Your Washington Homeowners Policy Might Cover Spoiled Food

My in-laws in Oregon had been without power for several days. They live in Salem and they just got their power back on. There have been several power outages across the country due to adverse weather. I remember my Mother-In-Law calling and talking to my wife about the food spoiling in the fridge and it made me wonder if our homeowner's policy would cover the spoiled food if we had to go through a similar thing here in Washington.

You'll have to check your own personal policy but there are Washington State insurance policies that cover spoiled food. I did a quick Google search and discovered an article on the Yahoo finance page - here is what they had to say about spoiled food and your homeowner's insurance policy:

Your insurer isn’t going to give you a refund on that moldy cheese that’s way past its expiration date, but it will probably reimburse you if a power outage knocks out your fridge.

Be aware that, while power failures caused by a windstorm will probably be covered, not all policies protect you against widespread blackouts caused by your utility company.

And if you’re planning to file a claim, please don’t hoard your rotten produce as proof. Take photos and try to dig up those grocery receipts in case your insurance company requests them.

As the article reads, each policy is going to vary but it's worth reaching out to your insurance company and double-checking to see if your food is covered.

I was surprised to see that spoiled food could be covered but there are obviously some limitations. I'd reach out to your policyholder and ask them.

You can check out some other items that you might not think are covered by insurance here.

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