Fireworks & Insurance: What You Need to Know Before Bonfire Night.

Fireworks are a staple for Bonfire Night, Diwali and New Year’s Eve. However, these dazzling displays come with real risks. From accidental fires to property and vehicle damage, fireworks can lead to unexpected costs that many worry their insurance won’t cover. 

Here, we’ll answer your questions about fireworks damage, insurance, and how to protect your property.

Can fireworks damage my property and vehicle?

It’s relatively uncommon for fireworks to damage property when used by professionals at an event. 

However, since it is possible to purchase fireworks for your own private use, there is always a chance that they can cause a fair amount of damage if in the wrong hands.

The Home Office estimates that out of the 258 incidents of fires ‘where the source of ignition was ‘fireworks’ from 2019 to 2020, the majority of the damages were caused to buildings, while just over a quarter of these were vehicles. 

While in surveys conducted by The Office for Products & Safety Standards, they estimated that 20% of their participants had encountered anti-social behaviour linked to fireworks from private use, with 7% reporting property damage and 4% needing to claim on their insurance.  

Even if it may not be a common occurrence, with so many upcoming celebrations involving public fireworks displays and even personal parties at home, it’s always worth checking where you stand should any damages occur.

Can I claim on my house insurance if a firework damages my home?

Home insurance policies will often allow you to claim in the event of risks like theft, fire, or accidental damage. Since firework-related damage can be intentional vandalism or an accident causing fire-related damage, you may be able to claim depending on your policy – as long as this damage is not due to your negligence. 

Usually, with home insurance, you can choose between contents coverage and building insurance or opt for both. Together, these two covers ensure that the structural elements of your property and possessions are protected against such unexpected events.

Let’s dive into how these covers work. 

Building insurance is a home insurance cover that usually includes permanent fixtures. What does that mean? This can encompass your home’s structure, fences, gates, and patios, forming part of its permanent fixtures. 

But what about your belongings inside your home? That’s where contents insurance comes in. This protects personal belongings within the home, such as furniture, electronics, and high-value possessions, if you have a higher cover policy, such as high-net-worth house insurance. 

Now, we’ll look at the following example to explore how these two home insurance covers work. Imagine a Guy Fawkes night event occurs near your home. Through negligence by the event organisers and genuine human error, this event accidentally damages your garden fence with stray fireworks, and the bonfire smoke seeps into your home, ruining your furniture. On top of that, your pets have become so stressed by the noise they’ve chewed up some very expensive furnishings. Clearly, you’re having some terrible luck in this imaginary scenario. So, how can your home insurance help you? 

In this situation, the damage to your garden fence usually would fall under building insurance, as it covers your property’s structure and permanent fixtures.

On the other hand, furniture ruined by smoke inside would generally be covered by contents insurance, as it protects your personal belongings inside the home and sometimes in the garden. 

Unfortunately, the chewed-up expensive furniture would not be a viable claim. Many home insurance policies will not cover damages by your domestic animals as they are your responsibility. On a positive note, some pet insurance policies may cover damage to a third party’s belongings. So, if Fido damages someone else’s property, double-check your pet’s policy schedule!

However, it’s important to note that this is just a hypothetical example and that your policy may differ. Not all contents and buildings covered by a home insurance policy are identical. The level of coverage varies between insurers and policies, so to know exactly what you can claim for on your insurance, you would need to double-check what your insurer covers you for in your policy schedule and the accompanying policy booklet. 

Does car insurance cover damage from fireworks?

Car insurance policies generally cover various types of damage, including accidents, vandalism, and, in some cases, unexpected events like fireworks damage. 

As always, it’s important to check your policy schedule to find out what you’re covered for. While comprehensive insurance often includes fireworks damage as part of accidental damage coverage, some policies may only partially cover such events, depending on the insurer.

Unsure of how to check your schedule for your coverage level? Read our guide: How Do You Read & Understand an Insurance Policy Schedule?

Like with home insurance above, let’s use an example of when you could claim for firework damage on your car insurance. Imagine you park your car near a public fireworks display, and a stray firework accidentally lands on your car, causing scratches, dents, or even burns to the paintwork. To add further insult to injury in this hypothetical situation, a party-goer from the event has even decided to vandalise your vehicle, too!

This damage would usually be covered if you have comprehensive car insurance. Comprehensive car insurance is the most extensive type, covering damage to your car regardless of fault. This usually includes protection from damage to your vehicle and windows from fire, vandalism, and other unpredictable incidents. 

As we mentioned above with our home insurance example, the coverage will vary between insurers. Still, most comprehensive policies normally protect against fire-related damage and accidental impacts caused by fireworks. Meanwhile, if your insurance includes protection against malicious damage, you would likely be able to claim for the vandalism caused during the event.

However, this scenario would be a disaster for motorists without comprehensive coverage or at least Third-Party Fire & Theft. Third-party-only policyholders would be left out of pocket, with huge expenses to repair firework damage in this situation.

Our Bonfire Night Checklist.

With a good understanding of your insurance coverage, you can enjoy fireworks with peace of mind, knowing you’re prepared if the unexpected happens. 

A bit of preparation goes a long way, so we’ve decided to create a bonfire night checklist to help you get ready:

• Review your coverage to ensure your home and car have the right level of protection. Ensure your buildings and contents insurance cover accidental damage from fires or other fireworks-related incidents.
• Plan ahead with parking and tell your neighbours if you want to enjoy fireworks in the garden. Not only does this prevent your and your neighbours’ vehicles from being in ‘the drop zone’ of your fireworks, but it can also mean they’ll prepare their pets for the noise, too. 
• Protect your pets from the noise to avoid damages not covered by your policy. There are plenty of calming sprays and treats to help your furry friends stay calm during fireworks events. Many pet owners swear by classical music to cover the noise, and radio station Classic FM even has its very own programme for pets every year for Guy Fawkes Night.
• If you’re going to a fireworks event, the organisers should ideally have considered the parking distance. Check your car insurance policy’s level of coverage, just in case something unexpected happens.
• Contact us to adjust your cover if you’re worried about firework-related damage. We may be able to adjust your level of coverage or find an additional element to ensure you have the right protection in place. Call our team on 0800 377 7390, and we’ll gladly help, as always.