A broken fridge freezer can be expensive to replace. The cost not only includes the fridge freezer itself, but many of us use our freezers to stock up on food, which can cost an average of £371.37 to replace.
However, many people don’t know that spoiled food is often covered by their home insurance or contents insurance. In fact, all our contents insurance tiers cover freezer food up to the value of £1,000 depending on your level of cover.
Below, we explain everything you need to know about freezer cover.
When can you claim for frozen food?
You can claim up to the value stated in your policy documents if there’s a sudden rise or fall in temperature, or the fridge has suffered any contamination by refrigerant or its fumes.
For example, if an unexpected power failure at home or a power surge puts your freezer out of action, you’ll likely be insured if it’s been off long enough for food to spoil.
You’re also normally covered if your freezer unexpectedly breaks due to a mechanical fault. There’s no cover for the mechanical breakdown of the freezer itself.
Can you claim for a new freezer?
It depends.
If your freezer has stopped working permanently because of accidental damage, you can possibly make a claim. However, if your freezer breaks down due to age, you need to buy a new one.
Do you need receipts to claim?
Not in most cases.
Usually, insurers ask for a list and photographs of the spoiled food before it’s disposed of.
They may also ask you for a breakdown of how much it’ll cost to replace the goods at today’s prices.
As your freezer is unlikely to only include shop-bought items, your insurer may look to replace your leftovers and pre-prepped meals with a similar shop-bought ready meal, or fresh ingredients.
Be honest and realistic. If you claim for an improbable amount (e.g. listing more food than could ever realistically fit into your freezer), your claim could be refused.
Do I need extra cover at Christmas or other celebration times?
With some insurers you can add extra cover during times of celebration, including weddings and religious festivals, for extra items (including food) being stored at home for the events.
We call it celebration cover and we include it as standard on all our contents insurance policies up to the cover limit.
What isn’t covered?
It’s important to know and understand your contents insurance limits. This includes understanding what your freezer insurance doesn’t cover, as well as what it does.
Your insurer is unlikely to cover events that are foreseeable or easily preventable.
For example:
- where the power supply was been accidentally turned off
- planned power outages (such as maintenance work)
- if your freezer is over 10 years old
- non-food items you keep in your freezer
- items that haven’t spoiled
Make sure that the plug socket isn’t within easy reach of any young children and check any planned outages from your energy provider.
