What is accidental damage?
When something gets broken or harmed by accident, like dropping your phone or spilling something on your laptop
A reasonable interpretation of the word ‘damage’ - as applied by the Financial Services Ombudsman - includes not only physical damage to an item but also something that resulted in a ‘loss of function’.
In other words, something that left it unable to perform the task it was designed to do.
If tenants cause damage to the building it’s the landlord’s responsibility to pay for the repairs, so it’s worth checking that your landlord insurance policy provides adequate cover.
Insurance providers offer different levels of cover for accidental damage and this could affect the outcome of a potential claim, so it’s important that you understand fully how your insurer defines accidental damage before agreeing to a policy.
Yes, and the claim was successfully processed
Yes, but the claim was denied
No, I have never filed an accidental damage claim
I don't have accidental damage coverage
Around 16% of all Total Landlord’s claims between 2019 and 2024 were for accidental damage, up from 10% in the period between 2018 and 2022.
Of these, the majority (58%) were for ‘accidental loss’ scenarios which includes things like the classic example of a ball being kicked through the window, or banging a nail through a water pipe when trying to hang a picture.
One of the most common causes of accidental loss we see at Total Landlord is a tap being left running unattended.
For example, in one case the tenant left the property and came back to discover the ground floor flooded in three inches of water.
The tenant had accidentally left the bath taps running and the bathtub had overflowed.
As a result, water seeped through the walls and ceilings, affecting the electrics and causing extensive damage to kitchen units below and ground floor ceilings.
The bathroom tiles, floorboards and joists also needed replacing, rendering the bathroom unusable and the property uninhabitable. Total Landlord reimbursed the landlord £8,000 for building repairs.
‘Water ingress’ (when water infiltrates a property), accounted for around 21% of all accidental damage claims at Total Landlord between 2019 and 2024, and unfortunately this can be difficult for the landlord to control.
For example, in one recent claim, a blocked local authority drain caused dirty water ingress into the insured property, resulting in a hefty claim of £41,316 to cover stripping out the ground floor of the property, sanitisation costs and reinstatement works to the ground floor.
Fortunately, most claims for accidental damage are much lower than this.
However, in line with the national increase in the value of accidental damage claims, the average claim for accidental damage at Total Landlord has more than doubled in recent years.
It was £3,312 between 2019 and 2024 compared to £1,520 during the period 2018 - 2022.
