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.