Surprising Things Your Home Insurance Policy Covers

Andy — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 14:36:07 +0000

You know that home insurance policy covers your home. Do you know that your home insurance policy provides coverage for several things besides your home? This is a nice little surprise as many of us are used to finding out that our insurance policies don’t cover things we assumed it did.

For example, home insurance policies do not provide flood coverage. You will need to buy flood insurance to protect you from floods. Unfortunately, many people find out about this only after their home is flooded.

Here is a list of things your home insurance policy is likely to cover.

Student Property When Staying At A College Dorm

If you have students in college, and they are living in the college dorms, their personal property is covered by your home owner’s insurance. If they are living off-campus, they may need their own renter’s policy for coverage.

Libel And Slander

Everyone spends quite a bit of time commenting on social media posts these days. If you get sued for something you wrote or said about a person, your homeowner policy’s liability coverage will protect you.

Pet Related Accidents

The home owner’s policy provides liability coverage against damage caused by your pets. Let’s say your dog bites a guest, and the guest sues you. Your policy will provide coverage up to the liability limits of the policy.

Injured Guests

Let’s say your guest falls down the stairs and is injured. Your home insurance policy will cover damages if your guests are injured in your property.

Living Expenses

If your home becomes uninhabitable for some reason, your policy will pay for accommodation at a hotel or an apartment. Your home owner’s policy will also pay for additional expenses such as eating out at a restaurant.

Mandatory Building Upgrades

If you suffer damage to your property, when it’s rebuilt, it must be built up to the city or state code at the time. Your home insurance policy will pay for the necessary upgrades to bring your property up to the mandated code.

Drones

If you fly a drone for fun, and the drone gets lost or stolen or injures someone, you will be covered by your home insurance policy. When filing a claim if the drone is lost or stole, ensure that the value of the drone is more than your policy’s deductible.

Unauthorized Use of Credit And Debit Cards

If your credit card is stolen, you should contact your credit card provider first because credit cards provide fraud protection coverage. But your home insurance policy will act as a back up because these policies typically pay $500 per incident. Deductibles don’t apply in this case. Just like the credit card, home insurance will also cover debit cards and forged checks.

Miscellaneous Incidents

Do you know that if your kids in college get in trouble at their fraternities, any liability will be covered by the home insurance policy since their permanent address is their parent’s home address?

Bottom Line

Home insurance policies cover more than just your home. Knowing what’s covered, and what’s not covered will help you make informed decisions when something goes wrong. Always check with your agent or insurance company whether something is covered.

Financial Guide To Owning A Pet

Andy — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 02:28:56 +0000

Pet ownership comes brings us many benefits. Taking your dog for a walk every day helps you live a healthier life. Pets help you connect with friends and neighbors. For many people, having pets means never having to feel lonely. Pets also help reduce stress. If you have kids, you know that pets teach kids responsibility and give them the companionship they will remember throughout their life.

But pet ownership can be a burden on your finances. The lifetime cost of owning a pet is $15,000 to 20,000.

One-Time Expenses

There are one-time costs associated with adoption, spay/neuter, vaccination, and microchip. These costs can easily run between $500 to $1000. Consider adopting from a shelter instead of buying from a pet store. Not only is buying from a shelter cheaper, but you will also be helping the animals if you adopt from a shelter. If you are unwilling to train your pet, you may have to pay someone for training.

Annual Expenses

The on-going annual cost runs in the $500 to $1000 range, though it varies widely depending on the type of pet. Annual costs include expenses for food, doctor visits, vaccinations, medicines, and toys and grooming. These are on-going costs that you need to include in your monthly budget.

Investing Time (And Money) In Your Pet

Owning a pet also means investing time. For example, you need to walk your dog every day and take him or her to the vet periodically. If you are unable to walk your dog, for example, and you hire a dog walker, you will obviously incur additional expenses. Also, if you travel often, and have to leave your dog at a kennel. Kennel or pet-sitting costs can be very expensive. If you can get a neighbor or a friend to take care of your pets when you travel, you will save a lot of money.

Planning For Emergency Expenses

You also need to pay for emergency expenses. An unexpected accident or a surgery or a visit to ER costs thousands of dollars. It’s a good idea to have an emergency fund for your pets. Consider pet insurance if you think you cannot handle these unexpected expenses.

Pets can cause damage to property (especially carpets). Many apartments and hotels ask will ask you for a deposit if you bring pets into the property. You will also need to buy additional cleaning supplies for your home if you own pets.

Bottom Line

While owning pets has many benefits, there are financial implications you need to consider. One-time and annual costs can run up to $1000 or more each. Properly budgeting for these expenses will help you avoid surprises. Consider pet insurance and an emergency fund to navigate through the tough times that you will sometimes encounter.

Pets – Navigating Life's Money Mysteries

Surprising Things Your Home Insurance Policy Covers

Student Property When Staying At A College Dorm

Libel And Slander

Pet Related Accidents

Injured Guests

Living Expenses

Mandatory Building Upgrades

Drones

Unauthorized Use of Credit And Debit Cards

Miscellaneous Incidents

Bottom Line

Financial Guide To Owning A Pet

One-Time Expenses

Annual Expenses

Investing Time (And Money) In Your Pet

Planning For Emergency Expenses

Bottom Line