THE SHORT ANSWER
A water pipe that freezes can burst and cause water damage. According to Konsumenternas, house insurance can pay for damage when water pipes freeze, and water damage from frozen pipes is normally paid for by holiday home insurance. This assumes you have followed the care requirements in the policy.
According to Insurance Sweden, water damage caused the largest costs in household insurance in 2025, with more than 3 billion kronor paid out. This guide shows where the rules on heating, water and checks are written, what happens if they are not followed and what to do first if a pipe has frozen. If your home is a tenant-owned apartment, also read the guide to water damage in a tenant-owned apartment. [2][1][7]
Keep these points in mind
- Freeze damage is normally paid for, if the care requirements were followed.
- If they were not, the payout can be reduced or refused.
- The excess for freeze damage is often higher than for other water damage.
STEP BY STEP
How to check your cover
Find the safety rules on freezing
Look in the terms for the section on safety requirements, often under leaks or water damage. It states what you must do to stop the pipes freezing. Under the Insurance Contracts Act, a safety requirement is a rule on certain ways of acting or certain devices meant to prevent or limit damage.
The requirements differ between insurers. In one insurer's pre-purchase information for house insurance from October 2025, the house must be kept warm enough to prevent freezing, and the main water valve must be shut off during an absence of more than 14 days. The same document requires regular checks, so that you notice early if the heating has stopped working or a leak has started.
[4][6]Decide whether the house stays warm or is drained
A house that stands empty can either be kept heated or be drained of water. Konsumenternas writes that insurers want a house to keep a base temperature of about 15 degrees. If you lower the temperature further, you may be seen as careless unless you also take other steps against freezing.
Konsumenternas lists the steps: shut off the main water valve, drain the water pipes and leave the taps open, drain the water heater and pumps, and flush the toilet so the cistern empties. Pour antifreeze into the sink, washbasin, floor drains and toilet, and drain the outdoor tap. In one insurer's holiday home terms from December 2025, the water must be shut off during longer absences, and in winter all water systems must be drained and any remaining water treated with antifreeze.
[1][5]Arrange checks while the house is empty
Konsumenternas writes that someone needs to look in on the house regularly while you are away, so that damage is found quickly. In the holiday home terms above, the property must be checked at least once a quarter. Read which interval your own terms state.
The person who checks the house for you may count as you. In the holiday home terms, someone who looks after the property with your consent is treated as you when the insurer assesses whether the rules were followed. Go through the requirements with that person, and note when the house was last checked.
[1][5]If a pipe has frozen: limit the damage and report it
When damage occurs or is about to occur, the Insurance Contracts Act requires you to do what you reasonably can to prevent or reduce it. The holiday home terms above give the example of closing the main valve when water is escaping. Under the same terms, do not throw away damaged items before you have spoken to the insurer, and do not start repairs before the insurer has approved them.
The damage is not always visible at once. One insurer wrote in March 2026 that freeze damage is often found only when temperatures rise and the water is turned back on. The same insurer describes a check: read the water meter with all taps closed, and if it moves, water may be leaking somewhere. Report the damage to the insurer as soon as possible.
[4][5][8]
What happens if the rules were not followed?
Under the Insurance Contracts Act, the payout may be reduced to what is reasonable if the insured person did not follow a safety requirement. The reduction takes into account the link to the damage, any intent or carelessness and the other circumstances. Konsumenternas writes that the payout for freeze damage can be cut by 25 percent if the care requirements were not followed, and that it can be cut further or refused entirely in cases of serious carelessness.
The holiday home terms above set a deduction of 25 percent as a rule when the safety requirements on water were not followed. The deduction can be larger in serious cases and smaller if the failure was less serious. Konsumenternas also writes that people whose pipes freeze during a longer power cut usually receive a payout with no reduction for carelessness.
[4][1][5][3]The excess, the pipe and the water
The excess is often higher for freeze damage. Konsumenternas writes that it is usually higher than for other water damage and can in some cases reach 20 percent of the cost of the damage. In the holiday home terms above it is 10 percent of the cost, at least 4 000 and at most 10 000 kronor. Insurers also usually make deductions for age on surfaces, pipes and fittings that are not new, see the guide to excess and deductions for age.
Water damage cover applies to water that escapes unexpectedly from pipes and connected appliances. According to Konsumenternas, house insurance can pay for both the damage to the house and the cause of the damage itself, such as a leaking pipe. Terms can split this up in different ways, so read where the pipe and the thawing are placed in your policy:
- The damage the water causes to floors, walls and joists: read the section on leaks or water damage.
- The broken pipe: in the holiday home terms above, the fitting that leaked is not covered by the leak cover but by a separate section for installations.
- Thawing a frozen pipe: in the same terms, that cost is not paid.
Read the terms next to the policy document
Keep the policy documents, terms and pre-purchase information for the house and the holiday home in My Forsio. You then have the documents in one place, and each detail shows the passage it came from, such as the safety rule on freezing or the excess for freeze damage. If the terms are missing from your documents, the requirement is shown as Not verified, not as confirmed absent. What house and holiday home insurance usually covers is described in the guide to house and holiday home insurance.
Forsio does not decide whether the care requirements were followed, whether damage is paid for or how large a deduction is. The insurer decides that. Forsio is not an insurance intermediary and does not provide insurance advice.
Fictional example
The cottage stands empty in January. Three things to read.
Kim closes the holiday home for the winter and reads the terms to see what applies.
- Rule when the house is unheated
- Water shut off and system drained
- Checks while the house is empty
- Not verifiedThe interval is not shown in the documents.
- Excess for freeze damage
- 10 percent of the costPotential gapHigher than the standard excess in the same policy.
The rule on water is known, and the excess is higher for freeze damage. How often the house must be checked needs confirming before Kim knows what the terms require.
Common questions
Does insurance pay for frozen pipes?
According to Konsumenternas, water damage from frozen pipes is normally paid for by holiday home insurance, and house insurance can pay when water pipes freeze and cause damage. The condition is that you followed the care requirements in the policy, for example on heating, shutting off the water and checks. Whether a breach of the rules matters is decided by the insurer in each case. [2][1]
What temperature must the house keep?
Your terms state it. Konsumenternas writes that insurers want a house to keep a base temperature of about 15 degrees, and that lowering the heat further can count as careless if other steps are missing. The requirement can also be written without a number: in one insurer's pre-purchase information, the house must be kept warm enough to prevent freezing. [1][6]
Must I shut off the water when I go away?
It may be required even if the house is heated. In one insurer's pre-purchase information for house insurance, the main valve must be shut off during an absence of more than 14 days. If the house is unheated, the same document requires the water to be shut off, pipes and tanks drained and any remaining water treated with antifreeze. Read what your own terms state. [6]
How much can the payout be reduced?
According to Konsumenternas, the payout for freeze damage can be cut by 25 percent if the care requirements were not followed, and further or entirely in cases of serious carelessness. The Insurance Contracts Act says the reduction must be reasonable, taking into account the link to the damage, among other things. If pipes freeze during a longer power cut, Konsumenternas says a payout is usually made with no reduction for carelessness. [1][4][3]
How large is the excess for freeze damage?
The terms state it. According to Konsumenternas, the excess for freeze damage is usually higher than for other water damage and can in some cases reach 20 percent of the cost of the damage. In one insurer's holiday home terms it is 10 percent of the cost, at least 4 000 and at most 10 000 kronor. Deductions for age may be added. [3][5]
Is water leaking in through the roof covered?
Normally not. According to Konsumenternas, house insurance normally does not pay for damage from water that runs into the house through the roof, the facade or the drainage. Several extended house policies include some payment for the resulting damage, but the roof or facade itself is not paid for. [2]
MY FORSIO
See what your terms require this winter.
Keep the insurance documents for your house and holiday home in My Forsio. Read safety rules, excesses and details that need confirming, with the passage each detail came from. Free for individuals.
Sources and references
Sources checked
This guide explains general principles of Swedish insurance. Your policy schedule and terms set out what applies to you.
- Konsumenternas: damage prevention tips for holiday homes
- Konsumenternas: water damage in house insurance
- Konsumenternas: avoiding freeze damage when lowering the heat (September 2022)
- Swedish Parliament: Insurance Contracts Act (2005:104), Chapter 4, Sections 6 and 7
- An insurer's holiday home insurance terms, December 2025
- An insurer's pre-purchase information for house insurance, October 2025
- Insurance Sweden: fewer claims for households, more for businesses (June 2026)
- An insurer's press release on freeze damage in holiday homes, March 2026