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What homeowners and renters insurance is likely to cover
The typical homeowners insurance policy has two areas of coverage.
One is for real estate: your home and the things in it. The second is for liability; this covers you if you are liable for injury or property damage to another person, perhaps a friend or neighbor injured by a deadly firecracker. This latter coverage is generally available wherever your liability arises in the US
A renter’s policy is similar, but it doesn’t cover the physical structure of the home – just the things inside.
Fireworks caused $59 million in direct property damage in 2021, according to the most recent data from the National Fire Protection Association.
Firework-related damage would most likely result from a fire ignited by the pyrotechnics, said Robert Passmore, vice president of personal lines at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, a trade group.
Fireworks caused 12,264 reported fires in the US in 2021, according to NFPA. Twenty-eight percent of fires in 2014-2018 were reported on July 4.
Homeowners’ policies generally cover fire damage, whether to the house, patio furniture or other property, Passmore said. Policies generally have deductibles; policyholders are often on the hook for the first $500 to $1,000 in damages.
This is true whether the policyholder sets the fireworks or someone else, such as a neighbor or friend, does so, Passmore said.
“It happens every year and people should be aware that it can cause a lot of problems, especially if they live in an area prone to wildfires,” Passmore said of fireworks fires.
Policies may also cover other damage, such as a broken window from an errant projectile, he added.
Fireworks-related injuries have also “increased significantly” over the past 15 years, with 10,200 fireworks-related injuries reported by 2022, according to NFPA. Liability insurance can cover a policyholder if they are legally liable for such an injury, experts said.
Illegal fireworks may not be covered
But as is often the case with insurance, there are exceptions.
Insurance policies generally contain exclusions. The fine print outlines instances where the insurer would not pay a claim.
Insurers are more likely to use exclusions, and the details vary from policy to policy, Kochenburger said.
First, a policy probably won’t cover intentional behavior, such as damage from deliberately firing a bottle rocket at someone’s home, experts say.
In rare cases, a policy may also explicitly exclude cover for fireworks, according to experts.
You want to make sure that the fireworks you buy are legal in your country.
Peter Kokenburger
executive director of the insurance law program at the University of Connecticut
A more likely scenario: Your policy might not cover “unlawful or criminal acts” — meaning the insurance wouldn’t pay a claim for damage or injury from illegal fireworks, Kochenburger said.
Coverage in a fireworks-related scenario will depend on the circumstances, the type of fireworks, how they were used and how policy exclusions have been interpreted by state courts, he added. The exclusion also generally applies more often to liability claims and less often to personal property, Kochenburger said.
However, you avoid the risk and uncertainty by using legal fireworks.
“You don’t want to be tripped up on exclusions for wrongful or criminal acts,” Kochenburger said. “You want to make sure the fireworks you buy are legal in your country.”
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