What Does Home Insurance Cover and Exclude?

Insurance causes you think about all the bad things that may happen with your home. While it sounds pessimistic to dwell on the occurrences that may or may not take place, thinking about these things keeps you protected when life throws surprises your way. 


Protecting your home from theft or damage is crucial and owning a good home insurance policy can offer peace of mind. Although, you may be questioning exactly what this insurance covers and excludes. 


What Does Home Insurance Cover?  


Standard home insurance policies cover damage to your home and your belongings in unfortunate events such as vandalism, storms, theft or fire. 


In addition, if someone gets hurt at your home or in your yard, homeowners insurance provides coverage for liability expenses. This is helpful should the person injured decide to take you to court because of their injuries. 


Some homeowners insurance policies also cover belongings outside of your home. For example, if your car insurance won’t cover an item stolen from inside of your vehicle, your home insurance might. Another instance where your home insurance can help with your belongings is if you are traveling and the airline loses an expensive laptop or piece of luggage. 


What Does Home Insurance Exclude? 


A standard homeowners insurance policy has a list of exclusions, which may include war, government action, bad repairs, flooding, defective maintenance, earth movements (earthquakes and sinkholes), power failure and nuclear hazard. 


Depending on the area you live in, windstorms may or may not be covered. This includes tornadoes and hurricanes, some policies will exclude these storms so it is important to thoroughly read your policy. 


Another thing that may be excluded with home insurance is water damage. Most of the time, water from below the ground, like a sewer that has backed up or ground flooding, is not covered. While water from above the ground, a busted pipe or rainwater, is covered. If you live in an area that is prone to earthquakes or flooding, you might want supplemental coverage. 


Get the coverage you need. Call Reidel Insurance Agency, Inc. at (614) 866-7799 for more information on home insurance.