Does A Home Warranty Cover Windows?
Home warranties don't cover windows except in special cases, but other types of insurance do.
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Home warranties don’t typically cover windows. However, some optional or comprehensive plans may provide coverage.
In rare cases, windows may be covered if they pose a threat to the home’s integrity. Typically, though, your homeowners insurance covers your windows. Manufacturer warranty and builder's insurance may also cover window repair and replacement.
Home warranty window coverage
Home warranties are designed to cover your home’s systems and appliances, not structural components. In other words, home warranties fill in the gaps to cover the parts of your home that your homeowners insurance doesn’t cover. Because windows, like walls and doors, are structural home components, home warranties don’t generally cover them.
However, some home warranty companies might cover windows under specific add-on or comprehensive plans. Also, in rare cases where window issues threaten a home’s integrity, certain home warranties might cover that repair.
While each company has its own specific policy offerings, home warranties generally cover appliances and systems, such as:
Refrigerators.
Washing machines.
Clothes dryers.
Air conditioners.
Heating systems.
Kitchen appliances.
Water heaters.
Electric systems.
Plumbing systems.
on American Home Shield's website
on Choice Home Warranty's website
on Liberty Home Guard's website
Types of insurance that cover windows
Three main types of insurance may cover your windows, depending on the issue and circumstances. Here’s what to know.
1. Homeowners insurance
The most common way to get coverage for your windows is through homeowners insurance. These policies generally contain dwelling coverage, other structures coverage and liability coverage to protect your windows from a wide range of circumstances that might damage them.
Dwelling coverage is limited to damage to the home itself from specific risks, often called “perils.” These covered perils generally include vandalism, fire, hail, wind and theft.
For example, if your window is broken by a strong gust of wind or smashed by a vandal, the dwelling coverage would pay for the repair, within the coverage limits of the policy and minus any deductible you might owe. If the cost of the window repair is less than the deductible you owe, you’ll have to pay the whole cost.
Other structures coverage for windows covers a damaged window on your shed, detached garage or another building on your property that isn’t the home itself. As with dwelling coverage, if damage happened because of a covered peril — for example, if hail broke through a window on your shed — you’d be reimbursed for the repair, less your deductible.
Liability coverage comes into play if you or a member of your household accidentally damages a window on someone else’s property. If a neighbor breaks a window on your property, their homeowners liability coverage covers the repair, less any deductible arrangement in your policy.
If you or a member of your family breaks your own window — for example, if you accidentally swing a broom handle and shatter the glass — liability coverage won’t apply and you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket.
2. Manufacturer warranty
Manufacturer warranties can cover damages due to product defects or installation mistakes. This coverage may also be called manufacturer insurance or an extended warranty.
Manufacturer coverage can vary widely by amount and length of time. If you’re purchasing new windows, look for a policy that covers both manufacturer defects and faulty installation, extends for 10 years or more and is transferable to the next owner if you sell your house.
Your coverage agreement should include the following issues:
Damage to screens.
Separation of any welds in the metal parts of your windows.
Cracks, fading, chips, blisters, delamination or warping of PVC.
Clouding or filminess between panes or inside windows.
Weather-induced breakage.
Window machinery failure.
3. Builder's insurance
Builder's insurance, also known as a builder's warranty, applies to newly-built homes and remodels . It typically covers permanent parts of the home, including windows, as well as concrete floors, plumbing, electrical systems and HVAC. These policies generally exclude any components or systems still covered by manufacturer warranty or your homeowners insurance.