Your home insurance coverage might stink to high heaven if it comes time to file a claim. Here are 5 coverage types to double check that might not be covered to make sure you come out smelling like a rose.
What stinks worse? The smell of skunk spray through your entire home or your insurance company telling you that you aren’t covered for the damages left by the little stinker?
One family in Latrobe found out the hard way after their insurer refused to cover their belongings.
Most home owners, 95% to be specific, have insurance of some kind, and coverage is required if you have a mortgage, but just because you have coverage, doesn’t mean you have enough or even the right kind. About 64% of homes are underinsured, meaning they don’t have the right coverage needed to protect them or their belongings. Of course, when you think about the kinds of claims you are likely to make, you likely consider water pipes bursting, fire, theft, or weather related damage, but what if a skunk pays you a visit and sprays everything in your home? Well, depending on your coverage, you might find yourself a stinky situation. Here are 5 areas to double check in your policy to ensure you don’t wind up with a rotten claim.
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1. Other Structure Coverage
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2. All Risk Contents
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3. Replacement Cost Contents
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4. Water Backup of Sewers and Drains
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5. Identity Theft Protection
Other Structures
With your basic HO-2 coverage plan, you might think that because your house is covered, so are the things contained within it, right? Well that isn’t always the case. Most basic plans only cover your other structures (those not attached to the home itself), such as sheds, garages, and gazebos, and your contents against named perils, which typically only refer to fire, water damage, and the like. If it is not listed as a named peril in your policy, it will not be covered by your plan.
Contents & Replacement
In addition to other structures being damaged, if your contents are destroyed, your replacement costs will face depreciation. For example, if you bought an antique cabinet for $1000 five years ago, and it gets damaged or destroyed, you would receive money to replace it, but it would take the five years into consideration, so you may only get $100 dollars for it, where different policies could give you more than your initial $1000 due to consideration of inflation.
Water Backup & Sewage
These basic plans also fall short of covering your home in case of sewage or water backup, which can damage the area and add up to costly repairs. Most insurers will not cover these issues if it is damage caused by an unresolved issue, such as a leaky pipe, water backup from an outside sewer or drain, or an damage caused by floods. They often times will not replace the source of the water either, so if your dishwasher breaks and spills water on your wood kitchen floor, they may replace the flooring, but won’t help with replacing the dishwasher.
Identity Theft
Lastly, identity theft protection is not included in the basic HO-2 plan, which means if a burglar were to steal your possessions, and then run up your bills with your credit card, you’d be left sorting through the mess and footing the bill.
So, now that you know the five problematic areas where basic coverage falls flat, what can you do to get the protection you need or know what you may be at risk for? First, consider calling an insurance specialist who will be able to help you figure out your specific needs and consider your options. If you would like a free quote or coverage review, you can call 724-929-2300 or visit www.cscinsurance.com and get in touch with our coverage experts so you know exactly what you need. If you find that limited coverage isn’t worth the lower cost, an HO-3 with HO-15 85 and 455 might be a better fit and would provide you with all risk coverage included in all of the above mentioned areas.
It might be time to review your insurance coverage today, to ensure you don’t get skunked by limited protection tomorrow.