There is more to your home than just a roof over your head. It might be your most valuable possession, and in the event of a calamity, you probably won’t be able to replace it alone.
For this reason, it’s critical to safeguard your property with the appropriate homeowner’s insurance policy. In case a natural disaster or other event damages your home and personal belongings, it provides coverage. This type of insurance can also pay in the case of accidents or personal injury. But there are also things and events homeowners insurance does not cover.
In this guide, we’ll answer the question, what does homeowners insurance cover?
What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?
Homeowners insurance will cover your house and possessions. It also insures the cost of necessary repairs from natural disasters like fires, hail, and tornadoes. It may also cover unprecedented events like burst pipes. Other things homeowners insurance covers are losses incurred from theft or vandalism to your possessions.
A homeowners policy can pay for legal defense or medical expenses for someone injured on your land. In the event that a covered disaster prevents you from staying at home, your homeowner’s policy may pay for lodging in a rental apartment or hotel. It may also pay for additional living expenses.
The 6 Standard Types of Home Insurance Coverage
Understanding the subtle differences between various coverage options is important to safeguard your home from a wide range of potential threats and uncertainties. Knowing these popular types will help you make well-informed decisions about protecting your home and possessions if you’re a first-time homeowner or want to review your current coverage. Because it is expensive, this knowledge and learning about methods to reduce home insurance costs may help in the long run.
1. Coverage for Your Home’s Structure or Dwelling
The first coverage section of your homeowner’s insurance covers your home and any attached structures, like decks, garages, or fences. Typically, a policy will protect damage to your house from various risks like hurricanes or fires.
On the flip side, the homeowner’s policy typically does not cover the following causes of loss: seismic flooding, insufficient maintenance, harm caused by rodents or insects, normal wear and tear, slow degradation, or damage.
2. Other Structure Home Insurance Coverage
Other structures coverage is part of a homeowners insurance policy that assists in paying for repairs or replacement of structures other than your home. This includes items such as a fence, detached garage, gazebo, and in-ground swimming pool if a covered risk damages them.
The coverage for your other structures is usually covered for the same disasters that your home is, including fire, hail, wind, theft, and volcanic eruption. Other structures on your property are generally insured up to ten percent of the dwelling coverage amount listed on your homeowner’s insurance policy.
3. Coverage for Your Personal Property
What does homeowners insurance cover? One of those things is your personal property. This refers to personal possessions, such as clothes, furniture, technological devices, and appliances that aren’t built in. Usually, the coverage amounts to between 50% to 70% of your home’s structure insurance.
There are two classifications of loss settlements for your personal property: replacement cost and actual cash value. The replacement cost covers the item as new at the time of the claim. The actual cash value means the replacement cost of the item minus depreciation.
Making a home inventory is the most effective method to determine if you have enough coverage. Some people make a video of their belongings. Pricey goods like cutlery, jewelry, artwork, and collectibles are all protected, but there are typically dollar limits if they are stolen. An option is to obtain a special personal property endorsement or floater and insure the item for its legally appraised worth to fully cover the cost of the insurance on these items.
4. Coverage for Loss of Use
Included as standard in policies for homeowners, renters, condos, and mobile homes, loss of use coverage offers financial assistance if you cannot use your home due to an approved cause. There are three parts to it:
- Extra Living Expenses – Pay for hotel stays and other fees while doing maintenance around the house.
- Prohibited Usage – Assists in cases where your property is inaccessible, even without physical damage, such as police blockades or restrictions on returning home following a hurricane.
- Fair Rental Value – Makes up for lost rental income if you lease out a portion of your area. Because of the latter’s popularity, “loss of use” and “additional living expenses” are sometimes used synonymously.
5. Coverage for Liability Protection
Liability protection protects you from lawsuits alleging that you or your family members caused property damage or bodily harm to other individuals. It also covers harm that your pets may have caused. Your policy’s liability section covers court costs, awards, and legal defense costs up to the maximum amount specified in your policy documentation.
Additionally, your policy gives no-fault medical coverage, so if a friend or neighbor suffers an injury at your residence, they just need to send their medical costs to your insurance carrier. Paying for them yourself removes any potential legal liability. However, it does not extend to the healthcare needs of your loved ones or your pets.
6. Coverage for Medical Payment
Aside from the things mentioned above, if you’re wondering what homeowners insurance covers, it also includes small medical expenses, such as those from pet-related mishaps or trips and falls. This may include ambulance transports, hospital expenses, MRIs, and further diagnostic procedures. Aside from that, this may also cover fees for doctors and surgeons, physical medicine, prosthetic apparatus, urgent care for teeth, and burial costs should the injury be fatal.
If someone who does not reside with you gets injured on your property, medical payment coverage can assist in paying for their treatment. It also pays out if someone is hurt outside of your house by you, a family member, or a pet. It is sometimes called “good neighbor” coverage, MedPay, and Coverage F.
The Bottom Line About What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover
To summarize, knowing what homeowners insurance covers is essential to protecting your house and possessions. Homeowners insurance is vital to reducing risks and guaranteeing peace of mind, covering anything from damage to your home and any associated construction to providing financial support during relocation.
By becoming familiar with these coverage options, you may better protect your property and home by making educated decisions and customizing your policy to meet your needs.
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Tammy Danan
Tammy is a journalist and creative content writer with over 10 years of experience. Driven by curiosity, her work explores how digital marketing, SaaS, and varied creative pursuits intersect with everyday life.She focuses on creative storytelling and tackles how the search for a more meaningful life is changing the way we work.Tammy will meow at all stray cats, and won't start the day without an iced Spanish latte.