How Lightning Strike Insurance Claims Work

Lightning strikes aren’t as rare as you may think. According to the Insurance Information Institute, in fact, lightning strikes are the second most damaging natural hazard after floods.

When lightning strikes, it can cause severe damage to homes and businesses.

Insurance covers lightning strikes. Unfortunately, lightning strike claims can be messy. It could be difficult for a policyholder to prove a lightning strike occurred, for example, leading to a dispute.

Today, we’re explaining everything you need to know about lightning strike insurance claims.

Yes, Insurance Covers Lightning Strikes

A standard homeowners insurance policy or commercial insurance policy will cover lightning strikes.

If lightning strikes your property, then insurance should cover the cost of repairing that property to pre-loss condition.

Lightning strikes can cause physical damage to your property. They can also create a surge that destroys electronic property or electrical infrastructure at your home or business.

How Lightning Strike Insurance Claims Work

Here are the steps involved in a typical lightning strike insurance claim:

1. Secure the Property: In the immediate aftermath of a lightning strike, take steps to secure the property if safe to do so. Document any damages. Take lots of photos and videos. Check to see if your electronics are working or if any other damage occurred as a result of an electrical surge.
2. Contact Insurance: Call your insurer to initiate the claim. Your insurer starts the claim process and will send one of its company adjusters to your property to inspect the damages.
3. On-Site Adjuster Inspection: The insurance company’s adjuster reviews the damage, then calculates the cost of repairing that damage. The adjuster may also authorize additional living expense (ALE) payments if you need to temporarily move to a hotel.
4. Negotiation & Settlement: The insurer may agree to cover the entire claim, repairing all lightning strike damage after hearing estimates from one or more contractors. You can get an estimate from your insurer’s recommended restoration company. Or, you can use your own. If the insurer denies your claim or offers a reduced payout, you may wish to hire a public adjuster to potentially increase payout, overturn a denied claim, and speed up the process.
5. Repairs & Restoration: The contractors work to repair and restore your property to pre-loss condition. Once repairs are complete, your insurer may issue the second half of payment to cover the remaining cost.

Typically, you need to file a claim within 60 days of the date of the lightning strike.

How Lightning Damages Property

Lightning causes severe damage to properties in multiple ways.

Some of the ways in which lightning damages property include:

Fire Damage: The energy of a lightning strike can spark a fire. It could lead to a forest fire or a house fire. Unless your policy specifically excludes it, fire damage from a lightning strike should be covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy.

Structural Damage: If lightning directly strikes your property, it could create structural damage at the point of impact. Lightning could create a burned hole in your roof, for example. It also creates shockwaves that can physically damage other components. Even if it doesn’t ignite a fire, lightning can cause significant damage to the structure of your home.

Electrical Surge Damage: If lightning directly strikes your property, it can create an electrical surge. This electrical surge travels through your home’s electrical system, damaging any electronics that don’t have a surge protector. A single lightning strike could destroy major appliances and electronics. It could even damage the actual wiring of your home.

Ground Surge Damage: In some cases, lightning strikes create a “ground surge.” Lightning strikes the ground, causing a surge in electrical systems throughout an area. This damage can be difficult to prove, and insurers are hesitant to pay for ground surge insurance claims.

Personal Property Damage: A standard homeowners insurance policy covers your personal property – including everything from your TV to your phone. If lightning strikes your home, it could damage personal property – say, through an electrical surge, fire damage, or through the energy of the lightning strike itself. If you have valuable electronics in your home, then you may need an endorsement to cover them. A standard homeowners insurance policy includes personal property coverage worth up to 50% of your dwelling coverage. However, there may be a limit per item (say, of around $1,500).

If your home is unlivable after a lightning strike, then insurance may also authorize the release of emergency funds to cover additional living expenses (ALE). These funds cover the cost of alternative accommodations (like a hotel), meals, toiletries, and other expenses you incurred as a result of the lightning strike damaging your home.

How to Prove Lightning Strike Damage

To make a lightning damage insurance claim, you may need to prove a lightning strike occurred.

What are the signs of lightning damage? How can you prove to your insurer that lightning damaged your home?

Here are some of the ways in which you can prove your home was damaged by lightning:

• Direct building damage to the roof, walls, and structural components.
• Fire damage, including signs of fire damage at the point of impact or other fire damage throughout your home.
• Lightning-struck trees around your home.
• Melted plastic, damaged circuitry, and other electrical surge damage to electronics.

How to Handle Lightning Damage Insurance Claim Disputes

Insurers don’t want to pay your claim. They may try to push back, deny your claim, or reduce your payout.

Fortunately, there are proven ways to resolve lightning damage insurance claim disputes, including:

• Work with a public adjuster. Public adjusters are not like your insurance company’s adjusters. They represent you and your best interests instead of your insurer’s best interests. In many cases, they can speed up an insurance claim, obtain higher payout, and ensure you get fair treatment from your insurer.
• Examine your entire property for damages. Lightning strikes can damage your home and outbuildings. They can impact your home’s internal wiring and destroy electronics. There may be visible damage to your property – but also significant invisible damage. Your insurer may want to close the claim as quickly as possible to limit future payout.
• Look for signs of direct lightning damage. Some insurers may deny a claim because of a “close call” or “near miss” lightning strike. The lightning struck near your home but too far to cause significant damage. Others could deny your claim because of a ground surge. Look for direct signs of a strike or damage to your home to expedite your claim.

Final Word

Generally, lightning strike claims are straightforward: if lightning strikes your house, then your insurance covers any damage linked to that lightning strike.

However, insurance could push back against your claim for near misses and ground surges, causing you to get much less than you expected for your insurance claim.

Contact ClaimsMate today for a no-cost assessment of your lightning strike insurance claim. Our expert public adjusters have firsthand experience managing lightning strike insurance claims for clients.

Stephanie Corona

Stephanie is a property insurance claim expert with over 20 years of experience working as an insurance adjuster, expert witness, appraiser and umpire. She is passionate about sharing her expertise, knowledge, tips and training to help both property owners and Public Adjusters in their pursuit of effectively managing claims and recovering the claim settlement they deserve after a loss.