You undoubtedly already know that your home and everything inside is covered by homeowners insurance, but your policy covers a lot more. Several practical aspects that might be included in your insurance are shown below.
1. Additional Living Costs If Your House Is Damaged
Let’s say that an electrical fire renders your home unlivable. You don’t need to pay for a hotel or stay on a friend’s sofa while you wait for repairs for months.
Use your loss of usage insurance instead. According to Justin Skipton, vice president of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, this provision of your insurance can assist you in “maintaining your normal standard of living.”
For instance, according to Skipton, your insurance could cover an extended-stay hotel or a rental apartment with a full kitchen and room for your children and pets. If your rental house is further from your place of employment or educational institution, you may also be entitled to reimbursement for additional transportation expenses.
According to Alaina Hixson, director of sales and operations at The Churchill Agency in Brentwood, Tennessee, your insurer frequently caps your spending at a specific portion of your dwelling coverage maximum.
Therefore, if your loss of use coverage is 20% and your structural insurance on your home is $200,000, you would have up to $40,000 to spend on living expenses while you are away from home. There can be time restrictions, such as 12 or 24 months.
Keep in mind that your expenses must be appropriate. According to Rich Johnson, director of communications for the Insurance Council of Texas, “If your $150,000 house burns down, you’re not going to be able to stay at The Ritz-Carlton or some high-end hotel for a year while you rebuild.”
2. Your Possessions Outside Of Your House
While on vacation, if someone gets into your hotel room and steals your belongings, your homeowner’s insurance may cover the cost of replacing those stolen items.
For instance, 10% of your personal property coverage limit may be your coverage level for goods outside your house. You will receive coverage for $10,000 of stuff outside of your home if your belongings are insured for $100,000.
This coverage may benefit situations other than travel, such as having items in a storage unit or a child living in a college dormitory. To find out what restrictions are in place, consult your agent or check your policy.
Remember that personal property coverage typically entails a deductible, which is deducted from the amount of your claim settlement. Therefore, if your $1,000 deductible is met, but someone takes your $500 laptop from a cafe, there is no incentive to file a claim.
3. Liability Claims And Court Cases
Few homeowners anticipate being sued, but your insurance provider may support you if you are. If a member of your household causes someone else’s injury or property damage, you are protected under the personal liability part of your policy. For example, a delivery guy stumbling on your snowy front stairs or your dog biting someone in the park.
According to Johnson, your insurance plan may pay for medical costs and missed wages if the injured party is forced to miss work. According to Hixson, your insurance provider will typically pay for your legal defense if the other party sues you rather than merely claiming you. Legal damages are also covered up to the insurance amount.
Remember that some insurance providers, according to Johnson, won’t cover dog breeds they view as aggressive, such as pit bulls. Furthermore, negligence or accidents are covered by liability insurance, not crimes or malicious harm to others.
4. Strange Losses
A few curiosities, such as space debris and gravestones in cemeteries, are also covered by homeowners insurance. You are protected, claims Johnson, even if a satellite crashes into your house. This is because damage from falling objects is covered by ordinary home insurance. This could also apply to meteors and asteroids.
Additionally, according to Skipton, your policy may cover headstones, mausoleums, and other burial markers you are in charge of. For instance, your coverage might cover repairs if you bought a memorial for your departed spouse who was vandalized.
Even additional surprises could be hidden in your own homeowner’s coverage. Contact your agent to learn more about them and confirm that you have the most critical range, advises Hixson. Remember to ask questions.
