Frozen pipes leading to water loss are nothing new when the primary winter freeze comes. When winter storms roll by way of the usually heat south, they typically expose policyholders failing to organize by sustaining warmth or draining water from pipes. A current Texas federal case involving State Farm highlights this state of affairs. 1
The case concerned Arturo Barona’s business constructing. A pipe froze through the December 2022 freeze. It burst, and water flooded the property. That’s the type of occasion many might imagine insurance coverage at all times covers. However State Farm didn’t see it that approach.
As an alternative, State Farm accurately pointed to a reasonably customary clause most individuals skip over when shopping for a coverage: The exclusion that removes protection for freezing until very particular situations are met.
Right here is the precise coverage language that State Farm relied upon:
SECTION I – EXCLUSIONS
2. We don’t insure underneath any protection for loss whether or not consisting of, or instantly and instantly attributable to, a number of of the next:
e. Frozen Plumbing
Water, different liquids, powder or molten materials that leaks or flows from plumbing, heating, air-con or different tools (besides hearth protecting methods) attributable to freezing, until:
(1) You do your greatest to take care of warmth within the constructing or construction; or
(2) You drain the tools and shut off the water provide if the warmth is just not maintained.
The policyholder admitted he turned the warmth off whereas the constructing was underneath renovation and that he didn’t drain the pipes or shut off the water earlier than leaving for Christmas. When the chilly got here, the plumbing froze. When the thaw got here, the water poured in. State Farm pointed to the exclusion, claimed neither exception was met, and denied the declare. The courtroom agreed.
Protection instances typically activate ambiguities and competing interpretations. However generally they activate one thing much more fundamental: whether or not the insured did or didn’t meet the situations the coverage quietly imposes. The phrase “do your greatest to take care of warmth” could look delicate and simple to argue round. When the warmth is deliberately turned off, the argument is misplaced earlier than it begins. Courts search for an effort, not perfection. Doing one’s greatest requires a minimum of doing one thing. Right here, the policyholder admitted they did nothing to take care of the warmth.
There’s a bigger lesson right here that extends past the courtroom. Frozen pipe instances spike each winter. Insurers can depend on these exclusions. The requirement is to do some winter upkeep to guard the property from freezing pipes leading to water harm.
Most policyholders assume that if a storm precipitated the freeze, the loss is roofed. However most property insurance coverage insurance policies, like State Farm’s, shift the burden squarely onto the insured to assist safeguard the property. When it’s written, the responsibility to take care of warmth or drain plumbing is just not a suggestion, it’s a situation of protection. When temperatures plunge, the insurance coverage firm expects the policyholder to anticipate the chance and take protecting measures.
For owners and business property house owners alike, this case is a reminder that avoiding the loss is healthier than preventing along with your insurer afterward. If a constructing shall be vacant even briefly in chilly climate, the warmth must be stored on and set excessive sufficient to guard the plumbing. If the warmth can’t be maintained, the water provide should be shut off, and the traces drained. These steps are inconvenient till you take into account the choice: no insurance coverage protection to revive what was misplaced.
Instances like this are additionally a name to learn and perceive your coverage earlier than the worst occurs. Exclusions are sometimes written in technical language that appears far faraway from on a regular basis life. In moments of loss, they change into the rulebook by which insurers and courts decide your monetary destiny.
A pipe burst is commonly an avoidable loss within the property insurance coverage world. Insurers will typically ask what was completed to stop the loss and will definitely ask about whether or not the warmth was maintained. But yearly, 1000’s of policyholders study the arduous approach that avoidable doesn’t imply lined.
This subject typically arises within the context of utilizing affordable care to take care of warmth, as mentioned in Am I Utilizing Affordable Care to Keep Warmth In My Dwelling to Present Protection for Frozen Pipe Harm, and Is Setting Your Thermostat to Low Sufficient to Keep Ample Warmth. I additionally recommend studying It’s freezing…Protection for Frozen Water Pipe Losses, to learn barely totally different coverage language and a broader dialogue of the difficulty
Thought For The Day
“An oz. of prevention is price a pound of remedy.”
—Benjamin Franklin
1 Barona v. State Farm Lloyds, No. 4:24-CV-01393 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 12, 2025). (See additionally, State Farm’s Movement for Abstract Judgment, and Barona’s Response).