Most people don’t understand every element of their homeowner’s insurance policy. Insurance can be complex and having a good insurance agent is helpful in understanding your policy. This is why you need an agency that you can trust. Because they don’t know what is covered, many people assumed that their policy covers anything that would happen to their home. But this often isn’t the case. Here are the few disasters that typically aren’t covered by most homeowner insurance policies.
- Flood
This is probably the most often assumed coverage, but it actually is rarely included in a normal policy. Flood policies are usually separate. That means if you aren’t aware of two different policies, most likely you don’t have flood insurance. Another issue related to flooding is that generally, the average consumer doesn't know what counts as a flood. Most people think of floods as a huge event, similar to the flooding in Huston earlier this year. However, these rare occurrences and usually a flood counts as rising water. Your policy will have the definition of what they count a flood as. Talk to your insurance agent if you are worried about this.
- Earthquake
This is timely because of the large earthquake that happened off of the coast of Alaska. Earthquake coverage is similar to flooding. Basically, any earth movement is not covered by the standard homeowner’s policy. This does mean that earthquakes aren’t the only type of earth movement not covered. To be protected against earth movements, you usually need to have a separate policy specifically for this. Keep in mind that this policy will also cover unstable or subsided land that could actually damage your home without an earthquake.
- Normal Wear and Tear
The purpose of homeowners insurance is to cover damage that is done to your home or property. This means damage that is unexpected or out of control. Because of this restriction, the damage that is caused by lack of maintenance or age is not going to be covered. Understanding that a home insurance policy is not a home maintenance warranty, is important. You are responsible for protecting and maintaining your home. However should something major that is out of your control happen, then your insurance policy will cover it.
- War
This might be something you have never thought of before, but most insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by military action or war. This includes all war and doesn’t matter if it is a declared war or not. Hopefully here in America, we won’t have to worry about damage to our homes because of war.
As you can see there are some disasters that can happen to your home that won’t be covered under a standard insurance policy. But there are separate policies for almost all of these perils. We want to make sure that all homeowners understand what their policy does and doesn’t cover.
