What Does Home Insurance Cover?

Almost every homeowner has a home insurance policy put up some place. This document is left unattended or unread for years without most homeowners even considering the policy from the time they purchase the insurance until a disaster occurs and then the sad truth is that the damages are not covered in their home insurance policy. One such natural disaster that is usually not included in a home insurance policy is damages done by flooding. This small exclusion can even include the bad luck of a pipe bursting in the middle of winter when the pipe freezes or if your washing machine or dishwasher breaks and pours water all over the kitchen or laundry room and out into the carpeted areas of your home.

The best way to learn what is covered is of course by reading your home insurance policy. You will need to know this information if the unthinkable happens including storms that damage your roof, your dog breaks through the fence and destroys the neighbor's yard, or if a burglar steals your laptop from your hotel room while on vacation. Things may have changed since you purchase the policy and your personal property may have increased over the amount of monies you will be compensated to replace the items or you may built onto your home or property such as building a barn or other structure. If these items are not on the policy they will not be, covered if damaged. You may even have some things on your policy that you did not even realize were covered. Waiting for a disaster to happen before you learn what is covered and not covered can be devastating.

In general the most common things included in a home insurance policy are explained below, but remember these are what is normally covered, your policy may not cover all of these or it may cover even more, you will need to read your policy to ensure you know exactly what is or is not covered.

Coverage on most home insurance policies include the structure of the home including any structures attached to the home such as a garage, your lawn, shrubs, trees, flower beds, all unattached buildings such as barns, work sheds, gazebos, guest houses, pool house, and greenhouses.

If your home is damaged and is unlivable until repairs are completed, most home insurance policies will cover the living expenses needed for a specific period of time until the home can be repaired.

Yours and your family's personal belongings along with guest's belongings that are in your home at the time of the disaster are normally covered. Many times your personal belongings are also covered when taking them on vacation.

Other things that are normally covered include cemetery plots are often included in benefits as well as attorney fees, court costs, and medical bills for property damage or injury to others.

Certain regions of the US are vulnerable to weather conditions that others areas are not such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. In some cases, your policy may not cover such disasters so you will need to learn if these should be added to your policy.