What is covered by your home owners insurance?

Discussion in Home & Property Insurance started by Pat • Jun 11, 2012.

  1. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    Check your policy to make sure you know what is covered, you maybe in for a surprise. If you have a water overflow in your house when you call your insurance company do not tell your insurance company that you had a flood in your house unless you have flood insurance coverage on your home.
     
  2. novasparker

    novasparkerActive Member

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    Every policy is different. Most policies will have some basic hazard coverage, but most won't include flood insurance or earthquake insurance, so if you live in an area where you might be prone to these types of situations, make sure that your primary coverage covers it or purchase additional policies to make sure you're covered.
     
  3. sergiu23

    sergiu23Active Member

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    In my country you are only forced to do the basic , low-limit insurance of 20€ per year. It covers earthquakes and floods I think. I don't know if fires are covered, I think not. The maximum limit is 20,000€, it's very low, but still it is better than nothing.
     
  4. dissn_it

    dissn_itActive Member

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    It does depend on your particular policy. Flood insurance does usually cost extra but the coverage is for damage done by a natural flood. A sudden water overflow in your home due to pipes leaking should be covered by the regular policy, check with your agent to be certain. Now a slow leak over time that causes damage is a whole other story. That is the type of leak that most policies won't cover, again, talk to your agent.
     
  5. pafjlh

    pafjlhActive Member

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    What do you mean by a slow leak that causes damage over time? Does this include a ceiling that could cave in due to water damage? I have to ask because this is an issue that I could be facing at the moment. I have several leaks in my home and one of the areas the ceiling seem to be buckling and this is concerning us, that the ceiling could give in that area. Should I check my home policy to see if such a thing would be covered?
     
  6. GulfWarVet71

    GulfWarVet71New Member

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    I think that it'd be best for everyone that owns a home, to call your agent and go over your policy. It's best to this before something happens and then you aren't in the dark. I just went over mine the other day since I was in for some auto questions (my son was in a minor accident) anyway. It was stated that I have fire protection on the dwelling of $200k and the insurance actually covers 120% of the dwelling damage costs for repair or rebuild. My house is valued at $230k so with this 120% coverage, I am fully covered in the event of a fire or accident that is covered under the policy. I'd highly recommend that you know what your coverage is.
     
  7. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    It is strongly is strongly suggested that a review of your homeowners policy is done when every something changes in your home, like an addition to your property. I had a client the had property damage during a storm and elected to add a generator to the property to avoid future power outages. In area having sump pump coverage is very important, if a home does not have sump pump coverage and there is a storm and water gets into the home from the ground the may be a chance there is not coverage for the damage.

    Another thing to take into consideration is content coverage. The items in your home like the art, cloths, computers and like may be covered to a certain dollar amount, check your policy.

    A leak that has been going on for some time and not repair, results in the ceiling caving in may not be covered by your insurance because it was not a sudden lose, you had know of the situation and choose not to fix it. Have your agent go over your policy in a language that you understand. Do not allow the agent to talk to you in a manner you do not understand what is being said. If you do not understand what is said have them stop and say it again like they are talking to a two year old.
     
  8. super7

    super7New Member

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    That is a very important question. Just recently, in the NY/NJ area most people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy were surprised to find out that they were not covered by their insurance policies. Some insurance companies claimed that because there was no rain with the wind, it could not be classified as a hurricane. What caused the damage was a storm surge which caused the flooding. Therefore, because they did not have flood insurance, they were not covered.
    Be sure to read the fine print and have your insurance representative spell out what you are covered for and what you are not.