered loss makes the home unfit to live in |
| Snowmelt or a backed-up drain floods the basement | Excluded | Needs flood insurance or a water backup endorsement (water backup and sewer backup coverage) |
| Car damaged by ice or a limb | Auto policy | Comprehensive coverage, not the homeowners policy |
The Insurance Information Institute says standard homeowners policies cover most disasters that result from a freeze, and that many policies require you to keep the home heated (Triple-I).
The reasonable-care clause
Section I of the HO-3 (open perils on the dwelling) excludes loss caused by freezing of a plumbing, heating, air-conditioning or sprinkler system or a household appliance, and by discharge or leakage from the system caused by freezing. The exclusion does not apply if you used reasonable care to maintain heat in the building, or to shut off the water supply and drain all systems and appliances. Either path qualifies. If the building has an automatic sprinkler system, you must keep the water on and maintain heat. Sump pumps, gutters and downspouts are not treated as plumbing systems for this purpose.
The clause is simple until the power goes out. Say a three-day outage drops your indoor temperature below freezing and a supply line in an exterior wall bursts. You did not turn the heat off, but you could not maintain it either. Insurers decide this question claim by claim, and the facts that matter are what you did before and during the outage:
- Whether the heat was on and set at a reasonable temperature before the outage. Triple-I advises a minimum of 65 degrees, and notes that a lower setting might not keep the inside walls from freezing.
- Whether you shut off the main water valve and opened taps once the house began to cool, when it was safe to do so.
- Whether you were away. A house left unheated for weeks draws more scrutiny than one that lost heat for a weekend.
- Whether you can show it: thermostat history from a smart thermostat, a plumber's report on where and why the pipe failed, photographs, dated receipts for a space heater or generator.
If you leave a home for the winter, drain the system or have it professionally drained before you go. snowbirds and seasonal homes: vacancy, freeze and theft and vacancy and unoccupancy exclusions cover the added rules for homes left empty. For the detail on burst pipes, ice dams and the damage that follows, read burst and frozen pipes: what's covered.
Snow loads and collapse
A roof that fails under snow is the loss owners fear most. The HO-3 does not cover collapse under its open-perils language. It sends collapse to an Additional Coverage that pays for an abrupt falling down or caving in caused by a listed cause, including a peril named under Coverage C. "Weight of ice, snow or sleet" is a Coverage C peril, but the form words it as damage to property contained in a building. A sagging roof that has not fallen is not an abrupt collapse. How your insurer treats a snow-load failure of the structure itself depends on its wording, so ask your agent in writing before a heavy-snow winter. The detail is in collapse coverage: what counts as a collapse.
The deductible that applies
Frozen-pipe and ice-dam claims normally use your standard all-other-perils deductible. A wind claim from the same storm may use your wind/hail deductible. A named-storm or hurricane deductible does not apply just because a television network named the winter storm. Where states define the trigger, it is tied to tropical systems named by the National Hurricane Center or National Weather Service, and South Carolina's rule says storms named by the news media, such as winter storms, do not count. Check the trigger on your declarations page.
How big these losses get
Winter weather is a modest part of insured catastrophe losses in a typical year. Aon counted $1.4 billion of U.S. insured winter weather losses in 2025, against $52.3 billion for severe convective storms, according to Triple-I's compilation of Aon data. Winter Storm Fern in January 2026 caused about $3.5 billion in insured losses, Aon reported (Aon, April 2026).
The outlier is a hard freeze in a region whose houses are not built for one. The Texas Department of Insurance counted 510,772 claims from the February 2021 winter event, with insurers expecting to pay about $11.2 billion in insured losses as of March 31, 2022. About 85% of the claims were on residential property policies, and the average incurred loss on a residential property claim was about $17,600. TDI's data covers all lines, including auto comprehensive and commercial, and 37.9% of all claims closed without a payment, which is a reminder that damage below the deductible or outside coverage does not produce a check (TDI). See Texas for the state's rules.
If a pipe bursts or the roof leaks
- Shut off the water at the main and, if the pipe is wet near electrical outlets, the power at the panel. Do not stand in water to do it.
- Stop further damage. Move belongings, extract standing water, run dehumidifiers and open walls where a restoration company advises. The policy requires reasonable steps and reimburses them (reasonable repairs: what you can fix before the adjuster comes).
- Photograph before you clean up, including the burst pipe, the thermostat setting and any water line on the walls.
- Call your insurer and get a claim number. Ask what the company wants to see. Keep the failed pipe section if the plumber removes it.
- Keep receipts for drying, temporary heat, hotel stays if the home is unfit, and plumbing repairs. Additional living expenses are paid when a covered loss makes the home uninhabitable (making an additional living expenses claim).
- Dry within a day or two. Mold that follows slow drying is a dispute waiting to happen (does homeowners insurance cover mold?).
The home insurance claim checklist tracks the paperwork.
Before the next freeze
- Find the main water shutoff and make sure everyone in the house can operate it.
- Disconnect hoses and insulate exposed pipes in attics, crawl spaces and exterior walls.
- Keep the thermostat on, not in "away" mode, during a cold snap, and ask a neighbor to check the house if you travel.
- Consider leak sensors and an automatic shutoff valve; some insurers give a credit (water leak sensors and shutoff valves: discounts and value).
- Keep the roof, gutters and attic insulation in shape so ice dams are less likely.
- If your area loses power often, ask your agent about a food spoilage endorsement and an equipment breakdown endorsement.
The hurricane and wildfire season insurance checklist pulls this together with the other seasonal tasks.
Key takeaways
- Winter damage from ice, snow weight, wind, falling trees and burst pipes is generally covered under a standard HO-3, but the outage itself and the food lost in it are not.
- Frozen-pipe claims depend on reasonable care: you must have maintained heat, or shut off the water and drained the system.
- Fences, patios, pavement, pools and foundations damaged by freezing or the weight of ice are excluded from Coverages A and B in the ISO form.
- A winter storm that the media names does not trigger a named-storm deductible; frozen-pipe claims use your regular deductible.
- Keep evidence of how you protected the house: thermostat settings, plumber's findings, photographs and receipts.