Home Microwave fire

[Ash]

When heating something, the microwave made some funny stuttering noises. Then there was a funny smell. It was switched off then and a small amount of flame was seen inside the oven, from the top corner, eating through and melting all the plastic.

Luckily it was caught in time. The microwave was free standing i.e. not within a bigger, heavier unit. The microwave door was closed, the unit unplugged and quickly moved outside to safety where the fire burned out. Obviously the microwave can't be used any more and will have to be replaced.

We have home insurance but have never made a claim to date. Would such an occurance be normally covered under a typical home insurance policy? i.e. replace a microwave that burned up? With an excess of €150, it would hardly be worth it to make a claim in this case and thankfully there was no damage beyond the microwave itself, apart from getting quite a scare. If the fire was bigger and caused more damage we assume that would be covered.

We're just curious whether the cost of replacement would be covered. Does anyone know offhand?

 

[SparkRite]

Sorry to state the obvious Ash, but read your policy's T&C's, that will tell you.

Generally if you have "all risks" then you would be covered but unfortunatly I don't have your policy to hand.

 

[Claimsman]

When heating something, the microwave made some funny stuttering noises. Then there was a funny smell. It was switched off then and a small amount of flame was seen inside the oven, from the top corner, eating through and melting all the plastic.

Luckily it was caught in time. The microwave was free standing i.e. not within a bigger, heavier unit. The microwave door was closed, the unit unplugged and quickly moved outside to safety where the fire burned out. Obviously the microwave can't be used any more and will have to be replaced.

We have home insurance but have never made a claim to date. Would such an occurance be normally covered under a typical home insurance policy? i.e. replace a microwave that burned up? With an excess of €150, it would hardly be worth it to make a claim in this case and thankfully there was no damage beyond the microwave itself, apart from getting quite a scare. If the fire was bigger and caused more damage we assume that would be covered.

We're just curious whether the cost of replacement would be covered. Does anyone know offhand?

There are arguments as to why you should not get a new microwave under your policy, but insurers in all liklihood would deal with your claim..if indeed you have contents cover. However, as you quite rightly say, it is hardly worth it, especially if the microwave is not an expensive model. Indeed, i would suggest that you dont claim as you will have to disclose this claim if you wish to change insurers in the future. Some insurers will not insure you if you have had even one previous claim and as a consequence, you could lose out on an opportunity of availing of a lower premium than you are currently paying. That is not worth it for the benefit of a few Euro.

 

[Ash]

Thanks Claimsman. This is more or less what we thought. It is not a valuable item but wondered whether it would be covered. Making a claim was not really on the cards.
We have paid home insurance for many many years and never claimed for anything so have no experience on how these things work in practicality. I guess we're lucky not to have any mishaps to date.
Thanks again.