Top 5 Coverages You Need to Look Into When Buying Home Insurance

Buying your very first home comes with a lot of responsibilities. You invest most of your savings in the down payment, and after going through a harrowing process of procuring a loan, you finally get to call yourself a homeowner. You then scrimp and save to pay off the mortgage.

Now imagine this – it’s been a month since you bought a house and the weather forecast predicts a thunderstorm. You take all the precautions needed to protect your house, but significant damage is caused to it during the storm. There you stand, looking at your house and wondering what more could you do to prevent such a grave loss, and that it is!

Cyclones, floods, fire, earthquakes, etc., have become quite common and they pose a huge threat to your house. You can avoid financial loss from these natural disasters by purchasing a home insurance policy. This insurance policy covers a number of things and compensates you for any loss that you might face when your house has been damaged or was ransacked by a burglar.

There are several types of home insurance policies and each one covers something different. Check out our blog “Homeowners Insurance Types for Condos, Standalone Homes, and Rented Apartments” to know more about the standard and complex policies.

Most home insurance policies only cover specific disasters and problems. This is why you need to look into extra coverage for your home insurance policy. Let’s have a look at the top five types of coverage that you should look into when buying home insurance:

 

Cover #1

Content & Structure

The standard home insurance policy does not cover your content or structural damage. Your walls, roofs, basement, garage, etc., are not protected in home insurance. If these structures are damaged because of an earthquake, flood, storm, fire, etc. the addition of structure coverage will pay for the rebuilding cost.

On the other hand, content coverage includes all your home content such as jewellery, important documents, appliances and personal belongings. When you buy both structure and content coverage, you get a package policy, which provides all-inclusive coverage.

 

Cover #2

Fire & Other Perils

Damage caused by a fire is covered under a standard home insurance policy but if you branch out, you are left vulnerable to a few other perils, which include:

• Explosion or implosion
• Impact damage
• Aircraft damage
• Natural calamities like lightning, volcanic eruptions, forest or bush fire, floods, storms, etc.
• Rockslide or landslide
• Leaking of automatic garden sprinklers
• Civil unrest, strikes, riots and malicious damage
• Missile testing operation
• Overflow or bursting of water tanks

It might feel that some of these perils are over the top and there are slim chances you would face them, but having this additional coverage allows you to not worry about future problems.

 

Cover #3

Burglary

Burglary cover is already included in a home insurance policy. However, there are some limitations. For example: if you have some antique valuables in your house, you will have to check your coverage’s scope to find out whether the policy covers the cost of these valuables or not.

 

Cover #4

Public Liability

Let’s assume that your neighbour was coming over to your house to complain about the low-hanging tree in your backyard. She entered your house from the backyard and stepped on to the porch from the back. As she was rounding the house to come to your front door, the ground gave away and she fell into a hole in the porch. The wood splintered and a few splinters pierced her leg.

Since she was injured on your property, she can sue you for medical expenses.

If the tree had fallen over in your neighbour’s yard and caused structural damaged, then in this case, you would have been held liable too.

This cover is not included in a home insurance policy and can be added to it under extra coverage. One of the best things about this coverage is that no matter what type of accidents occur on your property and cause harm to your neighbour or a passer-by, the policy will protect you. All expenses of the injured party will be covered by your insurance policy.

 

Cover #5

Terrorism

Anything that you might lose due to an act of terrorism will be protected under this cover. In most cases, an additional premium is required for an extensive terrorism cover. Most people don’t go for terrorism coverage until they are living in a country that as besieged with war. Terrorism coverage is equally important as other types of coverage because nowadays, political violence is rampant. There are numerous marches held for one cause or another, and you never know when one of them might end in civil unrest.

Following are a few other covers that can be added to your existing home insurance policy:

• Rent for temporary accommodations in case the damage to your house is extensive and makes it inhabitable
• If you have given your property up for rent, then the policy will compensate you for the monetary loss for the time period the house is undergoing repairs
• Personal accident
• Cash was stolen from home
• Cover for electronic equipment that is portable
• Cover for non-electronic equipment such as pedal cycle
• Lock and key replacement costs
• Dog insurance cover
• Cover against robber if ATM withdrawals are stolen at gun point
• Employee’s compensation cover

The best thing about adding these coverages to your home insurance policy is that you get a package deal. When you purchase several policies with additional cover from the same insurer, you get a discount on the policy. Moreover, if you make no claims, you might get a further discount along with loyalty perks.

If you are looking for a qualified insurance agent who holds years of experience in this field, then visit Pawson. The company provides home insurance against disasters for homes, personal properties, and businesses. To know more about their policies, contact them at 203-481-8898.