5 Things Your Homeowner’s Policy is Missing

Posted on Aug 08, 2022
5 Things Your Homeowner's Policy is Missing

Your home is much more than just a house. It includes the many things inside and outside your home, like your possessions, family members, property, structures, and even pets. It’s crucial to ensure that everything that makes up your home and property is appropriately insured to protect you from unforeseen losses.

Every home is unique, which means that you need an individual homeowners policy designed for everything that makes up your home. Therefore, your coverage should cover every part and piece of your home. If your insurance policy doesn’t reflect that, you may be surprised when an unexpected occurrence happens, and you aren’t covered. Furthermore, what a standard home insurance policy actually covers may be much less than you expected.

Do not wait for an unexpected loss to discover that you aren’t covered. Below, we go over five things your homeowners policy may be missing.

1) Water Damage and Earthquakes

In many states, earth movements, like sinkholes and earthquakes, are not covered by your standard homeowners policy. Earthquakes aren’t typical in all areas, but sinkholes are becoming more common as we build and develop more land.

On the other hand, water damage from floods is common all across the country. Sewers can get backed up during storm surges or flash floods and have nowhere to drain into except your home and your basement. Flooding can cause extensive damage to your property and your home and even damage your possessions.

Although you should be covered for water damage from internal causes, such as bursting pipes or leaks, you may be surprised to learn that flood damage is not covered in homeowners policies. With extreme weather on the rise, now is a good time to purchase flood insurance.

2) Lost Paper Money

You may be surprised to learn that although you are covered for losses of paper money from burglary under most insurance policies, the cap is very low, usually around $200. Paper money includes everything from bills, banknotes, and coin collections.

So, if you have been robbed and the thieves break into your safe, find your hidden stash of bills, or take your prized coin collection, you may be mostly uncovered. Your first step can be to take extra security measures to protect yourself, or you can stop keeping so much cash in your house. However, if that is not an option, consider getting additional coverage.

3) Trampolines

If you have children, you may consider buying them a trampoline or already own one. However, insurance companies view trampolines as a huge liability because they result in many trips to the hospital every year. 

Therefore, if someone gets injured on your trampoline, you may be left completely uncovered by your homeowners policy. This goes for other high-risk playground equipment. So, make sure you thoroughly look over your policy before you make any playground-related purchases.

4) Business at Home

Working from home has become extremely popular in recent years. If you’re regularly logging into your Zoom meetings in your pajamas rather than going into the office, you probably don’t need any extra coverage. This is because your business isn’t based out of your home; necessarily, you just work from home. However, if you’re starting a business from your home, you may need extra coverage.

Whether you’re starting your own business and working completely self-employed or starting a side hustle, some business-related risks may leave you uncovered. Depending on the nature of your business, you may require additional coverage policies to protect you from unexpected loss.

Conducting your business from home can save you a lot of money compared to renting an office; however, it may cost you if you don’t get additional coverage.

5) Renovations and additions

Renovating and adding new additions to your home can be great. It allows you to change your home to achieve your dream home. However, you may be at risk if the new changes are not covered. Unfortunately, your homeowners policy does not automatically update to include changes to your home or outdoor dwellings. So, if you’re planning construction work, review your policy and make any necessary updates.

The Importance of Reviewing Your Homeowners Policy

It’s imperative to review your policy to make sure every change is covered if your renovations or new additions add significant value to your home. For example, if you’re increasing the square footage of your home, you’re increasing the value of your home, and you need to ensure that your dwelling limit is appropriately adjusted.

The same goes for outdoor spaces. If you’re adding a deck, expanding your patio, or putting in a pool, other structure limits will likely need to increase to cover the changes.

Therefore, one of your first steps when making changes to your home or property should include reviewing your insurance policies. Also, if you think your current service provider isn’t adequately covering your needs, this is a great chance to look elsewhere for coverage.

Look to Otterstedt Insurance Agency for Your New or Revamped Homeowners Policy

At the Otterstedt insurance agency, we provide stellar service to all of our customers. We have insurance agents dedicated to answering questions and helping our customers understand the ins and outs of our policies. Plus, we can help recommend policies that suit your specific needs and wants.

If you have questions about getting a new home insurance policy or what’s covered in your existing policy, check out our homeowners insurance page here to learn more. 

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