If you are looking to insure your first home, you are surely wondering what does standard home insurance cover. It is a common question and one that needs answered if you are to understand your coverage and get the policy you need to protect what is probably your largest personal investment. Learn the basics by taking a few minutes to read through this short article.
What Standard Home Insurance Doesn’t Cover
To understand what a standard homeowners insurance policy does cover, you first want to know what it does not cover. Especially risky perils such as flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes and mudslides are not covered under standard home insurance. If you live in an area where any of these perils are common, you will need to protect yourself by purchasing homeowners insurance especially for that peril that is separate from your standard policy.
Items Covered by a Standard Home Insurance Policy
The actual physical items that a standard home insurance policy covers will vary somewhat based upon your need. However, the standard portions of the policy are coverage for the dwelling (the home itself), the contents of the home and other structures on the property. The existence of other structures and their worth, along with the worth of your personal belongings in the home will determine the extent (monetary value) of coverage that is needed. Also, most standard policies will provide compensation for loss of use. If you must stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks while your home is unlivable, the policy will pay for the hotel bills according to the terms of the policy.
Liability Coverage on a Standard Home Insurance Policy
Most standard homeowners insurance policies also provide coverage for liability. This is in case someone is injured through your negligence or if there property is damaged by your property. For instance, a friend comes over to visit and parks in your driveway. While your friend is visiting, a tree limb falls from one of the trees on your property and lands on their car. The liability portion of your policy would pay for the repairs. Liability insurance may need to be increased if you have a pool, trampoline or a rather dangerous breed of dog.
Home Insurance Covered Perils
Now that you know what items are covered by a standard home insurance policy, it is time to talk about what they are covered from. Most policies have a standard list of dangers or perils for which the policy will cover damages caused by these events. They include:
- Civil riot
- Electrical accidents
- Explosions
- Falling objects/Aircraft
- Fire
- Freezing of water pipes
- Overflow from HVAC
- Septic backup
- Smoke
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Vehicle damage
- Volcanic eruption
Perils such as HVAC overflow, electrical accidents, pipe freezing and septic backup are covered only if it is accidental and not a result of your negligence in maintaining these systems.
Home Insurance Online Rate Quotes
As you shop around for the home insurance policy that fits your needs, keep in mind that you can, at any time in the process, take advantage of free online rate quotes. They take only a few minutes to get and allow you to quickly compare the rates of the best insurance companies around. By comparing rates, you can seek out the best price on the homeowners insurance policy you truly need.
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