Winter weather caused $64.1 million in property damage in the United States in 2022, according to ValuePenguin. While most winter weather threats are covered perils under home insurance policies, there are a few exceptions. For example, those who live in areas that receive heavy snow may experience flooding as the weather warms and snow melts in the spring – which requires separate flood coverage. Climate change has also forced those who live in areas that were previously unaffected, or only minorly affected, by extreme weather to adjust the disasters for which they're prepared. A major part of this preparation is updating their insurance policies. Even those who have sufficient coverage can be hesitant to file claims for winter weather damage, though, with ValuePenguin reporting that 32% of Americans say they have had car or home damage from a winter storm, but only 50% have filed an insurance claim. Both the likelihood of someone filing  and the likelihood of that winter weather claim being covered vary slightly by region. Of those in the Northeast who have experienced a winter loss, 60% have filed a claim with 70% reporting their insurance fully covered the claim and 27% saying their claim was partially covered. Of the 31% of people in the South who have experienced winter weather damage, only 51% have filed a claim, with 67% saying their insurance fully covered their claim and 28% reporting it was partially covered. When preparing your home, vehicle and insurance coverage to handle winter threats, ValuePenguin suggests insureds:

• Find out exactly which winter perils your insurance policies cover. Keep in mind that things like wind damage, hail and flooding may be excluded from standard homeowners policies and require separate coverage.
• Make sure your liability coverage is sufficient in the event something happens – like your vehicle hitting ice and sliding into another – that could cause you to end up paying excessive, out-of-pocket damages. Insureds should be aware of their liability limits, and increase them if their net worth exceeds those limits by a large margin.
• While liability coverage is important, it won't cover damage to your vehicle in the event you're involved in a collision or if damage is done to it by a fallen tree or power line. As such, having both collision and comprehensive insurance are imperative, especially with the added threats winter weather presents.

In the slideshow above, we'll look at the top winter weather concerns, according to a survey from ValuePenguin.

Related:

• Staying chill behind the wheel this winter
• An insurer's view on winter home preparation
• Nowhere is safe from worsening climate change, U.S. report warns