While mild weather has been the norm across much of the countryso far this winter, the recent ice storms and record snowfall inthe Pacific Northwest remind us that damaging winter weather isjust waiting to make its mark.

A common problem following snow and ice storms is ice damming.Ice forms along the edge of a roof or in the gutters and preventsmelting snow from draining properly. Water backs up under theshingles and can leak into the structure, causing interiordamage.

Is this type of damage covered by property policies?

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Under the ISO commercial-property special causes of loss form,in the limitations section, the form excludes coverage for damage“resulting from rain, snow, sleet, or ice” to the interior of abuilding or property contained in it. However, it gives back suchcoverage if the damage is caused by the “thawing of snow, sleet, orice on the building or structure.” Since ice damming occurs whensnow or ice thaws but cannot properly drain, such damage would becovered under a form with this type of provision.

In the homeowner's named-perils forms, there must first be windor hail damage to the exterior of the dwelling that creates anopening before damage to the interior or contents caused by snow orsleet is covered. The peril provides no coverage for such losses assnow entering the home through an open window, or a water stain onthe ceiling or wall due to a leaky roof (unless the leak was causedby the windstorm). An advantage to the HO 00 03 open-perils form isthat while coverage for personal property is excluded, coverage forthe dwelling is not.