What Does Home Insurance Cover?

Whether you already have a homeowners insurance policy or you are looking for the right one for you, do you know what is in the typical policy and what that coverage means? If not, you're not alone. A lot of people have no idea what their insurance really covers. Unfortunately, many find out the hard way that things they though were covered are not.

Basic Insurance

What do you think your basic home insurance policy covers? Everything that could possibly happen to your home? Not quite. While many of the things you would expect to be covered by your homeowners insurance, like fire or theft damage, will be covered by the policy, there are other things you may think would be covered that aren't.

Windstorm Insurance

Many people who live in hurricane prone areas think their typical homeowners insurance will cover the price of repairing their home if they are the victim of a hurricane. However, many of the insurance companies that serve these areas insist that you have additional windstorm damage tacked on if you want to be covered for a hurricane.

Flood Insurance

What if your home were to flood? Think your regular home insurance will cover it? Not if you don’t have flood insurance. Flood insurance is almost always an additional coverage you have to tack on to your basic insurance policy. Even if you think your home is built high enough that it will not flood, consider what would happen if sewage was to back up into your home or rain poured in and damaged your home after a storm. Without flood insurance, you would be out of luck.

Earthquake

Do you live in an area where there are a lot of earthquakes? You want to make sure you have earthquake insurance to pay for any damage done to your home in the case of this type of natural disaster. Many insurance policies include earthquake damage, but not all of them. You should always double check if you live in an area that is prone to quakes.

The most important thing to keep in mind when you are purchasing homeowners insurance is that it is something that you need to make sure is done right before a disaster strikes. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a lot of damage to your home and without the money to repair your home and reclaim your life.

about the author:
Stephen Sikes
Steve Sikes is an MBA and writes articles on insurance and other financial products. To read other educational articles on insurance at the InsuredItAll Learning Center or to get free insurance quotes for auto, home, health, life or long term care insurance, you will want to visit www.InsuredItAll.com
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