What does your homeowners insurance policy cover?

Your homeowners insurance policy is in place to provide protect against potential loss or damages due to sudden disasters, such as accidents & theft. Typical homeowners insurance policies will include 4 types of coverage.

• Homeowners insurance will provide coverage for the structure of your home

• Homeowners insurance will cover your personal belongings 

• Homeowners insurance provides liability protection

• Homeowners insurance will provide coverage for additional living expenses

The insurance policy on your home is designed to cover your home and personal belongings if they are stolen or damaged. Although please keep in mind, there are certain types of property damage that will not be included in your homeowners insurance policy. Below we go over each type of coverage in greater detail.

Coverage for the homes structure

If your home is damaged by way of hurricane, fire, lightening, hail, or another disaster your homeowners insurance policy may pay for repairs or to rebuild the house. Depending on the policy it may also cover detached structures such as garages and sheds.

Your typical homeowners insurance policy will not cover damages caused by a flood or earthquake. If you need coverage for these natural disasters you should look into a flood or earthquake insurance policy. 

Personal belongings coverage

Your personal belongings are covered if they are stolen or destroyed by an insured disaster. This includes, jewelry, furniture, electronics and other items of value. Some homeowners insurance companies provide a few hundred dollars worth of coverage for unauthorized credit card use. Remember to include your plants as well. Trees, shrubs, and other plants are insurable. Although these is no protection if they die due to disease from neglect. So make sure you water your plants. 

Homeowners liability protection 

Homeowners insurance liability coverage will protect you in the event of a lawsuit. If you or one of your family members causes damage or injury you may be covered under your homeowners insurance policy. For example; if your child broke a neighbors mailbox, your homeowners insurance policy may cover it. If your child broke your mailbox, then you are not covered.

Your policy may also carry no-fault medical coverage, so if someone is injured in your house they can simply submit their medical bills to your insurance company. 

Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage

Additional living expenses will pay for additional costs of living away from the home. This is effective if you do not live there due to some sort of damage from an insured disaster. It covers a wide variety of expenses, restaurant bills, hotel costs and other related living expenses that you may encounter from living away from your home. 

So what exactly does homeowners insurance cover?

There are a lot of questions regarding this topic. We wanted to make sure we fully covered it so we took the top 10 questions and answered them for you. If you have more questions please always feel free to contact an agent, they are always available to answer your questions.

#1 – Does homeowners insurance cover roof leaks

A standard home insurance policy may cover a roof leak if it was caused by a cover peril. If your leak was not caused by negligence and is a covered hazard under your policy you should be protected. If the damage is caused from lack of upkeep or general wear and tear you more than likely will not be covered. 

#2 – Does homeowners insurance cover mold

If you have mold that has developed from flooding you may not be covered. In situations like these you need flood insurance. If the mold is an issue due to a cover peril, you probably will be protected in this situation. Again, negligence is not covered. If you spot an issue early enough, get it taken care of and save yourself the headache. 

#3 – Does homeowners insurance cover water damage

Your homeowners insurance policy will cover various plumbing issues that are deemed to be sudden and accidental. This will include slab leaks and other plumbing related damage. General wear and tear is not covered in a typical homeowners insurance policy. 

#4 – Does homeowners insurance cover termite damage

More than likely, your homeowners insurance policy will not cover termite damage. Termites are thought to of be taken care of with proper upkeep, so this goes back to proper maintenance and fixing issues as they come up. 

#5 – Does homeowners insurance cover theft

Homeowners insurance can protect your home from theft and break ins. There are a handful of insurance coverages that will help you to recover from a break in. Dwelling coverage, and personal property coverage to name a couple. 

Dwelling coverage is going to help you in paying for repairs to the home. The damage has to be caused by a covered peril. For example a burglar break into your home and breaks a window, more than likely your homeowners insurance policy will cover this due to the fact it is a covered peril on most homeowners insurance policies. 

#6 – Does homeowners insurance cover plumbing

The standard homeowners insurance policy will not cover plumbing. Homeowners insurance policies are designed to cover you from issues caused by sudden and accidental events. Plumbing requires maintenance and upkeep to work correctly. What your policy may cover is water damage due to a cracked pipe. This would be the case as long as it is a covered hazard in your homeowners insurance policy.  

#7 – Does homeowners insurance cover dog bites

There is a good chance your homeowners insurance policy will cover dog bites. Please keep in mind it will only cover you up to the policy limits. With each homeowners insurance policy comes different limits but on average most are about $100,000. Medical costs from dog bites can be astronomical and often go way over that budget. Once your homeowners insurance runs it’s corse you will be stuck holding the rest of the bill. If you need advice on limits that are suitable for your lifestyle, please feel free to give us a call. Our agents would love to speak with you and help you out with your homeowners insurance needs. [click here to call an agent now]

#8 – Does homeowners insurance cover foundation repair

The foundation of your home is covered under your homeowners insurance policy. However, there are many causes of foundational damage that are not included in what’s actually covered.  For your reference it has to be a covered peril that created the damage. At that point there is a good chance you are covered. 

#9 – Does homeowners insurance cover tree removal

If you have a homeowners insurance policy on your home and a tree falls on your home and causes damage, there is a good chance you will be covered under a standard policy. If a tree falls into your driveway preventing you from utilizing it you may be able to get your insurance company to pay for it’s removal. 

#10 – Does homeowners insurance cover pipe replacement

The damage would have to be from a covered peril and be sudden and accidental. How the pipe broke is really what’s going to answer this question. If the pipe broke from a falling tree that was struck by lightening, you will more than likely be covered. Plumbing and pipes need maintenance and upkeep, the only way they can possibly be covered in this scenario is by a very unfortunate event. 

What is a covered peril in homeowners insurance?

A covered peril in short is an event that causes damage that the insurance company will cover. Below we go over a few of the most common ones;

• Fire and lightening

• Hail and windstorms 

• Riots and civil commotion

• Vehicles

• Explosion

• Smoke

• Aircraft

• Vandalism

• Theft

• Falling objects

• Snow, ice, sleet

• Freezing plumbing

• Volcanic eruption

What are some of the more common examples of what homeowners insurance will not cover

• Any type of earth movement. Earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes, mudslides etc

• Water damage from flooding

• Power failure

• War

• Nuclear hazards

• Governmental actions 

• Birds, vermin, rodents and insects

• Mischievous acts

• Mold or wet rot

Wrapping up, homeowners insurance can cover you for various hazards. It’s a great policy to have to protect your home. If you have further questions about homeowners insurance, the agents at Eugene C Yates Insurance Agency are experts at the subject and would love to take your call. Call us today for a fast and easy homeowners insurance quote! [click here to call an agent now]