Whether you are buying your first home or have been a property owner for years, understanding what your home insurance covers is essential. Let’s dive into what standard home insurance covers and what it often does not.
What does home insurance cover?
Home insurance (also known as homeowner’s insurance) is a type of property insurance that provides financial protection against damage to your home and personal belongings, as well as liability for accidents that occur on your property. Coverage includes:
- Dwelling coverage: This protects the structure of your home from events like fire, windstorms, or vandalism.
- Other structures: Most standard policies cover detached structures on your property. This might include a detached garage, a shed, a fence, or a guesthouse. This coverage is often 10% of your total dwelling coverage.
- Personal property coverage: This helps protect your belongings inside the home. This includes items like furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances, and more.
- Loss of use: If your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered event, your policy may cover temporary housing and other necessary living expenses. This includes hotel stays, restaurant meals, and even laundry services while your home is being repaired or rebuilt.
- Personal liability coverage: Protects you if you are legally responsible for causing injury to someone else or damaging their property.
What is not covered?
While home insurance covers many risks, it is not a one-size-fits-all policy. A standard policy typically will not cover:
- Flood damage: If you live in a flood-prone area, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy.
- Earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes: These losses often require an endorsement or separate policy.
- Lack of maintenance: Damage resulting from wear and tear or maintenance issues typically is not covered.
- Business-related losses: If you operate a business out of your home, losses related to the operations of your business will not be covered under a standard home policy unless you have additional coverage for that purpose.
Let’s Talk
Taking the time to review your coverage now can prevent major headaches later. For a free consultation, contact one of our experienced Avery Hall agents today at 410-742-5111 for Salisbury, 302-536-9470 for Seaford, 302-316-6565 for Selbyville, and 302-684-3413 for our Milton office.