There's a way for homeowners to recover the costs of more than property damage from this week's power outage.
Spoiled food is often covered by a homeowner's policy. But whether a claim can be filed depends on the deductible.
Matt Straley with Insurance Consultants of Pittsburgh told KDKA Radio a loss of hundreds of dollars in food is problematic when the deductible is $500 to $1,000.
“There may not be coverage, not because there isn’t coverage afforded in the policy, but because the amount doesn’t exceed the deductible,” said Straley.
But if a refrigerator or freezer, or both, are damaged the total loss is likely to be higher.
Add that to any property damage and a homeowner can recover a significant part of storm-related costs.
So, make sure you look at your policy’s deducible.
“If it’s a thousand bucks and all you have is spoilage, then you’re probably not going to be able to get any coverage because it’s not just going to cross over that deductible threshold,” added Straley.