【Typhoon Home Insurance】Wind-driven leaks or broken windows—covered? Get a clear overview of indoor and outdoor protection.

In recent years, extreme weather in Hong Kong has become increasingly frequent, and the chances of super typhoons and torrential rain hitting the city have risen accordingly. Every summer storm season, even if households take all possible windproof measures, such as taping windows with duct tape and keeping doors and windows tightly shut, there is still a chance that homes may suffer leaks or even shattered glass due to strong winds and heavy rain. After a typhoon, repairs to the flat and losses to personal belongings can easily result in a significant financial hit.

In fact, a comprehensive home insurance policy can transfer these unpredictable risks brought about by extreme weather to the insurer. However, home insurance policies come with many terms and conditions; when a typhoon causes various home-related accidents, are they actually covered? In this article, 10Life will explain in detail the scope of home insurance protection under a typhoon, covering both indoor and outdoor situations as well as third-party liability.

In the face of a typhoon, residents should take appropriate windproof measures, including protecting fragile items such as glass and moving outdoor items indoors. Provided that residents have made adequate windproof preparations, household insurance will generally provide cover for fixed fragile fixtures damaged by a typhoon, such as glass windows.

It is worth noting that many homes now have large glass balconies, or are even designed with full-height glass panels. In adverse weather or special circumstances, such designs can significantly increase the likelihood of glass breakage. In such cases, it is important to distinguish between the cover provided under fire insurance and household insurance. Fire insurance mainly covers the building structure, whereas household insurance focuses on household contents inside the home.

If the glass in a residence breaks, residents should first determine whether the glass forms part of the original developer’s handover standard for the building. If it is original equipment, then as part of the building structure, a claim should be made under fire insurance; conversely, if the glass was installed or modified later by the owner, it is very likely to fall within the scope of household insurance cover.

On the other hand, typhoons are often accompanied by heavy rain. If flooding occurs at home and causes electrical appliances to be damaged, most home insurance policies will also cover the relevant losses. However, policyholders are advised to notify the insurer before carrying out any repairs, so as to understand its claims position before deciding whether to proceed with the repairs.

It should be noted that if the loss indoors involves human negligence, home insurance may not necessarily provide cover. For example, if a resident forgets to close the windows while away from home, resulting in indoor flooding or shattered glass, such situations are usually not covered. Therefore, residents should endeavour to implement typhoon protection measures in their daily lives to reduce the risk of loss.

Power outages are uncommon in Hong Kong, but typhoons may trigger sudden building-wide blackouts, causing household electrical appliances to stop working properly. For example, if a power outage causes the food in your fridge to spoil, this is generally covered by standard home insurance.

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For village house residents, even if windproof measures are well implemented, some items still cannot be moved indoors, such as bicycles, which must face the direct impact of a typhoon. If this results in damage, it will depend on the type of home insurance purchased by the policyholder, as the scope of cover also varies.

If the policyholder has purchased village house home insurance, relevant cover will be provided, subject to the policy terms and conditions. Conversely, if the policyholder has purchased residential home insurance, no cover will be provided. 

Typhoons often have a greater impact on village houses. If a village house unit includes a rooftop, strong winds may blow away items on the rooftop. In fact, most home insurance policies provide cover for legally fixed items on the rooftop, such as a lawful and fixed rooftop awning. By contrast, home insurance may not cover non-fixed items on the rooftop, such as movable items like potted plants and barbecues. However, the policyholder can pay an additional premium to extend the basic cover and add protection for specific non-fixed items.

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In addition to indoor and outdoor situations, home insurance also provides third-party liability coverage. If a residential unit is affected by a typhoon and items such as windows are blown off and fall elsewhere, causing property loss to others or even injury or death, the third-party liability cover under home insurance may come into effect, with the compensation limit of individual products reaching up to HK$10 million. However, the cover is subject to the condition that the item blown off is a fixed item; if it is an unfixed item such as a potted plant, third-party liability may not be covered.

Another more unusual example is if water leakage in the home floods the building lift, causing damage to the lift, the relevant repair costs may also be covered by home insurance.  

However, some third-party liability is not covered under home insurance. For example, if a typhoon causes an exposed water pipe on the exterior of a building to burst, or leads to concrete spalling from the building’s outer wall and even injures pedestrians, these are the building’s liability and do not fall within the scope of home insurance cover.

3 Essential Tips for Insurance Claims After a Typhoon

If you unfortunately suffer a loss during a typhoon, remember the following steps, which can help speed up the claims process:

• Take photos immediately: Before clearing up the scene, be sure to take photos from multiple angles of the damaged property and the condition of the unit, as clear evidence.
• Keep the damaged items: Do not rush to throw away water-damaged furniture or electrical appliances. The insurer may require an assessor to visit your home to inspect and evaluate the loss.
• Keep repair quotations and receipts: If emergency repairs are needed (such as securing a shattered window), please keep all repair quotations and receipts, and submit them to the insurer together with the receipts for the damaged property purchased.

If you buy home insurance only after a typhoon warning is issued (such as the No. 1 Standby Signal), is it still in time?

Usually not. Most insurers stipulate that if the Observatory has already issued a tropical cyclone warning at the time of application, any loss caused by that typhoon will be classified as an “excluded item”, even if it is only the No. 1 signal. Therefore, home insurance should be arranged in advance, before any risk arises.

Is home insurance the same as fire insurance?

No. Fire insurance (building structure insurance) covers the unit’s “shell” (such as walls, floors and ceilings), whereas home insurance covers the “contents” inside the unit (such as furniture, electrical appliances and personal belongings), as well as third-party liability. The two are complementary.

To learn more about home insurance products,compare over 30 home insurance plans on the market to find the best one. You can also quickly see what each home insurance policy covers, the compensation limits and premiums, with actuarial ratings specially provided.

Further reading
[Home Insurance Comparison 2026] Which home insurance is the best? A complete guide for homeowners and tenants (with exclusive actuarial ratings)

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.