Things You May Not Know About Homeowner's Insurance

It's important to carry homeowner's insurance when you own a home or you could lose a significant investment if your home is damaged. The insurance helps pay for repairs or replacements after a storm or disaster. Homeowner's insurance pays for other things too, and your policy may not pay for something you expect to be covered, so it's essential to understand the type of coverage you buy. Here are important things you may not know about homeowner's insurance. 

Coverage You Might Need To Add

A basic homeowner's insurance policy usually covers damage by fire, storms, and vandals. However, a basic policy probably won't include flood or earthquake damage. If you live in a flood zone or an area where earthquakes are possible, you'll want insurance that covers you for these disasters. That means you'll need to add them to your basic policy.

Pet Coverage Might Depend On Your Dog's Breed

Your insurance company may not want to insure certain types of dogs. If your dog bites someone, causes someone to trip, or jumps up and knocks someone over, the person could be injured and need medical care. The liability coverage in your insurance policy covers accidents like this, but they may not cover certain dog breeds. Be sure you understand whether your dog is covered or if you need additional coverage for your pet.

Claims Can Be Denied Because Of Neglect

It's important to learn about things that will cause a claim to be denied. One of those is neglect. If you don't keep up with home repairs, your claim could be denied. For instance, if you don't keep up with roof repairs and your roof is in bad shape, the insurance policy may not pay to replace your roof if it's torn off in a bad storm.

Each claim is looked at individually, and if it appears the damage could have been prevented through normal maintenance, your claim could be denied.

Claims Don't Always Need To Be Filed

Just because you have homeowner's insurance, it doesn't mean you have to use it. If your deductible is larger than the claim you're filing, you may want to reconsider since your insurance company won't need to pay out anyway.

Homeowner's insurance is usually reserved for catastrophic damage such as the need for a new roof after a hailstorm. However, if you need to replace something essential of lesser value, such as an HVAC, and you don't have the funds, you may want to file a claim so you can get the money to get your HVAC replaced quickly.

There could possibly be repercussions to filing a claim. Your insurance rate might increase and you might even lose your insurance and have difficulty finding coverage elsewhere. This isn't likely to happen after a single claim, but if you make a habit of filing smaller claims, you might run into trouble with maintaining coverage.

Homeowner's insurance can be complicated, so don't take anything for granted and think you know how your policy works. Talk to an agent and get all of your questions answered so you know what's covered and when it's a good idea to file a claim. Contact a local homeowner's insurance service, such as Ronald H. Krupa Insurance Agency, to learn more. 

Share