Does insurance cover a plane crashing into your house?

Does homeowners insurance cover damage from a plane crash?

Yes, your homeowners insurance will cover damage from a plane crashing into your home. Most standard homeowners insurance policies cover damage caused by falling objects. In most cases, these will likely be items like tree limbs or debris blown onto the house by a storm. But, this will also cover other types of falling objects, such as planes, space debris or meteorites.

“Yes, most standard homeowners policies (and business policies) cover damage from falling objects. That goes for unusual or rare things, pieces of aircraft, satellites or even space debris. The point is, the falling object must immediately cause the physical injury to the building,” says Jordan Blake, director of communications and operations at Shoreline Public Adjusters LLC in Naples, Florida.

How does insurance work if a plane crash damages my house?

The claims process, for the most part, will be similar to other homeowners insurance claims. Mark Sanchez, senior real estate manager for Gator Rated, a Florida real estate company, says, “But with weird cases like falling aircraft parts or orbital junk, expect a slower claims process. Adjusters and engineers may need to inspect for weeks before a payout happens.”

Home insurance will cover damage to the house and your personal property through your dwelling and personal property coverage. Damage to structures not attached to your home, such as a fence or detached garage, falls under other structures coverage.

“The timeline can stretch much further with more unusual claims like this. If there’s some doubt about the origin of the object or the possibility of a third-party liability, insurers may require additional time for an investigation,” Blake says.

If your home is severely damaged and you aren’t able to live there, your insurance policy will also pay for a hotel room and other additional living expenses during repairs. Keep all of your receipts.

Are airlines responsible for damage when a plane crashes?

The investigation results will determine whether or not the airline is deemed responsible. However, these investigations can take a lot of time. Fran Majidi, client relations manager and insurance expert at Modotech, a firm that provides support services to insurance companies, says, “In some cases, homeowners insurance may pay for the damages for the homeowner to begin repairs and then recoup the money from the responsible party in a process called subrogation.”

Airlines will likely have aviation liability insurance, such as public liability. This would provide coverage for the airline should their planes damage third-party property, such as your home.

If an individual’s plane crashes into your home, they may have a non-commercial version of aviation liability insurance. Majidi says that if an individual crashes their plane into your home, the pilot may need an umbrella policy to help cover the extra liability, “...depending on the limits of the primary liability coverage,” as well as wreckage removal coverage to help clean up the mess from the crash.

Does insurance cover debris falling from the sky?

Generally, yes. A standard homeowners insurance policy will typically cover debris falling from the sky.

“As long as it’s an object in the sky that falls and causes damage to your home or another insured structure, most policies don’t carve that out,” Blake says.

Standard homeowners insurance policies are all-perils, which means they cover damage from any source that isn’t specifically excluded. That includes falling objects.

What kind of falling objects does home insurance cover?

Homeowners insurance covers most things that could fall onto your home, which includes objects such as:

Trees or tree limbs
Ice
Antennas
Construction materials and equipment
Aircraft
Satellites and space debris
Meteors and asteroids

As with many things, there will be exceptions. Many homeowners insurance policies will carve out exemptions for acts of war. Or, if the object falling on your home results from neglect or lack of maintenance, such as a dead or rotten tree. You may not be covered if this were something you should have been aware of and did nothing about.

Sanchez cautions that the fine print will matter.

“The structure has to be damaged first before contents are covered. If it just lands in the backyard and crushes a fence, that is a different conversation. You are probably looking at separate structure coverage or exclusions depending on your carrier,” he says.

What to do if an airplane crashes into your property

The process is very similar to any other form of homeowners insurance claim. Follow these steps:

Contact emergency services if necessary. Make sure everyone is safe and call 911 if there is an emergency, such as injuries, fire, or other potential risks from the crash. Follow any instructions given by the police or the fire department.
Contact your insurance company. Have your policy number on hand when you do so.
Document any damage. You can do this by making a list and taking photos and videos of the damaged areas. Having a completed home inventory list can make the process easier.
Minimize further damage. If it is safe to do so, make repairs to help prevent further damage to your property. This could include boarding up windows and doors to prevent theft or putting a temporary patch on your roof to prevent water from entering your home.

Once you’ve filed your claim, an insurance adjuster may inspect the property and investigate your claim. As our experts stated above, due to the unusual nature of the claim, expect the process to take longer than it otherwise would.

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