Here's the scenario: At the time of my inspection, the insured advised that around the 1st of April he suffered water damage to the drywall ceilings in the kitchen, upstairs bathroom, and upstairs bedroom. He informed that the insulation on the attic door had fallen off and the escape of heat and moisture from the dwelling resulted in frost developing on the attic ceiling. In the spring when the frost melted, it leaked into the dwelling, resulting in water damage to the ceilings. Do you believe there is coverage for the insured's water damage?

Ohio Subscriber

You don't have dampness of atmosphere, you have water from frost or ice that melted. The water is what caused the loss, not the heat or cold. The heat caused the ice to melt but it wasn't necessarily an extreme of temperature. Ice melts as the temperature rises above freezing; 40 degrees isn't an extreme of temperature, but ice can start to melt at that temperature.

It is expected in winter (depending on the state) that the air will be colder than it is in the summer. The average temperature for an area may be 32 degrees but there are normal variances to either side of that; the range may be 28 to 42 degrees. So while water will freeze and you may have water damage from the thaw, you don't have damage due to extremes of temperature, the damage is still caused by water.